Applying Windows Vista fix/service pack to slave drive (activation issue)

Hi, I'm working on my boyfriend's coworker's PC (I was volunteered lol) and am a little stumped. The PC has been in use for quite some time but recently prompted for an activation key. It is indeed a genuine copy. When I called Microsoft I got the runthrough with the installation ID and after having the number repeated 4x (plus once or twice by a rep who couldn't figure out why it didn't work).

It seems pretty clear to me the issue is as addressed here: http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;EN-US;931573. According to this support post, the problem should be easily fixed by making sure Windows is updated with all necessary service packs (he did mention that Windows seemed to get stuck when doing updates so who knows how out-of-date it is). The problem I'm running into is that I can't actually apply any updates while running in limited access! Sooooo...

My question is this: if I just pop the hard drive into my PC as a slave drive, is there a way to update that version of Windows while I'm not actually running it? I have Windows 7 (64 bit) on my PC and I don't want to screw anything up with my version while trying to fix the Windows Vista (64 bit) on the other HD. Seems like it should be simple, but it's a little over my head (I'm only an aspiring geek still...would be lost without you guys).

I do have the installation disk so worst case scenario I can wipe it clean and start over with a fresh installation. It would be nice to avoid that if possible though, thanks in advance for any advice/input you can offer!

 

theres a standalone installer for service packs 1 and 2
follow the steps for running the standalone installer for both
service pack 1: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc766219(WS.10).aspx#Scen2

sp2:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/dd335037(WS.10).aspx#Scen2
this should run while vista is loaded, but Im not sure if it will let you without checking for genuine windows first.

 

Thanks for the reply thesmoking gun...unfortunately I haven't (and probably) won't get to try the standalone installation. I only had the hard drive in my PC as a slave for a couple minutes when I started getting virus notifications and it's frozen my PC several times now. It's looking like this Windows activation issue was the least of his concerns (he finally admitted that he never had a virus scanner!!!!). I got the ok to do a format and fresh installation so I'll get him set up right this time around. At least now I know standalone installations are possible so if this comes up in the future I know where to go. Kudos!