Clean Vista install WITH NO ACTIVATION

[dgr81]

I used Orev's backup utility to restore my Vista Ultimate license when previously doing a clean install on my Lenovo T61 laptop. It worked great. Now that SP1 has come out, I am making a new clean install using an install DVD with SP1 integrated. When I tried to restore my activated license, it proceeded as it should, removing a bunch of keys, then installing the backed up key. But when I check the activation status afterwards, Windows is still not activated. Does Orev's ABR not work on systems that already have SP1 installed?

[orev]

I used Orev's backup utility to restore my Vista Ultimate license when previously doing a clean install on my Lenovo T61 laptop. It worked great. Now that SP1 has come out, I am making a new clean install using an install DVD with SP1 integrated. When I tried to restore my activated license, it proceeded as it should, removing a bunch of keys, then installing the backed up key. But when I check the activation status afterwards, Windows is still not activated. Does Orev's ABR not work on systems that already have SP1 installed?

1) Don't double post.

2) ABR does work on SP1 systems, but there have been more reports of problems recently. I suspect that something has changed and I may need to update ABR. A great debugging tool would be if you could send me the xrm-ms file. That file is locked you your hardware, so there's nothing I can use it for other than debugging.

[Lao]

I just used Orev's ABR for a fresh install on a Sony Vaio. I installed Vista, then used ABR, then installed SP1 from file not through Windows Update Service.

It all worked great. Vista is activated.

Thanks Orev once again.

[sxotty]

I ran into the exact same issue last night. I did a clean install of Vista Ultimate x64 and loaded the drivers from the SWSetup folder. I then installed DigitalPersona from the same folders, and that's when I ran into the issue that you describe.

To fix this, I downloaded and installed AuthenTec Inc. AES2501 Fingerprint Driver followed by DigitalPersona Fingerprint Software for Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit) from the HP website, and everything is working perfectly now.

Hope this helps.

Thanks very much. The driver in swsetup did not work. This saved the process for me. hp dv2700 btw.

PS is there a better way to search the forum? I was trying to search this thread only but did not see the possibility in the forums.

[emedici]

Hey guys Has any of you tried using your remote control after doing the clean install? I did mine like a month ago and tried recently to use my remote control with QuicPlay and it doesn't work.

I installed the latest Quicplay update, QuickLaunch buttons and QuickTouch button, my volume buttor works great when I press on it it displays the volume graph on my screen, the webcam also works great, QuickPlay also works...I don't have a clue on what todo... Please???

[silencejar]

Is there a way to use Windows Recovery and not have everything on the drive deleted?

A friend had Vista pre-installed and is having a lot of problems. She wants to reinstall the OS without losing data.
Possible?

The only CD that came with her DV6000 series was the anytime upgrade CD.

Sorry if there is a thread elsewhere about this, I used search and didn't see what I was looking for.

[orev]

Is there a way to use Windows Recovery and not have everything on the drive deleted?

A friend had Vista pre-installed and is having a lot of problems. She wants to reinstall the OS without losing data.
Possible?

The only CD that came with her DV6000 series was the anytime upgrade CD.

Sorry if there is a thread elsewhere about this, I used search and didn't see what I was looking for.

Not sure what you mean by "Windows Recovery".

You can do a reinstall without deleting everything, but it's risky. If you do the wrong thing in the setup, it will delete everything. Also, when it's done you will have a system that has a lot of other programs on the hard drive, but they might not work and need to be reinstalled. Doing an install this way really makes a mess on the system.

Really, the much MUCH better way is to backup the data externally, then do a clean install. It's the only way to make sure the system is clean and that your data is safe.

You can use the Anytime Upgrade DVD to do the install. Follow the guide here which walks you through everything.

[emedici]

Is there a way to use Windows Recovery and not have everything on the drive deleted?

A friend had Vista pre-installed and is having a lot of problems. She wants to reinstall the OS without losing data.
Possible?

The only CD that came with her DV6000 series was the anytime upgrade CD.

Sorry if there is a thread elsewhere about this, I used search and didn't see what I was looking for.

That's out of the question my friend. When you reinstall windows all registry information and Windows instalation folder data is deleted (this is true if you run a repair of the os, or an upgrade). If you format the drive or install without formatting the installation will rewrite everything in Windows folder, Document and Settings (Win XP) or Users (Win vista) and there is where all your data may be saved.

You can try and save therr user's folder somewhere (a partition of the drive, DVD or external disk) and restore de folders after the reinstallation has finished. But you will have to reinstall all drivers, applications, etc., right from scratch in any cases.

[silencejar]

Thanks for the information guys, very helpful.

[orev]

This post is to announce the release of ABR version 1.0!

This release contains the following updates and improvements:

• Bug fix: Some people were reporting that even though the instructions were followed to the letter, restore simply would not work. This was happening a lot more recently, and with some of your great help in debugging, I was able to pinpoint the problem and resolve it. If you still have the backup files, restore should now work correctly if it did not work for you before.
   
• "silent" option: For those of you using ABR in an unattended installation, you can now use the "--silent" option on the command line when restoring the activation. Note that this only works for restore, not backup.
   
• New package: ABR is now being distributed as a self-extracting archive. This was done using 7-zip which reduces the size of the download by 50%.
   
• Backup status output: ABR now outputs a few bits of information about the backup files. This information will help in debugging, should the need arise.
   
• Other misc/small bug fixes

As always, if you have any problems, please let me know!

Thanks to everyone who have found this tool useful, and also to those who have helped out with bug reports and providing debug information to help resolve them!

Download links on the main guide have been updated.