I recently formatted my hard drive so I could set up a RAID array. Windows Vista is now asking me to activate it again, but it wont accept my product key because it says it is an upgrade edition. I already upgraded from Windows XP to Windows Vista, I don't know why it wont accept the key. Is there anything I can do?
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I have a less than simple couple questions. Background,Dual boot PC (XP and Vista),No longer need XP as I am happy with Vista.XP is installed to a raid array of 2 80Gb SATA HD Vista is installed to an IDE HD,
1) What I want to do Reinstall Vista to the raid array Get rid of the boot loader option that asks XP or Vista at start up Want a clean install of Vista on the raid when done, not really interested in executing an upgrade
2) Concerns I have several media licenses (wma's from Walmart Music Store) on Vista on the IDE drive.,Questions for the group ,Could you tell me the best way to do #1,Can the windows easy transfer keep the media licenses or do I have to go through Wal-Mart to get the licenses reactivated? Or are there other options for the licensing of the WMAs
I just installed Vista Ultimate (64-Bit) on my Qosmio G35-AV660. Problem is this, it is now seeing both my HDDs as one in a "Logical Drive 0" and "RAID-0" array. Instead of 2-120gb drives I now have one 214gb drive. I want to return to separate HDDs "C" "D" w/out RAID. I have tried booting from the Vista installation disc, and when it asks for raid driver, I install and it still only shows the "one" drive and not separate drives.
I also went into the bios screen at start up and it shows the separate drives with same RAID array, and wasn't able to change it. I tried the changes available, but it continues to reset itself and boot normally. I understand I will need to reinstall the os after RAID is removed. If I remove the second drive while doing a clean install, will it force it back to non raid, and then I can reinstall the second drive after the new install? Or is there a better way?
I need to know what would be the best optition for top performance.
Raid Settings
RAID 0
128KB Strip
It said in raid settings this is for top performance. 64KB for the other not sure what it was. Also should i remove the RAID and then do a full format then low level or just leave the RAID as it is. And what should i make it RAID 0 RAID 1 or RAID 5 for performance. I'm a gamer.
I have Vista Ultimate 64X and I've managed to do this to myself before. The only computer around when I grew up was Univac and I've never come close to catching up. Bottom line is that every web page I open including my igoogle home page has a wild array of different sized type. I've messed around with the zoom controls but haven't been able to get everything back to normal.
View 5 Replies View RelatedThe problem is that he has many many desktop folders. Under his user folder he has a Desktop folder. Click on that and there's a folder called Desktop. Click on that and another. This goes on and on for perhaps 30+ times. Worse there is another called Desktop1, with a nested array of 'Desktop' folders below. Worse still Windows Vista won't let you delete any of these because their filenames are too long. It won't let you move their location either to condense/combine them for the same reason. I don't know when the problem started or why.
View 9 Replies View RelatedAlright I bought a Toshiba Satellite A100/A105 Laptop. Well when I bought it, I tryed to get Windows onto my Laptop and did. But then I had to Defrag my whole Computer and the little sticker that was on the bottom of my Laptop with the Windows Info came off and then my Mother cleaned my room and she threw away the sticker. So I could not Activate windows.
1. is there a way to Activate windows without the Product Key? I have the Receipt when I bought the Laptop, and the box it came in and all the papers as well.
or
2. Get a new Product key without spending another $100 USD For Windows Again.
how to activate Windows Defender? I have tried all the assistance listed in this group and still cannot get Defender to work! One piece of advice was to log on to the C prompt as system administrator? I tried to right click on the prompt but there is nothing on the drop down menu that allows me to do this.
View 5 Replies View RelatedWell when I bought it, I tryed to get Windows onto my Laptop and did. But then I had to Defrag my whole Computer and the little sticker that was on the bottom of my Laptop with the Windows Info came off and then my Mother cleaned my room and she threw away the sticker. So I could not Activate windows. Now my 30 days are almost up and my Questions are....
1. is there a way to Activate windows without the Product Key? I have the Receipt when I bought the Laptop, and the box it came in and all the papers as well.
or
2. Get a new Product key without spending another $100 USD For Windows Again.
I am running two computers, both with vista ultimate. I installed/finished the 32 bit version just last week, and now i keep getting a pop up telling me I need to activate windows and change my cd key. I originally bought ultimate a year ago. how ever I do not want to go out and spend another 300$. the windows website tells me I can buy another key ( I assume for less) but everytime I plug in my CD key, I am told that the copy of windows i have is a server copy.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI had a fresh new harddrive and I installed Full version of Vista onto it. However I only had the key for an upgrade from XP. Now its asking for a Key and I cant afford a key for the full version. Is it possible to somehow just activate it by calling microsoft or something? I have XP...Well actually 2000, upgraded to XP...So I really couldnt be bothered with installing 2000 again, and then XP, and then vista.
View 9 Replies View RelatedI've got a new Dell laptop that came with bundled McCaffrie (sp?) AV and firewall. I want to install NOD32, and it's my understanding that I have to unistall the existing AV first. do I activate the new firewall (Windows) before or after I install NOD32? I am obviously new and clueless to computers and security issues.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI thought I had been able to make a backup of a Vista Ultimate System on a Raid0 array (C: partition using the standalone Acronis True Image 10 boot disk) and copy it back to a non-Raid disk. For some reason Vista will not boot correctly and the Vista boot disk Repair Option thinks about it for 5 minutes or so and then says it can't fix the problem. I know I have done this trick with WinXP and I thought I had done it with Vista. I know I can do the save/restore routine (Raid0 to Raid0) with the Acronis standalone software. what I have to do to get a Raid0 version of Vista Ultimate transferred to a non-Raid disk using all the same hardware.
I have the Vista Ultimate System on a network so I can backup to a different controller and hard drive, delete the array, reformat using Partition Magic 8.0 and restore. The only reason I am trying to do this trick is because the SATA controller on the motherboard does not support Raid Arrays and SATA DVD Drives together...and...I want to install multiple SATA DVD Drives on this system.
I have Windows Vista Ultimate. Every time I turn on my computer, little pop up windows tell me to set a password as a way to activate Parental Controls. HOWEVER, I do not need Parental Controls - I am the only user of the computer and I have not activated the Guest Account or created any other user account. And I do not want to give a password to myself? How can I stop these annoying pop up windows from popping up EVERY time I turn on my computer?
View 9 Replies View Relatedhoping some of you technical wizards can help me on this! Right i have Vista 32bit running on my Acer, Had it about 1 year now. Every so often it performs crash dumps ( a little more often then it should do actually) Last friday night it did a crash dump, then when restarting it just wouldnt....It kept showing a blank screen for about 30 minutes. then it would go to Windows Start-up repair, and just go on and on for about another 30 minutes, then tell me it couldnt find anything wrong.
I tried Loading in safe mode, with command prompt and networking help but it judt did exactly the same. I ran the memory diagnostic and found no problems. So then i restored the system to before a Windows update on the same day this all happened. Exactly the same kept happening, Some times i would get as far as logging on after about an hour of waiting. It would Log on and then just freeze. I restored to a few days before last friday and tried again, exactly the same kept happening. Then this morning it got to the log on screen. i tried logging on and it said something along the lines of 'Windows has failed to Activate. error code0x80070426' I havent got any back-ups on disk (stupid i know, i was actually going to do one before this happened) I havent got the operating system disk as the computer came pre-installed with Vista and had no Disk. I know i could probably restore the system to factory setting somehow, but i dont want to lose verything on there! There must be something i can do.
I'm have a couple of problems and I was hoping someone here could help with the solutions.
I wanted to use a raid setup with vista ultimate x64. But I had problems with my raid bios. I went ahead and installed and activated vista any way in a non raid configuration. Now that I have my raid bios issues fixed I would like to setup my raid array. The problems and questions I have are:
1. I didn't realize it but I left the bios setting for my sata set to raid. I don't have the raid set up just the setting at raid. When I change it to ahci vista won't startup and my machine reboots. If I don't want to or can't do the raid array how do I fix this? Since I've already activated vista can I reinstall it? I believe I did install the raid driver at install time.
2. If I do want to do the raid array can I do that with vista already installed on one of the drives?
I'm currently running a non-RAID setup but for convenience would like to set up a RAID 1. My C: drive is 1TB and it contains my OS and all my media files. Currently I manually back up my music and video files on a couple other dissimilar sized hard drives. Since I get new music and movies fairly frequently, the backup process is fairly tedious so I thought RAID 1 would be useful. If I went to RAID 1 could I simply add another 1TB HD and would all my data automatically copy? Or would I basically have to back up all my data from the 1TB drive, reformat, add the new drive, and perform a fresh Vista install with RAID 1 enabled, then copy everything from the backup drives to the RAID 1 array?
View 5 Replies View RelatedI have a set up with RAID 0. I want to install Ubuntu on an external drive. I have read a post in the Ubuntu forums about disconnecting all internal hard drives and only using the attached external drive to install the OS. My question is if I disconnect the RAID-ed drives, will the RAID remain intact after the external drive OS install and the reconnection of the RAID-ed drives? Or will I damage the RAID and have to reinstall my Windows OS?
System specs: ASUS M2A-VM mobo, Athlon 64x2 5400, ATI RAID utility, Vista Home Premium x64, Catalyst 8.9
I don't kno all that much about HD drives and RAID.. I'm not sure what to do here, but I have my main HD in my new system.. it's a 500GB Seagate Cuda the 32mb Cache 7200.(11) version.. it's a pretty good HD I've read. and currently just plugged in.. no special way or RAID setting or anything. I also have my old computers 250GB HD in here. I moved everything over from my old PC.. and just been lazy and have not taken the 250GB out.. well now I'm going to take it out.. and sell that computer... and from a freind I'm getting a deal on a 250GB HD..
So my question is what can I do with it.. What advantages can I get with using RAID 0 or 1 or whatever. it's a 250GB Spinpoint Drive. I don't kno what RAIDS all about.. how much performance will I gain with it.. whats the best way to hook it all up? I want to have my stuff backed up.. not everything. but the important stuff thats on my 500 I want to have on this new 250 I'm getting.
My pc was configured in raid5 but I lost all the data. Since then I decided to go back to the classic drive C,D,E each by themselves. The point is that things are going slow / sometimes I try to access drive D with music and there is a significant latency in the hdd response. I can even hear the sleepy drive waking up. I might want to aim to high but here is what I dream to do.
1. I want to go back to a raid configuration in which all those hdd(i have 3x 500 sata) to work hard for me.
2. Find a way to add the fourth one in which to save important data. I case of crash to reinstall vista and all the soft without losing all my projects. I am doing video editing.
My motherboard has a sata external connector. What would you guys do with this configuration in order to set up a raid. Don t tell me trash it 'cause i won t. I paid more than 4000 bucks last year. Today might value less than 2000 ( hurts so bad). This is another reason I want to squeeze as much as possible from what I have.......
what exactly is RAID MODE. i mean i have seen it in my BIOS and all. can u guys check my HDD and see if it supports a RAID SETUP. i heard you can get better ratings with RAID. right now it is just hooked up via sata cable. Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
View 5 Replies View RelatedI installed Vista recently doing a fresh install. When i did it, it only had 1 drive visible when i have 2 of the same drives. In my bios i do not have the drives turned on to RAID i just have them in their naitive modes. I installed Vista and now it set up a RAID 1 all by itself. Has my C Drive as MIRROR[0][2] SCSI Disk Device. Now i want to stop this so i can use the other drive. Can i do this with out a reinstall? Or what would happen if i whipped on drive then plugged it back in , would this clear the other as well?
View 4 Replies View RelatedMade image of disk using Macrium Reflect Restart and setup Raid in Bios, then using ctrl-i, use Intel Matrix Storage RAID to make Raid0. Then using Reflect I restore the image. But when I then reboot I get a very fast BSOD and Vista won't boot. In safe mode it seems to lock when loading crcdisk.sys. After doing alot of research it seems that I may need Raid drivers. So question is how can I instal the Raid drivers without losing all my data? I don't want to reinstall windows.
View 4 Replies View RelatedI read something on another forum about if you are using x86 and want to upgrade to x64 you can use the same key to activate both . Any truth in that at all ? I have OEM and not boxed retail.
View 3 Replies View RelatedManaged to kill my raid 0, 1 terabyte games drive today. Absolutely shattered. Maybe ten hours worth of installs on that drive. To say that I am upset is an understatement. You live and learn. Will be purchasing an extra backup drive exclusively for backing up this drive. Never will I feel this pain again
View 9 Replies View RelatedI recently purchased a HP Pavilion M8430F - It came with a single 750 Gig drive and has Vista x64 installed, - I added a second 320 Gig Drive that had data only on it - Recently i have saved all that data to the Vista drive now i would like to install XP Pro on the smaller drive and dual boot them both - OK Vista runs fine XP install Crashes - my onboard Sata Controler is set to Raid that is the only way vista will boot - if i switch it to IDE i can install and run XP but like i said vista will not boot-up switch it back to raid and Vista will boot XP will give a blue screen - The pc came with a single drive and the default setting in the bios is RAID
View 9 Replies View RelatedNoob person needs help setting up RAID 1. I have the following hardware and I would like some help in turning this into a RAID 1 storage vault. Two (2) Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 32MB HD (WD10EADS) Vantec NexStar MX (NST-400MX-SR),Switching Jumper 1&2 are ON,Switching Jumper 3&4 are OFF, At the moment, both drives are up and running.
View 5 Replies View RelatedShortly after installing Vista SP1 I have started to get message "a drive in Raid 0 is failing". This sounds bad. I have tried running checkdisk on my hard drive but it does not show any problems. If I reinstall the OS from scratch, will it fix the problem? Or is this a hardware problem?
View 6 Replies View RelatedI posted in another thread with a similar topic. In that thread i got my SATA drives setup in a RAID 0 configuration. Now i would like to setup my 3 IDE drives the same way. I am using a VIA software RAID utility for my SATA's. I have no idea where to start. I searched the internet and it seems most of this is only done with Linux boxes. Can anyone point me to a tutorial on how to setup an IDE RAID 0, Right now in my BIOS i have the SATA ports set to RAID and not IDE, will this make a difference? I have 2 drives on one IDE bus and 1 plus my dvd drive on another IDE bus. Both buses connect to my motherboard. How can i get my IDE drives to show up in my VIA RAID utility?
View 5 Replies View RelatedIs there a way to use the upgrade ability of Vista to upgrade xp pro to Vista Business without having to do a fresh install?
View 4 Replies View Relatedi have Windows Vista Ultimate. I activated it once. Now i am going to buy a new PC and i want to activate my Vista on this new PC. Is it possible, or i have to buy a new Vista for that?
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