Steps
- Purchase a Windows Vista Home Basic installation disk (or any other version, but Home Basic is the cheapest).
- Insert the disk into your computer's main CD drive and load it up. (If you're using a laptop, make sure you're running from outlet power, because you can lose data if you run out of battery power while Vista is installing.)
- When the installation window first pops up, click on "Install Windows Vista" You'll have to go through various configuration options afterwards.
- When you are prompted to type in your product/CD key, skip it and click "Next"
- You can then choose which version of Windows Vista you would like to install. (Ultimate would be the best choice.)
- Click "Next"
- Vista should now start to install. This will be very time-consuming, and your computer will restart itself several times, so be prepared to wait.
- When Vista starts up for the first time, you will be prompted to choose a user name, computer name, user picture, and desktop background.
- After you've done all that, you'll be asked to wait a bit longer for Vista to check your computer's performance (or something like that).
- Wait for it to finish.
- You can now run all of the features of Windows Ultimate. Have fun!
Tips
- You can use this version of Windows for a maximum of 120 days without activation. (You have to type "slmgr -rearm" into a command prompt to reset the counter back to 30 days, but you can only do this 3 times.) To activate Windows, you have to purchase a valid product key or hack the activation counter to stop permanently, which is illegal.
Warnings
- After 120 days, when your computer goes into Reduced Functionality Mode, you'll either have to install Windows again, or activate Windows with a valid product key (for the SAME version you installed) to keep using your computer.
Things You'll Need
- A computer capable of running Windows Vista
- A CD/DVD Drive
- A Windows Vista Installation Disk
- Lots of time
- Adequete Memory, RAM and Processor Requirements see the microsoft website for details
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Install Windows Vista Ultimate from a Vista Basic Installation Disk. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.