Factory Vista/XPLite slimmed down os/recovery partition

Fysh wrote: »

It depends.

The recovery CDs you have may be full OEM installation media (ie you boot from them and run through a normal Vista install) or they might be imaging media (ie you boot from them and they automatically wipe your drive and copy across a clean Vista install, without allowing you any input into drive partitioning etc).

If you've got the first kind of media, you can wipe your disk and start from scratch (ie partition disk as desired, install XP, then install Vista, then sort out bootloader).

If you've got the second kind of media, you have to put Vista on first and work from there, which is a bit more involved and tedious. Nothing much you can do about it though.

As for product keys and "downloading" a Vista DVD, that's dodgy territory for several reasons. One is that you'll have an OEM product key, which will only work on OEM media. Another is that it will be locked to the edition of Vista originally supplied with your laptop. And last but not least is the risk of getting a compromised (ie laced with malware/trojans/keyloggers/whatever) version of installation media. It's safer and far less hasle to use original legitimate installation media.

The third partition is really up to you. If you want to have a partition where you can store files and access them from Vista or XP without hassle, it's the best way. But if you'll only ever be accessing files on your XP partition from Vista (and never the other way around) it may be pointless extra work.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-compaq-voodoo-pc/120228-clean-vista-install-no-activation.html wrote:

There are many types of Vista discs out there, here is the "official" terminology of what they mean (each of these discs come in 2 versions, 32bit and 64bit):

• Anytime Upgrade Disc This disc contains all versions of Vista, unmodified as Microsoft is shipping it. It is sometimes included for free with your system, or can be purchased online for under $10. This purchase price does NOT include a license or serial number, it is only the installation media. It is intended so you can upgrade from one version of Vista to another by purchasing a license online. This is the type of disc you need to do a clean install.
• Recovery Disc These disc(s) contain an image of your computer as of when you got it. They can be used to restore your system to the EXACT state as when you first opened the box and turned it on for the first time. Vista is on these discs, but so is all the bloatware. The images are encrypted, and cannot be modified to be used for a clean install. It's best to burn these for yourself using the included recovery disc creation tools, but you can also usually buy them.
• Vista Retail Disc These discs are the ones you buy at the store in a shiny Vista box. They include a license and serial number for a particular version of Vista. The contents of the disc are IDENTICAL to the contents of the Anytime Upgrade Discs. These discs are expensive because you are buying a license along with them. You already have a license for Vista on your laptop, so there's no need to buy another one to do a clean install.
• OEM Vista Disc These discs sometimes get shipped with your system, and are IDENTICAL to the Vista Retail and Anytime Upgrade discs. The main difference here is in the licensing from the OEM (HP, Dell, etc...).
• CUSTOM OEM Vista Disc These seems to be showing up more recently, especially with Dell systems. Some OEMs ship Vista discs that have been modified to include changes such as forcing the disc to only install a certain Vista version, and also include integrated drivers. You can probably do a clean install with them, but you might need to modify the disc before you do it. See the next section for details.