This question coming from someone who used to work at Microsoft, no less. Anyway, uncle Google, as well as poking around MS's web site, isn't helping me yet.

I've got two HP laptops here at work. I've got my daily driver, and a "test" laptop that's used for software testing. The "test" laptop is similarly spec'd to my daily driver, with a few minor differences. But the test laptop has got better video with more VRAM and a larger display.

Both machines currently run Vista: Daily driver has the HP OEM Vista that came with it, the test machine has a clean install of an MSDN Vista license.

I'm thinking that a simple straight swap of hard disks is in order. Poof, I get better video, test machine still works, don't need to reconfigure or reinstall anything. At most I'd have to install a couple of device drivers on each machine.

Ah, but for the copy protection on Vista.

Anyone know what exactly it'll do to me in this situation and what will be required of me to make sure the two laptops are legal again?

If it is the OEM installed copy and it uses the OEM BIOS activation then it'll probably be okay...

If you reinstalled with the number on the bottom then it'll want to be reactivated even thought it is an OEM version.

Can you tell me more about how the OEM BIOS activation works? My google searches keep coming up with talk about the cracks for it, which don't interest me.

I'm wondering how moving a hard disk to another machine should allow the OEM BIOS activation to continue working. Shouldn't pulling the BIOS rug out from under a Vista installation make it complain?

Ah never mind then. I misread what you wrote and thought both versions were running the OEM installed copy.

It won't like you doing that and will want to reactivate the MSDN version at least.

The OEM BIOS activation works by having a digital certificate inside the actual BIOS that has a corresponding serial number. If the certificate doesn't match the keyed in number then it will complain at you and want to reactivate. If it does still match then it'll assume that you're running on a licensed Vista machine.

There is a difference between the key that is used in the OEM installed version and the one that is printed on the label as well. The OEM one will automatically activate itself if it finds the certificate. The one will need a phone call or internet connection to activate.

There is a tool that lets you backup the OEM install activation and then you never have to call Microsoft if you reinstall from scratch.

Any certificate in the BIOS, or just the same certificate under which it was originally activated?

It needs to be the same one as what it was activated with.

So since it wouldn't be the same, what would happen in that situation? Would it refuse, or require a phone call?

I know more about this stuff for WinXP than Vista, but I have to assume it's all pretty similar.

OEM copies grunge around in the BIOS ROM looking for evidence that they're seeing a board from the same manufacturer. So, if you do a HD transplant across two machines from the same vendor, you've got a good chance that it just works.

Otherwise (and perhaps regardless), all of the other Windows Activation logic kicks in, where they try to diff the "current" machine against the "activated" machine. Assuming they're "within tolerance", then re-activation shouldn't be required. If they're completely different, then they tell you that you need to make a phone call.

At that point, it's not really a big deal. You say that you did a brain transplant and that you're retiring the old machine or wahtever, and they give you the magic activation code.

Vista checks specifically for the certificate in the BIOS. If it isn't present or it is the wrong one then it won't like it. If an OEM copy fails I don't think you can get it reactivated even over the phone since that should never actually happen.

Do the swap, reboot and check it out. It can't possibly take that long to see what happens. Make the call if necessary and just tell them Dan suggested. If that's no help just patch the OS with one of the many tools designed to get around what you're looking at.

Personally, my phone is reserved for ordering take-out, not calling Microsoft.

But it could possibly take all day to resolve. Perhaps even longer, if I'm left with a non-working OS because of the copy protection and I'm forced to completely reinstall the OS.

(My guess is that if the OS's don't like the swap and they go bad because of it, then swapping them back will leave them in the bad state rather than magically fixing them.)




Since these are both work machines, and our company is very careful about making sure all of our software licenses are legal, I can't use tools that would circumvent copy protection.

The issue is that it'll deactivate the install and swapping it back won't reactivate it.


I had a reply all written for this but I decided to delete it. I'm not going to turn this into another OSX vs Windows argument.

XP did this but it didn't use the BIOS certificate system so I'm not sure what would happen on Vista.

I didn't mean to imply anything about Mac OS nor Apple. I keep two Windows systems running here.



I didn't mean to use fake/fraudulent serial numbers/licenses or anything like that. You can use those tools to reinsert your real/valid serial numbers, repairing your authentication.

Got another drive? Make an image of the one drive and put it in the other computer. If it fails, so what? You were going to erase one or the other anyway.

That's a good idea. I might just try that if I can scrounge an extra drive and come up with an easy way to image it.

I wasn't planning on erasing either drive: My plan was an actual straight exact **SWAP**, meaing the test machine's configuration and applications live in the daily driver's body, and the daily driver's configuration and applications live in the test machine's body, without having to reinstall.

I meant of the original and the copy.

Again, while I'm more familiar with XP than Vista's handling of this, I think you'd have no risk of a failed activation on the alternative computer damaging the activation status if you were to put the hard drive back in the original computer.

XP remembers the "hardware ID" under which it was activated and is always comparing that to the current hardware to make sure that it's still in tolerance. If it finds itself in an out-of-tolerance state, then it starts complaining, but it won't (so far as I know) obliterate its memory of its proper state.

So... (no warranties expressed or implied) it should be safe to try the brain transplant and see if it works.

Do you have a spare drive that you can ghost the current install onto. If so try with the ghosted drive. Or the original, then ghost back onto that if it fails badly.

I really should read all the posts before replying to an early one.

Whenever I've had to call to reactivate XP (a couple of times) it's been entirely automated - you dial in a long number, it reads back a long number and it worked fine.

I've had to talk to somebody both times I called. There was no wait time and after explaining about the hard drive crash or retiring the machine they gave me the code without any problem.