Tech Forum

I recently reimaged a machine and decided to use the OS for which it was licensed (Win Vista). I figured since MLS was now Win 7 compatible, Vista should come for free...

Well, I fire it up and get a very funny message:

So - am I getting myself in trouble running on vista? Seems to run just fine... I did some searches on vista compatibility, but it seems everything I read from this forum was pre-Win7 compatibility. Is there an update?

Thanks in advance.

sammythesm wrote:So - am I getting myself in trouble running on vista? Seems to run just fine... I did some searches on vista compatibility, but it seems everything I read from this forum was pre-Win7 compatibility. Is there an update?

There's plenty on this forum talking about Windows 7 compatibility for MLS. But you won't find anything that says it's compatible with Vista. There has certainly not ever been any official statement that would suggest that MLS has been tested on Vista. And I really doubt that the Church will put any effort into testing MLS on Vista.

So I think you're taking quite a risk by using an unsupported operating system. MLS might seem to work, but if anything goes wrong, it might be difficult for you to get support.

sammythesm wrote:I recently reimaged a machine and decided to use the OS for which it was licensed (Win Vista). I figured since MLS was now Win 7 compatible, Vista should come for free...

But now you're in the gray zone between what actually works and what's supported. I agree that given the Windows 7 compatibility that Vista should work, but but that's not going to help the first time you call in for support.....

Seems like the church is putting us in a tough spot. Late last year was the first time we got computers with OEM Windows 7 licensing. Most of my stake's computers are licensed for Win Vista but had XP installed. I don't have licenses laying around for XP to be reinstalled if any of these computers need reimaging (as happened yesterday). I have no idea where the previous guy got the licenses. From reading elsewhere in the forum, it seems like these computers came with XP installed even though they were licensed with Vista. I also don't have Win 7 licenses laying around, so I'm not sure I can upgrade either. The "right" thing to do is to install the OEM licensed OS, as pointed out in the recent tech talk... yet MLS isn't compatible? What's a STS to do? Either they need to provide a enterprise license for the OS they want us to use, or they need to provide support for all the OEM images that are out there. Sheesh.

sammythesm wrote:Seems like the church is putting us in a tough spot. Late last year was the first time we got computers with OEM Windows 7 licensing. Most of my stake's computers are licensed for Win Vista but had XP installed. I don't have licenses laying around for XP to be reinstalled if any of these computers need reimaging (as happened yesterday). I have no idea where the previous guy got the licenses. From reading elsewhere in the forum, it seems like these computers came with XP installed even though they were licensed with Vista. I also don't have Win 7 licenses laying around, so I'm not sure I can upgrade either. The "right" thing to do is to install the OEM licensed OS, as pointed out in the recent tech talk... yet MLS isn't compatible? What's a STS to do? Either they need to provide a enterprise license for the OS they want us to use, or they need to provide support for all the OEM images that are out there. Sheesh.

You certainly can put XP back on these machines. That's the "right" thing to do -- not to put unsupported Vista on them. The recent tech talk never mentioned Vista. The discussion in the tech talk was all about whether you could put Win7 on a machine, and your older machines aren't licensed for Win7 -- but they are for XP (you can go back, but obviously not forward, in revs of Windows).

You talked about having "licenses laying around" and wondered "where the previous guy got the licenses." Did you really mean installable media? That's quite a different question. But as long as you have XP installation discs, it seems to me the answer is pretty simple for your machines licensed for Vista -- put XP back on them, which is the way they were shipped to you.

I have install media (OEM Win XP). I just don't have license keys. The sticker on the machine says Vista and has a vista license key printed on it. I don't think Vista license key works if you type it into a XP installation... Is there something I'm missing that allows a Vista licensed computer to install XP?

sammythesm wrote:I have install media (OEM Win XP). I just don't have license keys. The sticker on the machine says Vista and has a vista license key printed on it. I don't think Vista license key works if you type it into a XP installation... Is there something I'm missing that allows a Vista licensed computer to install XP?

Actually, it should work. See, for example, this InfoWorld article on this very topic. A Vista Business license key will work to activate XP Pro.

No way... my mind has been blown. I gotta try this now... Thanks aebrown.

Also, I think Dell has an arrangement where the Dell OEM install recognizes the Dell BIOS. You may not have to enter a activation key.