Importing Vista from US to UK

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:30 pm

As far as I can see there's just shipping +VAT to pay, no import duty. But will it install and run okay on a UK machine?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:38 pm

You will need to get a 230V version of Vista for the UK.

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:41 pm

It will probably work fine. It will likely have a different EULA terms however since the law is different in the UK. The install will also likely default to US-EN settings for everything.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Sat Sep 06, 2008 4:44 pm

NyteOwl wrote:It will probably work fine. It will likely have a different EULA terms however since the law is different in the UK. The install will also likely default to US-EN settings for everything.

Not to mention the fact that you will be at least 5 hours late to all your meetings.

blackworx · Post by **blackworx** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 3:49 am

m0002a wrote:You will need to get a 230V version of Vista for the UK.

NyteOwl wrote:The install will also likely default to US-EN settings for everything.

Pretty much all MS stuff defaults to EN-US regardless of whether it is bought in the UK or not. Granted, it's not so difficult to change, but combine lazy defaults with lazy sysadmins and what you get is pretty much every workplace PC ending up with a US English dictionary mere users can do nothing about. Meh.

Sooty · Post by **Sooty** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 4:53 pm

LOL!

Thanks.

So who are the cheapest US outlets for this?

Also: Iâ€™d formed the impression there were 4 versions of Ultimate, at least in the UK:

32-bit OEM
64-bit OEM
32/64-bit (switchable) Retail
32/64-bit (switchable) Upgrade

But then I found this:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... =p3907.m29

Claiming itâ€™s â€˜Full Ultimate Retailâ€™ but appears to be selling separate 32 or 64 bit versions, so not switchable? If you look in his feedback, he has sold 32/64-bit switchable, but this appears not to be for some reason. I have just asked him.

cb95014 · Post by **cb95014** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:06 am

Sooty wrote:So who are the cheapest US outlets for this?

I have bought XP and Vista from both VioSoftware & RoyalDiscount.

Regarding the various versions, the retail box offers extra flexibility for re-installation or upgrades, but you will have to decide if the extra cost is worth the added flexibility. FYI, the retail Ultimate box includes both 32 & 64-bit discs.

cb95014 · Post by **cb95014** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 9:09 am

Also, it is possible that the ebay merchant is selling the 32 & 64-bit discs separately. Since each box only comes with *one* key, this would obviously be a problem.

At a minimum I would check any ebay seller carefully.

sjoukew · Post by **sjoukew** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 1:05 pm

I thought the retail version was 32 and 64 bit, and the OEM version was the one or the other, depending on the choice you make.

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 4:26 pm

Regarding the various versions, the retail box offers extra flexibility for re-installation or upgrades, but you will have to decide if the extra cost is worth the added flexibility. FYI, the retail Ultimate box includes both 32 & 64-bit discs.

Depends on the flexibility you want. The retail version will let you move your copy from machine to machine so long as only one is installed at a time but it will require reactivation if you regularly change major components significantly (motherboard, HDD, etc). The OEM version will let you change any components as often as you like without requiring reactivation so long as you don't change motherboard type. But you can't move the copy to a whole new machine when you upgrade. (Sometime the person at MS will reactivate anyway but no guarantee).

Retail comes with both the 64 and 32 bit versions, OEM is one or the other.

cb95014 · Post by **cb95014** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 7:17 pm

NyteOwl wrote:
The OEM version will let you change any components as often as you like without requiring reactivation so long as you don't change motherboard type.
I don't know this for sure (I've only bought retail copies), but I don't think that OEM offers *any* advantages other than cost. From a PC Magazine article in January 2007 quoting Microsoft: "In addition, users should still be subject to the same familiar re-activation restrictions as users of a retail Vista license and Windows XP, a spokeswoman said. Users can alter the PC's hardware substantially, but they will be forced to reactivate â€“ not repurchase the OEM software â€“ if they do, she said."

Retail comes with both the 64 and 32 bit versions, OEM is one or the other.

Only Ultimate comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit discs. For the Home Premium and Business editions, "Instructions to obtain a x64bit DVD are included in the packaging." I don't know if the shipping is free, but that may depend on where you live...

tehcrazybob · Post by **tehcrazybob** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 8:23 pm

Not sure I can add much to the answer so far, so I'll turn around and ask a question:

Why Ultimate?

Home Premium offers all the features of Ultimate which sound even remotely interesting outside of a business setting (and conversely, Vista Business offers all the features which seem necessary in a business setting; I really don't see the use of Ultimate). The extra features of Ultimate over Home Premium are either a very bad idea on a personal computer (full-drive encryption) or seem unneccessary (remote desktop server, backup and restore, fax and scan). All the unneccessary features have readily available free equivalents; and aren't much use outside of a managed environment.

If you're really dedicated to getting Ultimate, I'll go away, but I honestly think you're getting a very small amount of added functionality for a very large amount of added money.

Monkeh16 · Post by **Monkeh16** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 12:43 am

I have a better question: Why Vista?

*runs for the hills*

NyteOwl · Post by **NyteOwl** » Tue Sep 09, 2008 8:14 pm

I don't know this for sure (I've only bought retail copies), but I don't think that OEM offers *any* advantages other than cost. From a PC Magazine article in January 2007 quoting Microsoft: "In addition, users should still be subject to the same familiar re-activation restrictions as users of a retail Vista license and Windows XP, a spokeswoman said. Users can alter the PC's hardware substantially, but they will be forced to reactivate â€“ not repurchase the OEM software â€“ if they do, she said."

I only know what I've been told by those who use both versions regularly and are constantly updating/upgrading machines. Apparently the only thing the OEM version is tied to upon install is the motherboard so if you replace with the same model you don't have to reactivate but if you change motherboards it's considered a different machine.

Only Ultimate comes with both 32-bit and 64-bit discs. For the Home Premium and Business editions, "Instructions to obtain a x64bit DVD are included in the packaging." I don't know if the shipping is free, but that may depend on where you live...

I thought it was Ultimate we were discussing?

The extra features of Ultimate over Home Premium are either a very bad idea on a personal computer (full-drive encryption) or seem unneccessary (remote desktop server, backup and restore, fax and scan). All the unneccessary features have readily available free equivalents; and aren't much use outside of a managed environment.

Being able to fax from the desktop without needing to have a fax machine or multifunction printer/fax/copier is very handy. And full drive encryption is not a bad idea for anyone. Most people leave all sorts of personal and potentially damaging stuff in the hands of a miscreant (passwords, account numbers, etc) on their personal computers. One burglary and all that info is in the hands of a criminal. Who of course can't read any of it if the drive is encrypted Of course you can get similar capability using third party products.

I have a better question: Why Vista?

Indeed

, even better, why Windows?

tehcrazybob · Post by **tehcrazybob** » Wed Sep 10, 2008 7:15 am

NyteOwl wrote:Being able to fax from the desktop without needing to have a fax machine or multifunction printer/fax/copier is very handy. And full drive encryption is not a bad idea for anyone. Most people leave all sorts of personal and potentially damaging stuff in the hands of a miscreant (passwords, account numbers, etc) on their personal computers. One burglary and all that info is in the hands of a criminal. Who of course can't read any of it if the drive is encrypted Of course you can get similar capability using third party products.

I see where you're coming from on the fax software, but I'm fairly confident you can get the same functionality from software which costs less than the $90 difference between Home Premium and Ultimate (either OEM or Retail, the price difference is the same).

However, I think you're overlooking something very significant with full-drive encryption. Have you ever encountered an error and been unable to start Windows? If that happens while you're using BitLocker, you lose everything. All the encryption options built into Windows use hidden keys. The OS politely unlocks the files whenever you ask for them, but because you're never actually given the keys, if Windows has a seizure your files go with it.

Sure, you should have good backups, but if your backups are unencrypted anyway, then I'm not entirely clear on the purpose of encrypting the drive. Most importantly, there are free/open-source products available to encrypt specific folders. These products actually let you know or choose your own encryption key, which means you can unlock the files on other computers or after Windows throws a fit.

Again, I can totally understand the appeal of faxing and file encryption. It's just that full-drive encryption is a bad idea for most people, and faxing shouldn't cost $90.