Where To Purchase Windows Vista ?

Greetings Geeks.

It seems the user created back up discs for my parents computer are DOA (her computer had a super evil virus). As a result, I want to install Vista. The computer does not have the umph to run Windows 7. They only peruse the internet and play the occasional solitaire anyway.

I went on a Vista hunt. It seems places like Best Buy and such don't stock it anymore. I looked online and it is an advertising free for all, very confusing. My concern being that Vista is a last gen OS, and the nature of the software, I might get taken for a ride somehow. With that in mind, can anyone suggest a reputable vendor to purchase a full version of Vista at a competitive price?

Thanks!

 

Hi, can you post the specs(brand/type/model) of the machine in question please? What OS are we talking about? I mean the original one. W7 is usually easier on hardware than Vista.

 

Vista disks can be found all day long on eBay.
New ones with factory COA and many with free shipping.

 

I agree.

I'm running Win7 32 bit on an Athlon XP 2800, Gigabyte 7VM400M-RZ, 2 GB PC3200, ATI X700 GFX card and an Seagate 80 GB IDE drive. I've noticed no real difference from when it had XP performancewise.

 

If you know the serial number of the XP installed (a sticker is usually pasted on the side or bottom of a computer) you can borrow any one's XP disk, as long as it is the same flavor (Home or Pro) and use it to install XP back on the computer.

 

Agreed! I've seen made-for-Vista systems run slow until Windows 7 is installed on them. My 5 year old computer that hated Vista runs Windows 7 faster than it ran XP.

Honestly, I think Microsoft should RECALL Vista and issue refunds to everyone that ever paid for that piece of crap.

 

Here it is:

Gateway 831GM
Intel Pentium 4 630 @3 Ghz
Intel 900 Graphics Card
512 Megs Dual Channel Ram
250 Meg Hard Drive

Very spartan. I will see if I cannot find a serial number for Vista somewhere . . . .

 

SIW should be able to find that for you.

http://majorgeeks.com/SIW_System_Info_d4387.html

 

The computer has no OS installed. I wiped it before restoring. Assuming I need to install and run program, I can't use it! What exactly does it do anyway?

 

If the OS is gone, then so are the serial numbers.

 

Trust us Valve, your better off upgrading to Windows 7, they should notice a more user friendly environment and a faster machine.

 

This site sells the Gateway 831GM recovery disk
http://www.gennersales.us/ReimageXP/Gateway831gm.htm

 

The Intel 900 chip has no Win7 drivers. That may be an issue. I would go at least 1GB on the memory also, like with XP.

 

Per http://support.gateway.com/s/PC/R/5021/5021sp3.shtml, that computer supports up to 2GB of RAM, and I'd want 2GB with either Vista or Win 7, but if I were going to buy an OS, I'd definitely go with Win 7 unless some lack of hardware support was clearly evident (note possible graphics chip issue mentioned by Just Playin). If the Intel graphics chip would be an issue, you could buy a PCI Express video card to replace the onboard Intel graphics.

 

Mmmmm good point about the drivers, you'd get away with 512 of RAM, even though it would be pretty slow, but in saying that no slower than what it would have been with Vista, I'd be going with usafveteran on this one, 2GB would be my preferred ...