Uni gave my Vista Ultimate 32-bit upgrade, want 64-bit

T

TwistedJester

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Jun 15, 2005
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Here's the deal: My university listed on its CSSD site that it provides Vista Ultimate for free for students, so I picked it up as I'd like to bump myself up to 4 gigs of RAM. I assumed it would be like the retail release and allow both 32-bit install as well as 64-bit. Upon getting it, I find out it's an upgrade disc and only has the code for the 32-bit version.

What I want is to have Ultimate 64-bit running on my machine. Am I boned here, or is there some way in which I can achieve my goal? Could I use my CD-Key to get a 64-bit install DVD through Microsoft's website?
 
you can use the CD key, call up microsoft and have em send you another 64 bit disk.

or you can download it from technet if you have a sub.

or you can get it a little less legally.

Your uni probably gave you an enterprise disk.. so any of those enterprise ultimate disks that are chilling on those FTP servers and torrents will work.
 
RadiationBoy said:
if you have the vaild 32bit key you can get the 64bit dvd sent to you for 10bucks plus shipping at:

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/1033/ordermedia/


-rad
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I tried multiple times on that site, and it keeps loading the page where you enter the cd key/bot test after I enter the key with the following up top: "We're sorry, the following error(s) have occurred: No offer found."

Which doesn't exactly tell me what is wrong here.

Is it possible Microsoft only accepts retail keys for this service?

EDIT: After poking around, it seems this service is only for retail keys. Apparently my key is considered an OEM one.
 
Make nice with an IT person or professor? They may have it.

My uni has a repository for ISO's for students (each student gets 1 key for everything offered until they graduate); if you know someone who works there they may have a repository with "discontinued" or products that aren't generally offered.

For instance, my school stopped offering XP to students, but our keys are still viable and techs still have access to the ISO's as all of our labs run it.
 
TwistedJester said:
I tried multiple times on that site, and it keeps loading the page where you enter the cd key/bot test after I enter the key with the following up top: "We're sorry, the following error(s) have occurred: No offer found."

Which doesn't exactly tell me what is wrong here.

Is it possible Microsoft only accepts retail keys for this service?

EDIT: After poking around, it seems this service is only for retail keys. Apparently my key is considered an OEM one.
Click to expand...


oh good to know i didn't realize that, i hadn't tried it my self actually, probably wont work for mine either then. wonder if you called then or maybe the university tech people if they would help you out, seems kinda cheap to not give you the 64bit version, but who knows.
 
Imprez04 said:
or you can get it a little less legally.

Your uni probably gave you an enterprise disk.. so any of those enterprise ultimate disks that are chilling on those FTP servers and torrents will work.
Click to expand...
You explained, right there in your first statement, why such comments shouldn't be made.
RadiationBoy said:
seems kinda cheap to not give you the 64bit version, but who knows.
Click to expand...
Unless the University truly wasn't given any x64 media.
 
DeaconFrost said:
You explained, right there in your first statement, why such comments shouldn't be made.

Unless the University truly wasn't given any x64 media.
Click to expand...

I have the exact same disk he was provided with, and the key won't work with ANY 64 Bit that I have tried. I get the same message from the site above, and I've tried my retail media (purchased later) and several I downloaded. The key is apparently only for 32bit, yet it is called "Ultimate" :rolleyes:
 
You are confusing the website with the actual media. Your key will work fine with x64 media, if you can borrow it from a friend. Only retail keys are accepted on the website, because if you have an OEM key, you are supposed to go back to your OEM and ask for the x64 media. That's what OEM means, in terms of support, that MS passes it along to the OEM to handle.
 
If you purchase an OEM or System Builder copy (basically OEM as well but totally unbranded) of Vista 32 bit (any edition) it's been my understanding - and my answer when proposed to a Microsoft rep - that the offer to purchase the 64 bit installation media from Microsoft isn't valid for whatever reason which wasn't made completely clear.

The rep I spoke with recently at a seminar here in Vegas (was an event that had some workshops related primarily to system builders and licensing concerns) was that Microsoft doesn't "officially" sell OEM/System Builder copies to just any consumer so, since we're not dealing with retail purchases which have completely different licensing terms in such respects, they don't offer the ability to buy the 64 bit installation DVD from that website where you input the key.

If you go there, and you input the OEM/System Builder key from the copy you have, the error the OP is getting; it'll flake out and give an error and never complete the process because they don't offer the service for OEM/System Builder editions - you have to purchase the actual 64 bit installation media when you buy Vista in the first place. That's why OEM/System Builder editions come in both flavors, so you have to make the choice at the time of purchase.

I won't say this is the 100% accurate way, but in my own experience, with a few NFR copies (works like System Builder copies) of Vista here that I have, 2 32 bit copies of Vista Business and 1 32 bit copy of Ultimate, I have attempted to buy the 64 installation media from that site by inputting the Product Key and... tada... I get the same error the OP has. So that's my basis for making the conclusion I've come to, as well as that response from the Microsoft rep.

Who knows...
 
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