Reinstalling OS without original install disc

[Afterburner]

I'm selling my old rig and I'm erasing data from the HDD with KillDisk. After it's done I want to reinstall the OS, which is Vista Ultimate SP2 32 bit, but the install CD is missing. I've managed to recover the product ID and the CD Key though. Any thoughts on how to do this without the original install disc?

[dragosudeki]

You could possibly find a download online for that OS.

[DroPouT1999]

*cough* piracy *cough*

[Doxxy]

Use removewat and torrent w7

[Afterburner]

You could possibly find a download online for that OS.

Yeah, well, those I have to pay for, or are not exactly legal.

[dragosudeki]

Yeah, well, those I have to pay for, or are not exactly legal.

Downloading the iso is legal. Just because you torrent something doesn't necessarily mean it is illegal, though most of the time it usually is.

[Afterburner]

*cough* piracy *cough*

I know, but it's not exactly a smart idea to put a pc up for sale on the internet with a pirated OS.

[Afterburner]

Use removewat and torrent w7

I want to keep the legal Vista.

[Doxxy]

Oh, just torrent the vista ISO and use the key. The iso is basically the cd, and is not illegal.

[Afterburner]

Downloading the iso is legal. Just because you torrent something doesn't necessarily mean it is illegal, though most of the time it usually is.

Yeah, but the Product ID will be different. Won't that be a problem?

[dragosudeki]

Yeah, but the Product ID will be different. Won't that be a problem?

I don't think so, if it is you can always call Microsoft's support and they will usually help you out I think.

[FizzyFantom]

You may be able to get the Windows Vista iso (or other generic boot CD images) from DigitalRiver, similarly to Windows 7. These would be legit OEM disk images without any licencing information, which you can use to install a 30 day trial then use your legitimate OEM key to activate later. This IS completely legal as Microsoft themselves put the Windows ISO files on DigitalRiver themselves for public use (For Windows 7 at least).

[Afterburner]

I don't think so, if it is you can always call Microsoft's support and they will usually help you out I think.

 

 

You may be able to get the Windows Vista iso (or other generic boot CD images) from DigitalRiver, similarly to Windows 7. These would be legit OEM disk images without any licencing information, which you can use to install a 30 day trial then use your legitimate OEM key to activate later. This IS completely legal as Microsoft themselves put the Windows ISO files on DigitalRiver themselves for public use (For Windows 7 at least).

 

Ok, so I checked the DigitalRiver, and there aren't any vista isos, since they aren't selling the OS anymore. I've found this other one (http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.hu/2012/08/microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso.html), seemed good, but the links are dead. Checked TPB, but as always, it's pretty chaotic and I couldn't find anything promising. I'm downloading something from http://getintopc.com/softwares/operating-systems/windows-vista-download/, that's hopefully going to be what i'm looking for. It looked a bit shady at first, I guess i'm gonna find out.

 

Thanks for the tips so far, it was really helpful!

[Afterburner]

Managed to install Vista, although I can't activate it now. I guess I should have uninstalled the Product Key before wiping the whole disk.Any thoughts on how to get the key to work?