Need to reinstall Windows

littlerock

gOH has major problems with his PC and it looks as if he will need to reinstall Windows (windows 7 pro.). The PC came from an OEM with Windows pre installed and an MS certificate of authenticity , with the product key, stuck on the side of the case.

However he does not have a Windows 7 reinstallation. or recovery disk. I have a Windows 7 pro recovery disk for my PC - which is from a different OEM. Can we use my disk in his pc and enter his Product key, when prompted, (from his C of A,) or does the authentication process match the product key on the disk on disk with that entered?

How does it normally work if you need to reinstall the OS? He cannot download a replacement OS onto his pc as it is not working.

Neil_Jones

Any version of Windows disk will work with any machine providing they match the licence. A Home Premium disk will work with any Home Premium licence for example, same with Pro and Ultimate.

You can download one here, just burn the ISO image to a disk then boot off it:
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7

Laz123

You mean it doesn't boot up at all? If it can boot into safemode by tapping F8 there are fixes.

DoaM

You can use any Win 7 disk, as long as it has the necessary files on it. (I may be wrong, but I think - other than Enterprise - all Win 7 disks had all versions, and the version that got installed depended on the CoA).

tl;dr ... use your disk.

Le_Kirk

If it came with Windows pre-installed, is there a recovery partition somewhere that will enable a ..... well, recovery?

System

Hi

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7

If you try the key(s) that they have and download from the above it should be clear whether it will work or not. I think YES.

Make a small extra partition, about 6 gigs on the HDD and put a copy there as well as a DVD so you have a chance next time.

WAYT

littlerock wrote: »

gOH has major problems with his PC and it looks as if he will need to reinstall Windows (windows 7 pro.). The PC came from an OEM with Windows pre installed and an MS certificate of authenticity , with the product key, stuck on the side of the case.

However he does not have a Windows 7 reinstallation. or recovery disk. I have a Windows 7 pro recovery disk for my PC - which is from a different OEM. Can we use my disk in his pc and enter his Product key, when prompted, (from his C of A,) or does the authentication process match the product key on the disk on disk with that entered?

How does it normally work if you need to reinstall the OS? He cannot download a replacement OS onto his pc as it is not working.

Brand name and model number of PC?

littlerock

just to say, wonder of wonders, we have found the original recovery disk supplied with the pc originally.

Heedtheadvice

As intimated in other posts, perhaps better to describe your problem (and the hardware it is on) before taking the leap in the dark by assuming you need a Windows reinstall !!!! (Here I presume that you are in fact assuming....)

What actually is wrong?
It could be something simple that you will get advice on how to fix on here (and save going all the way back to factory versions of Windows and loose programs (maybe even data?))
Or be wasting effort if a Windows reinstall does not work such as if you have a faulty disk.

A bit of diagnosis could be well worth it!!!

littlerock

have taken it into local it repair shop and using laptop while waiting for diagnosis

grumpycrab

littlerock wrote: »

have taken it into local it repair shop and using laptop while waiting for diagnosis

What major problems did the original recovery disk not fix?