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#1
Problem with my partner's Advent Roma 1001 laptop.. OEM SLP..
I posted this in a another thread and felt that maybe it'd be better if I created it's own thread, to get the attention it needs.. :) Please don't think I'm cross-posting..
I have a problem with my partner's Advent Roma 1001 laptop..
I have to start by stating that the label on the rear with the Windows original key has been partially erased. it has been used by my partner for some 2 years and in common with thousands of microsoft users she just didn't appreciate the importance of preserving those numbers. It sat on her knee for many a month and has become partially illegible.
I have to say in her defence that if microsoft laminated those key labels and made them a little tougher or made the importance of them more obvious to the retail customer then maybe this wouldn't happen as often as it does..
Moving on..
Yesterday she complained it was running slowly and becoming a pain..
I discovered a whole bunch of corrupt system files that sfc /scannow couldn't repair. I decided ona repair install and without further ado, followed Brink's tutorial on a repair install for W7 and downloaded a W732 OEM disk iso from lifehacker and ran a repair install only to discover to my dismay that the saved product key taken directly from the original desktop using jellybean's magical keyfinder was an OEM SLP that doesn't work with the system repair.
Jellybean didnt tell me that...
I compounded the problem further by re-installing (Clean Install..) of another OEM W732 SP1 version from lifehacker and that too doesn't work.
I only discovered that my Windows Key was an OEM SLP version after using the online product ID: checker and there it was it's a genuine key and legal but it an OEM SLP version. (SLP = System Locked..)
So, to sum it up, there is a hidden manufacturer's recovery partition, I have an OEM SLP key that is legal, the original key that's printed on the back of the laptop is virtually unreadable (At least 25 percent of it anyway..) and the manufacturer's partition is non bootable despite being made active in the disk management tools.
The computer's own recovery manual states that it's factory restore option is made available through the windows F8 menu..
When I explore there, it's about 5 1/2 gig big with it's windows.wim intact.. I read today that that's the partition's recovery image?
So if I could only get it to boot using the F8 key and go to it instead of being redirected presumably by the new OEM install's instructions of bypassing the recovery partition to Window's own repair tools, (Selecting them does not bring up the recovery partition's own tools or even an option where they're merged with Window's own repair tools..) so how do I get them to work as designed?
B'rgds..
John.