Install DigitalPersona on Dell with Windows 8 (Dell Personal required workaround)

 Windows Guides  2 Responses »
Jun 012014
 

I just upgraded my laptop from Windows 7 to Windows 8, and in the process, I was required to uninstall DigitalPersona since it is not compatible with Windows 8. I expected to be able to download a newer version from Dell after the upgrade completed, but that’s not the case. You may be able to apply this update before upgrading, but I didn’t try beforehand.

  1. Visit My Dell Downloads and download DigitalPersona. You may need to register your laptop using Internet Explorer to get a list of software
  2. Install DigitalPersona and restart your computer
  3. Right-click on this link and select Save File As or Save Link As
  4. After you save the file, double-click it to add the changes to the registry. This creates a key that the DigitalPersona installer looks for. If it’s not found, it throws the Dell Personal not installed error
  5. Download either the 32-bit or 64-bit DigitalPersona v6.2.1.309 installer (originally from a forum post here)
  6. Restart your computer
  7. DigitalPersona should now be working. You may need to enroll your finger prints still

Additional information:
The DigitalPersona upgrade checks the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\DigitalPersona\Products\Personal\OEM for the value 020. If the key is missing, which was the case on my computer and apparently other peoples, the installer stops reporting a “Dell Personal is not installed. This package can only be installed as an upgrade.” error. The above instructions add that registry key so the installer will work. Additionally, you can use Orca to remove the Dell Personal check launch condition from the installer MSI.

How to Anytime Upgrade Windows 7 using a MSDN Key

 Windows Guides  No Responses »
Oct 192012
 

If you try putting an MSDN key into Anytime Upgrade, it will get started on the upgrade process then eventually fail telling you the key you entered cannot be used for Anytime Upgrade. The trick is to use some other key for the same version. This key, though, does not have to activate. I wanted to upgrade from Home to Professional. Luckily I had my Dell Laptop came with Windows 7 Professional.

  1. Run Anytime Upgrade with any key for the version you want to upgrade to (OEM keys work)
  2. After the computer restarts and updates, run slmgr.vbs /cpky to delete the product key
    slmgr.vbs is available on the internet, on Professional machines, and is probably located somewhere on the install medium
  3. Run slmgr.vbs /ipk XXXX-PRODUCT-KEY-HERE-XXXX
  4. Now slmgr.vbs /ato to activate it

** Each command may take a few minutes to finish even though it looks like it goes through instantly. A dialogue box will open with the results when the command has actually completed.

I highly recommend making a disk image before trying this process in case something breaks in the process. You can use Clonezilla, Acronis, Norton Ghost, among many other programs. There are plenty of guides online