Vista Oem Versions

[silvero]

I want to play around with temporary trial installations of Vista which I know you can create with a retail or upgrade DVD but can anyone confirm whether the Vista OEM versions allow for trial installations?

[cdnvic]

If it's an OEM, why not go for the full install?

[silvero]

I want to use a trial install for testing software, reimaging/reinstalling it as required, and use the full install as my primary Windows OS.

[george]

You need to do a clean install with an OEM version. Your old OS will be saved as windows.old, so you can access your old files, but not boot the old OS.

[silvero]

Thanks George but what I am referring to is the option to install Vista without a license key - on the Retail and Upgrade versions you can do this and it allows you to use it for 30 days at which time it must be activated.

I'd like to know if this is possible with an OEM install disk.

[george]

Yes, you have 30 days even with a OEM version.

[silvero]

Thanks George

[klrsmith]

Yes, you have 30 days even with a OEM version.

As a side note, I have discovered that you can use the UPGRADE version of VISTA to install on an empty HD, by installing said UPGRADE version on an empty HD, without the license key - this will give you a 30 day trial.

Once Vista is installed, rerun setup and enter your product key - then your good to go, without having to have XP installed and then "upgraded".

Regards,

Kevin