Microsoft KB Archive/930375

Knowledge Base

Error message when you try to use a Windows Anytime Upgrade product key during a clean installation of Windows Vista: "To use the product key you entered, start the installation from your existing version of Windows"

Article ID: 930375

Article Last Modified on 3/15/2007

---

APPLIES TO

• Windows Vista Business
• Windows Vista Business N 64-bit Edition
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit edition
• Windows Vista Home Basic
• Windows Vista Home Basic N 64-bit Edition
• Windows Vista Starter

---

SYMPTOMS

When you try to use a Windows Anytime Upgrade (WAU) product key during a clean installation of Windows Vista, you receive an error message that resembles the following:

To use the product key you entered, start the installation from your existing version of Windows.

CAUSE

This issue occurs because you cannot use a WAU product key to perform a clean installation of Windows Vista.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Obtain the WAU product key from the Digital License Package (DLP).
2. Continue with the WAU process.

MORE INFORMATION

If you are trying to recover from a computer crash or a hardware failure, use the computer's recovery solution to recover the base operating system. Then, follow the steps in the "Resolution" section.

Note The WAU DLP contains 25-character product keys. These product keys are wrapped in XML, and you can extract them.

Keywords: kbexpertisebeginner kbtshoot KB930375

---

Send feedback to Microsoft

© Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.