Adrian Fogge Posted February 6, 2007 Share Posted February 6, 2007 Starting off the day yesterday, I needed to get a copy of Vista because my company is moving to it in a few months, and needs our programs to work under it. So, first thing I did was went online to the Windows Marketplace and downloaded a copy directly from there because then I would not need to make a trip into the city (56 miles to my nearest Circuit City or Best Buy... one way). So, it "downloaded" just fine, even verified through Microsoft's Digital Locker Utility. So, next up I decided to actually install it on my Macbook Pro (was and still is running XP). I ran the VistaSetupPrep.exe file that would actually build the installation DVD for me (just extracts the files from a Zip archive to their appropriate locations), and all of the sudded... ERROR! Windows Vista Setup Preparation Can not extract Windows Vista Setup to your hard drive. Please ensure that you can create files and folders in the same folder where VistaSetupPrep.exe was downloaded. For product support return to your Digital Locker and view Purchase History to click on the support link for Windows Vista. See http://digitallocker.windowsmarketplace.com/Help.aspx for more information. So, the first thing I do is make sure that I actually have write access to my Desktop... yep. Then, I get on the phone with Windows Marketplace Customer Support and tell them about the problem, at which point they say "We do not deal with those issues, please hold while I transfer you to Microsoft Windows Vista Installation Support." Okay, fine... So, I talk to Microsoft's Installation Support and tell them about the whole situation, and then they come to the decision that it was really an issue with the Vista Setup Prep program, as I downloaded it 3 separate times now from 2 different computers using both the Digital Locker Utility and Internet Explorer. They send me back over to Windows Marketplace because it "is not an issue that we have any control over." Okay, fine... So, now I am talking to Windows Marketplace Customer Support, with the Microsoft Level 3 Installation Support Technician, and we are telling their Level 3 Customer Support Lead that it is an issue with the file mirrored to Windows Marketplace, to which we are told, no you are wrong. In turn, we got the Level 3 Customer Support Lead to actually get us an MD5 Sum for the Vista Setup Prep program, and it matched what I had downloaded, to which the Level 3 Customer Support Lead told us that there is no problem with the file on the server because the MD5 Sum matches the one that I have downloaded... (There was silence for a good 10 seconds). Then, Microsoft's Level 3 Installation Support Technician tells the other guy that "If this guy is having a problem, and my copy that I just bought with my credit card while I have been on the phone with you is having a problem, and both match the MD5 sums that you are telling us, then the problem is with the file on YOUR server." In the end, Windows Marketplace said "we are sorry, but there is nothing that we can do." They would not offer a refund because they could not invalidate the product key that I was already given, and if I were to find a "working" installation source, it would work. What I purchased was the License to use Windows Vista Ultimate x64, not the actual installation data. 10 more seconds of silence. After which, "Thank you for calling Windows Marketplace Customer Support, have a wonderful day." (click) In the end, no money back, no working product, shipping an actual disc that I could use... Nothing. Literally, a whole day wasted because I thought "Hey, let me save some time and do this while I am at work... It is for work anyways!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartboy919 Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 (edited) You got the 64 bit version? That is your first mistake, I will bet you, if you get an ISO of Vista (Demonoid/pirate bay) And use your key, it should work. But make sure you get the 64 bit. Edited February 7, 2007 by Bartboy919 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erbic Posted February 7, 2007 Share Posted February 7, 2007 Yeah... you have a supposedly valid product key, so... why not? At least you paid for it. It's still in a legal gray area, but not nearly as much so as if you didn't have a key in the first place. Better hope M$ didn't screw up the keys again. Everyone who ordered the "Family Discount" package got sent invalid keys, and I had to wait 3 days for M$ to fix it. Damn them. BTW, the keys are the same for the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Vista Ultimate. When I bought my Ultimate package, it came with one key. I've successfully used that key to install the 32 version, then reformatted and went 64-bit with the same key. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 The whole idea of needing to pirate Windows all so that I can use my perfectly valid, legitimate license is pretty... messed up... yea, that was the word I was thinking of; messed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sHARD>> Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 How much free hard drive space do you have? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erbic Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 The whole idea of needing to pirate Windows all so that I can use my perfectly valid, legitimate license is pretty... messed up... yea, that was the word I was thinking of; messed. Hell, you paid for it. You're just acquiring the CD through... alternate means. :pirate2: Yeah, I know that argument is inherently flawed. You want justification, I'm giving something that could almost pass as justification.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sHARD>> Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Hell, you paid for it. You're just acquiring the CD through... alternate means. :pirate2: Yeah, I know that argument is inherently flawed. You want justification, I'm giving something that could almost pass as justification.. Well that should be legal. Unfortunately it's not. Alas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Have a 160GB hard drive in my MBP that I was trying to do the install on. Whole thing partitioned as NTFS with a 2.6 GB Windows XP installation with all updates installed including all drivers, working out of the My Documents Directory. So, it is obviously not a write issue. VistaSetupPrep.exe created most of the files anyways. Well, I talked a coworker into bringing in his Vista DVD to work and making a copy for me. Yep, doing exactly what Microsoft says that you will go to hell over, that and make angels cry, kill a farie, and all those other cliches that serve to make you feel like a bad person. Or in more recent and realistic terms if you happen to live in Russia: being sent to the Gulag. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gid501 Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 Adrian, german heise magazine has some infomration on it: http://www.heise.de/newsticker/meldung/84983 seems you're not alone --- bottom line is, at least they are warning you right now no solution whatsoever is available cheers, gid Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 8, 2007 Author Share Posted February 8, 2007 Das saugt. Mindestens ich bin nicht allein. ~Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gid501 Posted February 8, 2007 Share Posted February 8, 2007 guten tag! yep, so i guess they'll be coming around with a fix for it once media attention is there. again it is so much better to be on the mac side - here we never even complained that we don't actually GET a 64bit operating system (*cough* cli only *cough*) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandmanfvrga Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 WAIT. Your NTFS partition is 2.6 gigs? Could it be that you don't have enough space? Not trying to make fun of you, just wondering. I mean how big if the f'ing file you downloaded? You need space for it to write to the hard drive and burn to DVD.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 9, 2007 Author Share Posted February 9, 2007 No, that was the whole thing partitoned as NTFS (implying 160 GB NTFS Partition) with 2.6 GB in use as a Windows XP installation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kousotsu Posted February 9, 2007 Share Posted February 9, 2007 which other ways have you downloaded this thing. Firefox? any other kind of download tool? I use firefox with GetRight. Very rarely get errors on big downloads. Unless your internet connection is flacky. Just some of my thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 10, 2007 Author Share Posted February 10, 2007 Tried three times with Microsoft's Digital Locker Utility, once with Internet Explorer 7, once with Mozilla Firefox, once with Safari. Done from several different computers, tried extracting on several different computers. It is a problem with the file on their server, that was the point. I have still tried downloading every day because hey, maybe they would actually bother fixing something that was reported to them as being wrong. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartboy919 Posted February 10, 2007 Share Posted February 10, 2007 Just pirate the X64 version on Demonoid, or go to the hotfix.net and get it there. Don't go through all this trouble of wasting your time on money and not getting the product you want. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrian Fogge Posted February 11, 2007 Author Share Posted February 11, 2007 I ended up doing just that... I mean, I did nothing of the sort! Yea, I just tried downloading from Demono... I mean Digital Locker one more time and finally was able to install. Yea, that was it. Finally running Vista now on my MBP in a dual boot, and I can not believe how many bugs I have already found... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Suzuka Posted February 11, 2007 Share Posted February 11, 2007 wow, MS messed up big, the least they could have done was send you an installation disk with the same product key Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bartboy919 Posted February 12, 2007 Share Posted February 12, 2007 I ended up doing just that... I mean, I did nothing of the sort! Yea, I just tried downloading from Demono... I mean Digital Locker one more time and finally was able to install. Yea, that was it. Finally running Vista now on my MBP in a dual boot, and I can not believe how many bugs I have already found... So it worked? If 64-bit isnt for you, 32-bit is MUCH better. Im sure the X86 version should run on the same key Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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