Win 7

Your obviously offay with the whole Windows instaillation process, I would recommend downloading the Windows 10 Technical Preview wack it onto a Pen Drive, utility I use to put ISO onto PD's which makes them bootable is called Rufus but there are plenty out there...

Not installed mine yet so have no idea how long you would get from it...

Regarding your current installation, if you still want to keep Windows 7 I personally would re-install whole drive, not sure what DBAM is but during instalation I normally drop partitions and re-apply works for me. Then once installed again use a Loader, again loads about....

Hope this helps
 
I think I'll steer clear of removewat and the keys...

:cry:

Hi EFC

DBAN is a high security multi pass disk wipe utility.
 
Create a partition on your hard drive and move all your data to it, then set all data sources (Word, excel etc) to save to that drive. You can then reformat your C drive and install a new op.system. without losing your data. Its also worth changing your e-mail storage to a simple named file (I named mine as "emailstore") It is then easy to save this to any drive/dvd/mem stick, for recovery in case of disaster.
 
The system has hardly been up long.

I'm not going to lose too much worth saving.

Having said that, from a hassle POV, I'd rather not reinstall a load of stuff.

But I have been told that in order to keep the existing install, I would have to buy the EXACT SAME copy of Win 7. The nearest I can find (that is kosher AND at a price that does not ascend your testicles) has SP1, whereas my copy does not. Will this matter?

I don't want to shell out to find it won't work. In that case, I'd rather choose a different OS.
 
But I have been told that in order to keep the existing install, I would have to buy the EXACT SAME copy of Win 7

You are talking about buying a copy of windows?

You should have a disc/s that just repairs the install.

It either comes with the computer, or when you first start up windows, it shoves several messages in your face telling you to create one, which you did not at all close and ignore did you.......
 
If you really want bloatfree fully legal copy of Win7 use the DigitalRiver address from my earlier post.
You will need a valid key - Surely the key is the problem ?

...Windows 7 product key determines only the edition (Starter, Home Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate, Enterprise). It can, however, activate both 32 and 64 bit editions in any language. So, for instance, a key for the German Windows 7 Professional x86 edition can activate a Chinese Windows 7 Professional x64 edition. So if you already own a key, it can also activate some other Win 7 versions downloaded from Digital River.

The *.iso downloads come in two different shapes, as bootable disks, and as non bootable disks. Whereas the non bootable disks can only install the edition they're labeled with, the bootable disks can very easily be converted into universal installation media supporting all Windows 7 editions (except Enterprise). There's only a single file that needs to be removed on the DVD. The file named ei.cfg in the sources folder restricts the choice of Windows editions that can be installed with that particular DVD. To remove it, you can apply the ei.cfg Removal Utility very easily...


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Thanks AS.

The Windows is confirmed counterfeit by MS themselves. I have to make it legitimate by purchasing another copy.

The recovery disc will not help me.

Hi pipme

The actual software on the machine I think is OK, it's just the fact that the key with it has been rejected and consequently I cannot get it authorised.

But I am told that as long as I buy another copy of Win 7 "EXACTLY THE SAME" as the one I have, the new key should work on the dodgy install.

However, herein lies my problem:

1. I would rather leave the HDD intact, hence keenness to try to work with existing copy of Win 7..

2. The replacement OS is SP1 whereas existing is not. Will this cause the key to be rejected?
 
But if you 'buy' a copy it should come with a valid 'key'.
I think I am right in stating you do not buy win7 OS - ok, you may pay if you ask MS for a replacement disc - no doubt.
I do actually know that the downloads from DigitalRiver are not a rip off, you will not be in trouble for downloading a copy of win7 from there, in fact you will be 'laughing' No crud, no bloat just pristine bootable iso file.
Do some due diligence on the site - you could be pleasantly surprised, then possibly mortified to find you will need a valid key or a valid but naughty loader.

I couldn't beleive it some years ago when an IT friend suggested the same to me.
Do it and try your key. Just takes some care to find the correct Win version to match the key (not talking random attempts)- I reckon it is the key which is key :D to the whole scenario.

The 'My Digital Life' website has some (not all) brilliant contributors.
Some knowledgeable peeps there.

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Ellal advises using remove-wat. Do so at your own peril. This program comes bundled with malware. Once installed, some of it is very difficult to remove from your computer and can hijack your browser, re-direct web pages etc. :wink: :wink:
 
SS stick yer wotsit in here and check the result.
The site was a little slow presenting the page, ok after that.

http://d-fault.nl/PidCheck.aspx

I checked a known valid Win7 home premium key, the resultant info' was correct.

[GALLERY=media, 83701][/GALLERY]

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Update:

Thanks folks.

Unfortunately this is one of those updates like on Homes Under The Hammer where they go back and there's been no changes...

I did use your Pid service before it went down, pip.

It came back with corrupt, or something similar.

So I'm looking into either buying a copy of Win 7 Pro or Win 8.1 (and tweaking it to work more like Win 7) or waiting for Win 10.

Apparently, word on the net is that even hooky copies of Win 7 and 8 will be allowed a free upgrade to Win 10 bt I don't know how true this is.

However, son does not fancy losing all his programs, so in that case, the only foolproof way would be to buy the same again and use the PK to validate the hooky copy already installed.

Decisions, decisions!
 
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