Help the old guy install Win 7 Pro

O'm one of those old farts that doesn't know beans about computers. I have a new (to me) computer that I got from the Goodwill store and it has given me nothing but problems so far. I believe that this is the last of the problems that I'll have to deal with. It just stops sometimes. I mean right in the middle of doing something it just shuts down completely. There is no warning, no indication, no nothing it just stops, and simetimes it will try to redtart and then shutdown again. When I try to restart it, it will try to restartstart it, it will shut dolwn again. Sometimes it will get almost to full start up and sometimes it will shut down immediately and sometimes in between. It seems that if I let it sit for a few hours unplugged, it will come up and work, sometimes for a couple of days, sometimes for a few hours and sometimes for five minutes. I have ruled out power interuptions from the wall socket. I did get a message on my screen at one time that told me that the Windows install that I am using is bogus. Well, they didn't say bogus, but that's what they meant. I want to get a reinstall disc from E-Bay and try a new installation. What I don't know is (and it's plenty that I don't know) I do have a Win 7 Pro sticker on my computer. I also have a Win Vista sticker on it, but I don't really want to use that software. If I reinstall Win 7 Pro will I loose all of my data? Will I loose the programs that I have downloaded (Avast antivirus, AOL Desktop, Skype, etc.). Please help this old codger out.

Do some prioritization in your mind.

No sense investing a lot of time in finding out if you have bad hardware if it turns out your Windows 7 Pro installation is illegal/bogus.

If it is bogus, do you want to buy a non-bogus version or do you want to take the whole thing to the garbage? It's a Goodwill PC, so I'm guessing your current investment is low, maybe lower than a legal copy of Windows.

You can find out if it's bogus by calling Microsoft 800 number and giving them the info off your stickers. You should see a code with 25 characters like this: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx.

That would be my first move.

Does that Win 7 Pro sticker have the letters "OEM" anywhere on it?

Don't post the 25 characters if you see them, but find out if they are shown.

I'd certainly caution you against using Ebay as a source for Windows. That's begging for trouble.

The Win 7 sticker is for a refurbed computer. I took it to a repair shop and they could not find anything wrong with it. They told me that it ran like a champ and never failed. Well, It is workong right now, but I don't know for how long. They also charged me enough to buy another computer for the work that they did. Don't get me wrong. This thing had more troubles than is legal to have and they did fix some of them. They just either couldn't figure out what was causing this problem and didn't want to refund the $100+ that they charged me for the repairs or it didn't fail while it was there. I have my own theory about which scenario applies here. I now have enough invested on it that I hate to just scrap it and for less than $30 I can try a new software download, but I don't want to loose what I have on it now. Actually when I think of it, the computer is only partly useful to me now..................

There are several forum members that might be able to help you determine if the shutdowns are hardware/heat related. Once you know that the hardware is worth working on - you can work on getting a good copy of Windows installed.

You might not need to buy a W7 installation DVD.
See the note/link below the first image in this tutorial:
Windows 7 Universal Installation Disc - Create

It would help us to help you if you would fill out the system spec info:
https://www.sevenforums.com/profile.php?do=extra

Jimintexas said:

The Win 7 sticker is for a refurbed computer.................I now have enough invested on it that I hate to just scrap it and for less than $30 I can try a new software download, but I don't want to loose what I have on it now.

Any $30 price for Windows is almost certainly a scam.

That sticker you refer to may or may not be valid. If it is valid, you don't need to buy another Windows. If it isn't you probably will.

The way to find out about your Windows license and the sticker is to call Microsoft and tell them the straight facts.

A legit license for Windows 7 is $80 on up.

You have to decide if and when to throw more good money at it.

You can buy a known good setup (refurb) for maybe 350 on the low end, with Windows.

It is NOT the power supply. I changed that out and it does the same thing. Is there a heat sensor in there some place that could be sending out false alarms? It is sparkly clean inside. It does not needs cleaning. Reinstallation discs are not a scam. I just want to know if I will lose all of my programs and data if I reinstall the software.