Reinstalling Windows 7 No Discs
Sep 5, 2012
So it has come to the point where I can FINALLY get an SSD (and I look forward to it very much), however I've come across what could be a little problem.I want to fresh install everything on the SSD (my computer is so long overdue a reformat it's disgraceful), however I can't find/never had the discs for windows 7.When I bought the computer it came with windows vista Home Premium, with an eligibility for free upgrade to W7 home premium. I duly upgraded to windows 7 of course and all has been dandy since (maybe 2 years now, that's how long I've not reformatted for!).But now, I can't find a disc for windows 7 anywhere, I have the Vista Home Premium disc, which has the W7 upgrade slip inside with a serial number on, but no W7 disc is to be found. I'm pretty OCD about keeping my software discs and general 'important stuff' together, so I'm beginning to think it may have been a digital download?Either way, whether I have lost it or never had it, how can I go about reinstalling windows7, preferably without buying it again... I'm guessing downloading an .ISO and creating a bootable disc, provided I can find my cd-key?
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Nov 9, 2011
The other day my computer was infected with "FakeSysDef" virus. "Microsoft Safety Scanner" detected it, and cleaned it(MS Security essentials and MS Malicious Program Removal Tool both failed though). I didn't realize that a browser hijack/redirector was left behind, so in the middle of the night another virus named "Privacy Protection" installed itself. Malwarebytes cleaned that one up. But the hijacker was still there. "Spybot" Hijack tool fixed that.Now my computer is clean and useable, but it's a buggy mess. Alot of things don't work right anymore.
*My "all programs" list in control panel is blank(programs are still installed though).
*I can't get a desktop background picture to stay.
*Some installed programs aren't listed in the "programs&features" list, so I don't know how to delete them.
*Other programs like Bing won't delete because it says they are running(but they're not).
*Some of my picture and music folders are locked, but I can get into them through shortcuts from other parts of the computer.
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Jul 11, 2011
I'm not normally this noob-tastic, but the world of laptops is relatively new for me. I want to do a clean reinstall of Win7 x64 on my Vaio, and I'm not sure how to go about it. I have 4 system image discs and a system recovery discs that I burned immediately after booting the machine up for the first time about a year ago.What I want to do is format the drive and use whichever discs I'm supposed to use to reinstall the OS. Is that the right way to do it with a laptop? Which discs am I supposed to use to reinstall?
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Dec 17, 2012
I'm about to help my mom reinstall her computer. She has a nasty virus that is preventing her from her job as a reservation agent (she works from home), and I need to make sure I can fully reinstall correctly before diving in. Whenever I have needed to reinstall my own computer, all I have to do is restore directly from the hard drive. Her computer isn't quite built like this. Initially, she had to create recovery discs to restore from instead, and I have never dealt with recovery discs before. Is it done the same exact way as restoring from the hard drive? I have found 4 DVDs. She initially created 2 but they failed and apparently she had to start over and create the 4 I found. I'm slightly worried about installing this wrong.. I'm afraid there might be a 5th disc, although she insists there are 4. Are there any precautions I should take before going through with it?
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Jul 19, 2011
I have an Asus Essentio desktop and it didnt come with any Win7 discs. Is there anyway to extract Win7 and burn to a disc? I only ask because I want to rebuild my PC and wanted a fresh install without all the other software that came on my PC.
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Mar 7, 2012
I have been researching the topic and am at a loss after around an hour of fruitless research. I recently upgraded from xp 32 bit to windows 7 32 bit. I want to upgrade to 64 bit so theres more RAM available and cannot find any information on doing it without discs that doesnt use USB or something. Got an external hard drive what the hell do I do? I downloaded the files but then couldn't open of course bc they were 64 bit files or whatnot.
(my cpu is capable of running it)
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Dec 29, 2011
I'm helping a friend with her windows 7 emachine (64 bit) and when its all back in working order, I'd like to make her a set of recovery discs but I have a few questions before proceeding. I read that you only get the option of doing it once - so it better be right the first time.I've found instructions for making a repair disc, also instructions for creating recovery discs - would those be the same? The computer did not come with any os disc at all, so I'm wondering if making repair/recovery disc is possible without an os disc?
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Mar 28, 2012
I bought a refurbished dell laptop with windows 7 on it the other day but I'm normally a linux user. I am trying to make a disc image but it is behaving a bit weirdly. I follow the steps but after it made the first disc, it tells me to insert another disc and also label it newuser pc with the date and the number 1. Not long ago, I made back up discs for a friends windows 7 desktop and it did not behave this way, it instructed to use 2, 3, etc for the next discs. I'm not sure if this thing is making any progress or not.
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Jan 22, 2010
I have now installed win 7 three times, 64 bit and now 32 bit and have the same problem. I have read many similar problems on various forums and microsoft have been remotely on my PC for the last 2 days, and cannot resolve the I have 2 DVD RW drives, and both of them can read all types of media with no problems. When blank discs are inserted, all programs trying to access the drives just lock up. The "not responding" message will clear as soon as the disc is ejected and everything is then back to normal. If I leave the disc in the drive it will eventually recognise it after about 1.5 hours, but I can then do nothing with it.Microsoft have stated to me today that it is not an issue with Windows 7 and I should contact the manufacturers of the drives for help or updated drivers. All my drivers are showing as being up to date, and I cannot find any other drivers on the OEM websites.
Prior to purchasing, the upgrade advisor stated that I would have no issues moving from XP to WIN 7. Microsoft have informed me today that the upgrade advisor will not guarantee any piece of hardware will work correctly after win 7 install, it only indicates if any hardware will cause instability problems !!!I have an internal LITE-ON SHM-165P6S, and a USB Lightscribe drive built into my HP C8180 printer. These are 2 completely different drives that are exhibiting the same problem (only win 7 is the common theme)
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Dec 1, 2011
Is this even possible. I thought I had made discs when I got my laptop but I cannot find them anywhere. I have tried the f8 thing but only get a windows didn't close properly message. I have tried the start +0 button and it goes to the same message. I have a repair disc and have done a full back up and removed all my files I don't want to lose. Previous dramas with HDDRECOVERY partition seems to have caused further problems I think.
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Oct 2, 2012
My Dell PC came with Vista installed on it and physical discs to re-install. I then got Windows 7 for free due to the timing of when I bought the PC. I presume the discs were the upgrade variety, but I don't have them in front of me. I know when I totally reformatted my harddrive recently for a problem, I had to install Vista first and then 7... leading me to believe now that the Windows 7 install discs were the upgrade and not full.I just got the "full" version of Windows 8 Pro from Microsoft DreamSpark and plan on dualbooting to a separate partition alongside Windows 7... to give it a test run.Eventually, I will probably wipe the Windows 7 partition and extend it so that I have my Windows 8 partition and a 2nd partition for files and whatnot.can I take the Vista install disc and then the Windows 7 disc and install them on another PC? I am pretty sure I am doing a full install of Windows 8 (with its own key) and therefore wouldn't be using the Vista key or the Windows 7 key that is tied to the Vista key?
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Nov 11, 2011
Is there anything that I have done wrong here? I am trying to use DVD-R+ Double-sided discs as backup media for Windows 7 Backup/Restore program. It worked once, but now I'm getting message that the disc can't be used for my 2nd backup??? I have a DL disc drive which works fine for everything else but the backup.
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Sep 23, 2011
Half of the time when I try to use a RW disc more than once. In other words erase the disc to burn something new to it. Windows explorer (not responding error) is in a malfunction loop. Also during this occurrence the dvd is rendered useless for future use. These discs are new and clean with no scratches. I bought two dvd multi drives. They are identical and installed drive D: & E:. Purchased at newegg, they are sold as Liteon brand. Software identifies them as ATAPI iHAS124 B. I have thought about downloading new drivers however I have had some trouble identifying this model on Liteon's website. The other half of the time I attempt to use my DVD-RW's the event is successful.
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Oct 18, 2011
Did a fix there recently on a HP pavilion. it suffered a hard drive failure and there was no recovery discs in situ. I purchased a replacement hd and purchased recovery discs from hp. So the build went fine and everything installed ok. Then it asked me for the product key. Now I have several Windows 7 discs but the only reason I had purchased the recovery discs is because the key sticker had faded and was illegible. So after spending 38 bucks on these discs I cant get past the activation issue. I was able to read an xp key before in the OS but when i googled this procedure for Windows 7 I ran into all kinds of key finding tools etc. I tried 4 but none of them worked, they gave me keys but activation rejected them as default keys.
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Oct 29, 2010
The hard disk of my Gateway NV78 notebook pre-installed with Windows 7 HP has crashed. I have made the recovery discs in 3 DVDs . I will be buying a new hard disk. I would like to know whether it is possible to install Windows 7 HP on the new hard disc from the recovery discs or I have to go in for a new installation disc.
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Feb 21, 2011
I created a live CD of Ubuntu in order to install it alongside Windows 7. I began the installation, and suddenly the diagram (the one showing how much space each OS takes) stopped showing Windows. Almost immediately after, the installation kicked me back to the live CD, saying the installation failed. Still using the live CD, I saw that Ubuntu had not finished, but the little it did install was simply lingering on my drive. For some reason - probably sheer shock coupled with sleep deprivation - I didn't check to see if anything remained of Windows 7 before I shut down the computer. I then removed the live CD and booted the computer up.
After POST, I'm greeted by a screen that looks like the command prompt, but I am unable to input any commands. I first tried to access the recovery partition by pressing F9 at startup (which used to work), but it simply cuts to the aforementioned black screen. I also tried using various emergency boot discs, but none of them worked; some weren't recognized/loaded, and others partially loaded before displaying an error message. Since then, I have yet to get it to boot to a disc without an error occurring. I am going to contact ASUS and have (a) recovery disc(s) sent, but I doubt they'll do any good; I can't get the computer to load discs, and that's not even mentioning my likely-gone recovery partition. I'm also concerned that my HDD is irreparably damaged.
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Oct 15, 2012
Does Win7's built-in defragger operate on external discs or just on the C drive?
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Nov 3, 2012
So I made a mistake while taking on a friend's problematic sony vaio laptop. They were wanting to install a newly purchased Kaspersky av, but after uninstalling the old version of Kaspersky there was a problem with an unresponsive usb mouse & mouse pad. I wasn't able to resolve the issue through various repair programs and manually reinstalling the driver, which was giving off the error code of not being properly installed or functioning. With owners consent, I decided to let Vaio Care to bring the computer back to factory condition. (I wish the owner had the owners manual to this thing.)I made sure to backup all of the files that the owner needed saved, but failed to make any sort of backup recovery disk for the computer. Not sure if it's too late to do so, but the computer will not boot to windows any longer. I get a white blinking cursor on a black background immediately after Vaio disappears from the screen upon bootup, but cannot do anything with it. I made a windows 7 home premium iso dvd, and when booting from it I reinstalled windows onto one of the 3 partitions on the hd (the largest of the 3 which was labeled "Primary" type). Of the other two partitions, one was labeled "Primary" and was named "System Reserved" but only 101MB, and the other was labeled "System" and was named "Recovery" and is 7.7GB. When installing, the computer does a restart but then boots up from the disk again starting the entire process over again. So I changed it to boot from the HDD, but still get the same problem of a blank cursor and windows not booting up.When attempting the System Recovery Options on the Windows 7 dvd I'm given 3 different partitions (2 of which are 400+GB, labled windows 7 operating system, and located on (D: ) Local Disk). I'm guessing this might stand for the old windows 7 from the factory, and the one I installed. The other partition is 7.7GB and labeled Start VAIO Recovery Center located on (Unknown) Recovery.System Restore, System Image Recovery, and windows Memory Diagnostic aren't doing any good. Startup Repair only gives me an issue for one of the 3 Partitions, the (Recovery Partition), and states that Startup Repair cannot repair this computer automatically, saying that the "Problem Event Name: StartupRepairOffline".
When going through command prompt I see that old data & drivers are still on the disc, but was wondering if it was too late to make some sort of a recovery disc for it? My concerns are that when I do a wipe of the drive and a clean install of Windows 7, I'm going to have many issues without having sony's factoryware installed. Am I able to make my own disk to reinstall Sony's factoryware? What's the best way of getting this computer back to fully functioning?I have access to the drivers on Sony's support site: Sony eSupport - VGN-FW510F - Support
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Nov 25, 2011
I bought a brand new Samsung QX411 two months ago. It's a great computer. Problem is, it got hit with a nasty virus that was pretty much completely debilitating, so I took it in to Best Buy (mistake), and they told me the best thing would be just reinstall Windows 7, and everything would be great. Well, I did, and now I am stuck. I reinstalled, but I did not realize that literally nothing would be in place. I am not completely naive: I did save all of my important files, folders, music, etc. So it's not that I have lost my data and am now crying "woe is me." Instead, I have basically a blank Windows 7 and nothing is there. I can't connect to the internet, because it is telling me that I don't have the necessary hardware (I know I do, but still). A basic summary would be this: I have no idea what to do after properly installing Windows 7. I want to get it as close back to normal as I can, but I don't know how to start.
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Jul 13, 2012
I recently built a new computer system that contains my old HDD, which I transferred from my previous PC. The old copy of Windows 7 that was already installed didn't work in the new PC, as expected. Instead, I have a new copy of Windows 7 available that I need to get on the HDD. But I also need to deal with the old Windows copy. I've already transferred all of my personal files from the old copy onto a portable HDD for safe keeping. What I plan on doing is reinstalling the new copy of Windows 7 onto the PC's HDD to be used in the new computer. I was able to acquire the new Windows 7 version for a really cheap price from my college.
So now I either have to format my HDD so that the new Windows 7 can work properly while keeping the old/useless version out of the way, or wipe the old Windows 7 from the HDD completely. Should I keep the old Windows 7 on the HDD and just never use it, or would that conflict too much with the partition used by the new version? If they do conflict, how should I go about removing the old Windows 7 partition? dealing with the HDD and OS seems to be one of the most annoying parts of a PC.
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May 7, 2011
I have bought a Lenovo Ideapad about 6 month ago with Windows 7 Home Premium.I now want to Re-Install Windows and delete my whole data. In Short, I want it to be Completely Clean.I Dont have My Windows CD to do That, But I have a Key Below My laptop and its Genuine.
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Dec 7, 2010
I mistakenly purchased a 32 bit version of windows 7 pro which was on OEM. Now I am going to purchase the 64 bit version OEM software again and format my hard drive and reinstall the 64 bit OS on my PC.
My question is now that I will be using the 64 Bit version, can I re-use my 32 bit OEM on a completely different PC as it will no longer be installed on my PC?
If so do I have to uninstall it first or will a simple wipe off the hard drive deactivate the 32 bit key? Also is there a cheaper option to purchasing the OEM software again, such as upgrading from 32bit to 64bit?
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Dec 11, 2010
I've recently purchased an SSD and would like to utilize it as a boot drive. I am happy with my configuration and would like just to install Windows 7 on the SSD and use it to boot -- with all other hardware and drives remaining without change.
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Jan 5, 2013
So I've been using my new laptop recently and discovered its hybrid hard drive contains an SSD. And boots up windows in seconds. This has caused me to want to buy an SSD for my desktop (my real gaming machine). The trouble lies within reinstalling windows and backing up.My desktop currently has two hard drives. Both 1tb each, one is full. And the other is barely used up. If I were to buy an SSD for my desktop. Would it be possible to reinstall windows (OEM) onto my new SSD? How would I do this? Also I've never backed up before (terrible I know and I want to start now!). However my family does own a 1tb external HDD. How much of my 1.2tb of data could I backup, and how would I do it? I've got loads of games and whatnot installed I don't want to lose.
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Nov 22, 2011
I'm currently running windows 7 64 bit on my current system. I am just after buying a new pc and want to install my OS on my new SSD. I'm going to keep the old raptor HDD for my new system also (the raptor HDD currently has the OS on it)
1. Can I install windows to my SSD using the same product key yes?
2. How can I/whats the best way to completely remove the OS from the raptor HDD and just use it as a storage device..I want to use the 120GB SSD for the OS & some of my games - (Origin & Steam)
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Dec 30, 2012
I just installed and activated OEM Win 7 on an HDD. Changed my mind and want to purchase an SSD, place Win on that, and use my HDD for everything else. Will I still be able to install Win or am I too late because I activated it?
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Nov 12, 2011
Would it be possible install Windows 8 on a separate partion using for example- 3 discs with different setup files on each one?
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Oct 30, 2009
i pre ordered 2 copies of win 7 full retail premium discs,The website I ordered from sent me 2 copies of win 7 premium upgrade I'm not sure how the upgrade works,Do these discs come with their own cd keys,so all I need is a previous operating system to install.Or do I need two copies of vista with vista keys or even xp before I can upgrade to windows 7?
I need to know before I send these back to get full copies.
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Jan 31, 2013
I'm not sure this is the right forum for this question, but then again: lots of people seem to have comparable problems, so here goes:As my 3-year old netbook was getting very slow, I decided to get rid of all the junk at once by completely reinstalling the OS (Win7 starter). Now, there is a very easy way to this with the Recovery Manager (as described in the support papers on the HP site), but that didn't work for me. This may wll be due to a faulty HD; I've no way of testing it as my C: drive is now reformatted. So what next?I was not completely unprepared; earlier I made:- a USB-stick with the 'HP USB Recovery Flash Disk Utility' (HP45774). The stick does contain, I think, all or almost all of the contents of the recovery partition. (NB: you need a 16Gb stick and this is a trick you can do only once.
- a recovery CD on an external CD drive, although without a 'disk-image' as by then the system had grown much too bloated already. (should have done that straight away after I'd bought it, although I'm a bit at a loss as to what storage medium would be used).These two means should surely be enough to restore the thing to factory settings? However:- The memory stick should be bootable, but isn't.- Booting from CD works, but the Recovery Manager can't seem to access the diskimage on the usb-stick. (Although, when I call up a command prompt, one of the other options, it is readily available.)So I don't really know what to do now. I'm thinking of two options:1. In one forum thread it was said that the stick thus made 'often' or even 'usually' isn't bootable, as it should be. The advice was to make it bootable, using EasyBCD. That's easier said then done, I found; no luck so far.
The stick does contain a boot directory, bootmgr etc.; it clearly is supposed to be bootable.)2. Following the advice in other threads, I downloaded the whole 1.7Gb WAIK, just to get hold of imagex.exe, which i then put on the memory stick. As the bootable 'recovery CD' does provide a command prompt, I could, supposedly, 'apply' the image base.wim, which is also on the stick, to 'drive D:' (under these circumstances, that's the main partition). But as there's lots of other stuff on the stick (like FactoryUpdates), I'm afraid it will be a lot of hassle installing computer-specific drivers and stuff.
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Feb 26, 2011
I want to buy a new laptop. The problem is that new laptops come with a tonne of crap on them and I want a clean install of Win7.What would I need to get this clean install?Would I need to *cough* acquire an OEM edition of Win7?
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Jul 21, 2011
I installed Windows 7 on one of my computers. I have another computer running Vista. Can I uninstall Windows 7 on my first computer and then reinstall Windows 7 on my other computer?
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