Can you use the Vista CD from Dell more than once?

My friend just got a new Dell laptop preloaded with Vista Home Premium. It also came with a disc of Vista. So does anyone know what this disc is or how many times you can use it?

Can you use the Vista CD from Dell more than once?bmw

The deal is this - you can install it on two computers. However, it can only be activated on one computer at a time. The reason for this is that if you make significant hardware upgrades it will be interpreted as a second computer, and so they set it up like this so you can do hardware upgrades without purchasing a new copy of Vista. But it will deactivate the first version (which makes sense if you're installing it twice on the same computer) and only activate the second copy.

So what it really comes down to is activation. When you install Vista, you have 30 days to activate it. When you do this, it connects to the microsoft server and makes sure that this version hasn't been used already. If it has, it won't activate. You have 30 days of use before it goes into reduced functionality mode, where it deletes your start menu and all desktop shortcuts and won't do anything but connect you to the microsoft site to purchase a legal copy.

If your friend's computer has Vista installed on it, it's probably been activated. If you install it on your computer, it will either deactivate his copy (meaning he has 30 days of use) or refuse to activate on your computer. Plus neither of you will be able to reinstall it since it's already attempted to activate twice. Or, they may mark that serial number as pirated and not let either of you activate.