Microsoft is really dumb. You know why? Because they host their latest and greatest operating system on a site that they don't own. And when the time comes when the links to the files are leaked, they can't do a damn thing. And guess what? They've been leaked. Below are the three exact files that you would get if you paid for them from Microsoft. But guess what? They're free:

http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent....86/install.wim

http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent..../i386/boot.wim

http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent..../X13-49120.exe

Now, it's a long and gruelling process to get your copy of Vista, but it's well worth it. Here are the steps:

To upgrade from a previous copy of Windows:
1. Download all three files (mind you, the first file is 2.3 GIGABYTES (that's with a *G* and so it takes a while) into your root drive (usually C:\).
2. Run "X13-49120.exe" and you'll get a folder called "Vista."
3. Follow the instructions.

To install fresh:
1. Do steps one and two.
2. Exit the setup that will pop up.
3. Get a free ISO compiler (the internet is fraught with them).
4. Compile all of the files in the folder "Vista" into an ISO file.
5. Burn that image onto a DVD (it will *NOT* fit on a CD).
6. Reboot.
7. Follow the instructions.

Okay, now you're probably wondering, "But Saj, there are several versions of Vista! Which one is this?" And I answer you: ALL OF THEM. Microsoft made yet *another* mistake by putting all of the versions of Vista onto the same set of files. It will ask you which one you "bought." You pick which one depending on your computer and your wants/needs. I recommend either Ultimate or Home Premium.

Once you've chosen which one, you'll see a place where it says to put your serial number. But guess what? You don't have one. HOWEVER! You *do* have a serial number cracker that you will run *after* you install Vista that works for any version you choose. And here it is:

http://upload2.net/page/download/tbo...vator.zip.html

I just did this for the third time and it took me a little over four hours in all. But, my predicament was probably unlike anything y'all'll encounter.

Sweet, thanks. My version of windows is a dell copy, and blows ass. Would love to have the M$ version. Plus I need a good version to at least see if I can fix this one.

What about WGA? I take it the serial cracker fixes that problem too?

Edit: damn, cracker didn't fix my WGA problem.. sad..

Indeed it does. Mind you, I haven't tried to get around WGA on Vista (all the programs I wanted from Microsoft came with it), but I did on my (also free) version of XP Pro from the same crack, and was able to download WMP 11. So I'd be willing to bet that it works.

Eh, looks like the crack is failing to install on my machine right now. Granted it's been up and running for sometime now... Maybe the crack only works on fresh installs.

You ran the Vista Crack batch file, right? If so, what went wrong?

Extracted it all out, ran "Crack Vista.bat" and then all it said was "Crack failed to install"

why do all of that when Linux is free and better ?

That might be my fault. Lemme see if I can find the original folder online for you.

Because I can't find a build other than Gentoo that runs 64-bit. And because I game, and don't need an emulator slowing down my API's.

Get XP Pro. It runs better than Vista and supports all of your gaming.

Common misconception about Intel / AMD 64. There are very few chips out there that are true 64bit... meaning, they're all x86-64.. meaning, any copy of Windows (be it 32bit or 64bit) will run, fine. The same goes for Linux. I have copies of 32bit Ubuntu and 32bit Back|Track 3 running on an AMD64 core.