My wife has a laptop computer that has a "Quilting" program and the program works only on XP and Vista. The computer has been stolen. Most of the new laptops that I see are Windows 7 or 8. Can I remove the operating system on say a Windows 7 computer ?. When I built my computer, I purchased an "OEM" Windows Vista that was installed, later upgraded to Windows 7, and now upgraded to Windows 7 Pro. Can I now use that "OEM" Vista disc to change a new laptop to that system so that she can reinstall a very expensive program that apparently will not work on anything "newer" than Vista
How-To Geek Forums / Windows Vista
Can I do operating system changes
(13 posts)
Since you have used the Vista as a base for an upgrade I do not believe you can legitimately use it on another computer. Secondly, the drivers may not be available for your new computer to work with an older Operating system. Moving backwards to older operating systems is not as straight forward as one might imagine.
Two suggestions...
Why not simply save some money and buy a used computer that has the appropriate operating system on it.
Secondly, I was able to install a similar embroidery program on a new Window 7 computer by installing the XP-mode virtual software that is available free for just such problems with Windows 7. If you have an existing Windows 7 system you could test it out before making a decision. It is easily installed and removed.
Unfortunately your OEM Vista is tied to the mobo where it was first installed. For activation you may have to call Microsoft and explain the case. Maybe they will activate it.
The driver problem that LH referred to is a genuine problem with Windows8 systems. Because of the new mobo and disk technology, there have been many problems to even install Windows 7.
If I were you, I would be on the lookout for a used Vista laptop - maybe a 'refurbished' one from a company.
Update: LOL, Xhi was 25 seconds faster.
LH: But, once installed and activated on a system it is tied to that system. One can not use an OEM key on more than one system. And if you use it as a basis for a reduced cost upgrade it remains tied to that system. That is not to say it might not work, but in my opinion it would not be legitimate. (I am not a lawyer, but I play one on the Internet)
Must be misunderstanding something here. You mean you have several computers with Vista OEM installs with the same product key? That may work, but it is definitely not legitimate. The disk of course will install on any computer, but you still need a separate key for each. Do you not?
I would focus on getting that program running on Windows 7. If it runs on Vista I see no reason it won't run in Windows 7. You can use the corresponding compatibility mode by right-clicking the EXE, go to "Properties", to the "Compatibility" tab, and choose the appropriate compatibility mode.
And with Windows 7 Professional you get Windows XP mode, which is a Windows XP system running on a virtual machine.
I had purchased a Vista OEM 32 bit in 2008 I believe. It was for a machine I built two years prior that was running XP. I installed Vista OEM. I later upgraded the mobo, CPU & RAM. Added a couple more hard disks. Of course it blue screened on first boot after hardware changes. I reinstalled Vista and it would not activate. The result was I had to contact Microsoft for activation due to hardware changes. Just my experience not saying yours will be the same.
