Once you activate Vista is that it?

[gadgetgirl85]

I want to upgrade my harddrive because I just do not have enough space at the moment for both vista and mac osx. I understand that I have to put all my files back on. If I have activated windows (Which I haven't yet until I was 100% sure) would it still reinstall?

 

[Bern]

Yes you can. You have a "limited" number of reinstalls for Vista. It's some ludicrous number like 5 I think (someone else please confirm the number).


[edit] THIS according to the MS Technical Support site:-

How many times can I install Windows on my computer before I have to activate Windows again?

You can reinstall Windows on the same computer as many times as you want because activation pairs the Windows product key with information about your computer’s hardware. If you make a significant hardware change, you might have to activate Windows again.

 

[Celeron]

While I don't know for sure, this is how it worked with Windows XP. You can activate a bunch of times online, on different machines. Once you do it enough, you have to call them and talk to one of the reps. I've done this numerous times with the same copy as I upgraded my PC. They ask simple questions like "Is this the first time installing the product?" I always answer with the most simple answer possible such as "Nope". A few seconds later, they read off the code you need to put in and then you can reactivate online a bunch of more times. Wash, rinse, repeat.

Again, not sure if this applies to Vista.

 

[BornAgainMac]

Microsoft is missing a deactivation feature like iTunes. I noticed this with eBooks. I knew that over time as I upgrade devices that I'll hit the limit and all my purchases would no longer work so I stopped buy eBooks. I would like to deactivate Windows when I feel I am ready to build a faster machine.