Windows 7 Issues

zingo
zingo Posts: 11,258
edited June 2012 in The Clubhouse
[Rant]

So I decided to be a nice guy and help my wife format her PC. Since she bought it from HP, there was no Windows 7 disc included so I backed everything up and reformatted it with my Windows 7 disc. However, it looks like reformatting her Home Premium edition with my Ultimate disc turned hers Ultimate as well. The issue is now her previous Windows 7 Home Premium product key doesn't work, and I get an error saying: product key does not match current windows sku . I didn't activate Windows obviously since it won't, so now I have a 30 day ticking time-bomb. Since HP is so crappy and doesn't include any discs, can I fix this problem with my lone Windows 7 Ultimate disc, or am I screwed?

Come on Microsoft and don't screw me into buying another copy of windows; I own a legitimate version of Windows 7 Home Premium and have the product key to prove it!

[/Rant]
Jake
Post edited by zingo on
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Comments

  • BeefJerky
    BeefJerky Posts: 1,320
    edited June 2012
    No need to blame Microsoft for HP's failure to include a disc or for your choice to install from a disc that clearly said it was the ultimate version. At any rate, if you can find a torrent of the correct Windows 7 disc, you should be able to install it properly. Or, if you know someone with a Technet or MSDN account, they should be able to download the proper disc for you. Either way, since you do have a proper license for the software, this is legal. It's license that you own/purchase, not the disc or the software itself.
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  • Syndil
    Syndil Posts: 1,582
    edited June 2012
    Why didn't you just reformat from the restore partition? If it's still there, might try that instead.

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  • Drenis
    Drenis Posts: 2,871
    edited June 2012
    Syndil wrote: »
    Why didn't you just reformat from the restore partition? If it's still there, might try that instead.

    This.

    If you formatted the whole drive and erased the recovery partition (I'm inclined to think not) then there might be some extra headaches.
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  • ambiophonics
    ambiophonics Posts: 726
    edited June 2012
    Sometimes companies like HP dell etc have specific keys that are only good for recovery but not fresh installs. I was always told that the install discs were all the same ( except for 32 bit and 64 bit ) but that the specific key, home, basic, ultimate, enabled/disabled certain features, that way you can instantly upgrade (read pay Microsoft more money). Good Luck.
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  • bruss
    bruss Posts: 1,039
    edited June 2012
    i called hp and got a disc shipped to me. a while ago but it still happened
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  • WilliamM2
    WilliamM2 Posts: 4,773
    edited June 2012
    Download the correct version, and use the key on the bottom of the HP for the install.

    http://www.w7forums.com/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-image-downloads-t12325.html

    make sure you download any drivers you may need from HP first, especially the NIC driver.
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited June 2012
    Double Driver (linky) "will extract all installed drivers from a Windows box, identifying the appropriate .inf and all associated files, and can even package them into installers".

    Haven't used it yet, but discovered it the other day and certainly plan on using it when the time comes.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
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    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
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  • Syndil
    Syndil Posts: 1,582
    edited June 2012
    Again, the restore partition is the route with the very least amount of effort. Unless of course it's been removed/formatted over.

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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited June 2012
    Syndil wrote: »
    Again, the restore partition is the route with the very least amount of effort. Unless of course it's been removed/formatted over.
    Or you'd rather skip all the included bloatware and have a clean install.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
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  • Syndil
    Syndil Posts: 1,582
    edited June 2012
    Far less time consuming to remove bloatware after a reformat than it is to track down each individual driver you will need. Those will be rolled into the restore partition.

    RT-12, CS350-LS, PSW-300, Infinity Overture 1, Monoprice RC-65i
    Adcom GFA-545II, GFA-6000, Outlaw Audio 990, Netgear NeoTV
    Denon DCM-460, DMD-1000, Sony BDP-360, Bravia KDL-40Z4100/S
    Monster AVL-300, HTS-2500 MKII
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  • Sherardp
    Sherardp Posts: 8,038
    edited June 2012
    You can't use your key for it to install? Try that, or as others mentioned partition restore. If all else fails I would just crack it and be done with it, but I know some are against that.
    Shoot the jumper.....................BALLIN.............!!!!!

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  • Roy Munson
    Roy Munson Posts: 886
    edited June 2012
    Go here and download the version your key fits.

    http://www.mydigitallife.info/download-windows-7-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit-direct-download-links/

    It may or may not work because some of the manufacturer keys won't work with official versions but it might be worth a try.
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  • zingo
    zingo Posts: 11,258
    edited June 2012
    audiobliss wrote: »
    Or you'd rather skip all the included bloatware and have a clean install.

    This is my goal, clean install with zero bloat. Just burned my own a windows disc from the link above, trying a reinstall.
    Jake
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  • audiobliss
    audiobliss Posts: 12,518
    edited June 2012
    zingo wrote: »
    This is my goal, clean install with zero bloat. Just burned my own a windows disc from the link above, trying a reinstall.
    Awesome. I always do a clean reinstall. However, it has been a long time since I've installed Windows on a laptop, so I have forgotten the dreadful pain of finding and installing drivers. I usually go a version of Ubuntu on my laptop, then set it aside and never use it.
    George Grand wrote: »
    Jstas wrote: »
    Simple question. If you had a cool million bucks, what would you do with it?
    Wonder WTF happened to the rest of my money.
    In Use
    PS3, Yamaha CDR-HD1300, Plex, Amazon Fire TV Gen 2
    Pioneer Elite VSX-52, Parasound HCA-1000A
    Klipsch RF-82ii, RC-62ii, RS-42ii, RW-10d
    Epson 8700UB
    In Storage
    [Home Audio]
    Rotel RCD-02, Yamaha KX-W900U, Sony ST-S500ES, Denon DP-7F
    Pro-Ject Phono Box MKII, Parasound P/HP-850, ASL Wave 20 monoblocks
    Klipsch RF-35, RB-51ii
    [Car Audio]
    Pioneer Premier DEH-P860MP, Memphis 16-MCA3004, Boston Acoustic RC520
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  • Phasewolf
    Phasewolf Posts: 514
    edited June 2012
    The BIOS on your HP computer has silc2.1 you can manually activate it. Pm me if you need help and I will give you the commands.
    Absolute corruption empowers absolutely.

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