Can a recovery disk for Vista be used to upgrade a desktop with XP already installed?

Published November 20, 2010

Question by 4zeus1: Can a recovery disk for Vista be used to upgrade a desktop with XP already installed?
I just bought a new laptop that came with two recovery disks on DVDR. I also have a desktop with Windows XP installed. Can I use the Vista operating system on the disks to update my desktop to run Vista? Ask if you need more details.

Best answer:

Answer by Elvis Parsley
No. Most recovery disks are model/brand specific and will only work on the system they were made for. The drivers will be the wrong ones for the desktop. Also, you need a COA number to authenticate the install and the computer registers that with Microsoft so you can get updates. If you do a second install, you don’t have another COA so Microsoft will not activate the install on the desktop anyway

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