How do I install Windows 7 with my product ID? Serious!

Hello,

So I got this windows 7 Pro 64 bit installation disc and installed it on a new hard drive on my ThinkPad W520. To my surprise, this is what I got:

http://s8.postimg.org/eu2roi0md/IMG_0382.jpg

http://s8.postimg.org/irq1dwnfp/IMG_0383.jpg

http://s8.postimg.org/4zg7w0m1x/IMG_0384.jpg

I have no clue how it got branded as Lenovo! Then I realized that it didn't even ask me for a product key. I checked under Control Panel>System and saw that windows got activated and a product ID is being displayed which IS NOT the ID I found in the back of my machine. Then I typed "Activate" on search and tried to activate windows and it gave me an error:

"Windows cannot access the specified device, path, or file. You may not have the appropriate permission to access the item."

I checked the CD packaging and it said "NO need to activate!". I think I have a cracked copy. So, I went to Microsoft's side to download a genuine uncracked ISO and microsoft is saying this:

Error

The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options.

My previous hard drive had windows corrupted and the recovery partition erased.

What I want to know is: Can I still get a Windows 7 Pro iso and use my Product key to activate it? Or would windows reject that?

Ranger4 said:

Where did you get the Windows Pro 64 bit installation disc. Did it come with your laptop. This disc that you used is a Lenovo OEM disc, meaning it is a disc supplied by Lenovo as the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) installation disc.

The Activation code that is shown at the bottom of the System page, accessed via Control Panel & selecting System, will not be the same as the code on the back of your computer. The code shown on the System page is usually all numbers.

You cannot use an OEM activation code to download an iso from Microsoft. If you lose the original OEM installation disc you have to contact the computer manufacturer & either purchase a new or they will supply you with one.

The only other way is to purchase a new Windows 7 Retail disc & install that, but they are becoming very difficult to find these days.

How is that even possible? I did not use any disc that was provided with my laptop as no discs were provided. I used a completely new hard drive to install windows on. The windows disc I used was one I bought from this retailer here in Bangladesh. I have no idea as to how it got activated. I swear I didn't use any lenovo discs but it got branded as Lenovo somehow.

alphanumeric said:

Look on the disk and see if there is a %OEM% in the sources folder. If yes, its custom OEM install media. If that is true the OEM key is entered automatically by a script. The OEM info for the system screen will be too. It shouldn't activate though because it won't find the correct SLIC table in the BIOS. If yours actually activated, something is not right, it must be a pirated version. The Product ID: shown on the system screen is not the product code. Two completely different things. If you remove the $OEM$ folder that should make the disk stock again. I build my own $OEM$ folders and add them to my stock ISO's to add the OEM info for each of my PC's.

This is a screenshot of the content of the disc:

http://s16.postimg.org/ff5tvmgn9/image.png

Do you see that Activator thing there? This is surely a pirated disc. Which still doesn't explain how it's Lenovo branded!

Ztruker said:

The disc you bought must be a Lenovo recovery disc, no other possibility.

You could download a Windows 7 ISO:

See here: Download Windows 7 ISOs, Legally and for Free

Also available here: Microsoft DigitalRiver Mirror (Technet)

Create a DVD or flash drive to install with then clean install (with format) and enter the key from the Windows 7 COA sticker on the computer.

Correct me if I am wrong: Microsoft will NOT allow me to activate the fresh install of windows that you are suggesting with the product key I have at the back of my laptop.

Right? Otherwise, why wasn't Microsoft letting me download the iso and asking me to go ask for one from Lenovo? I read somewhere that retail copies of windows cannot be activated using product keys printed on the backs of Dell/Lenovo/whatever brand computers.

alphanumeric said:

MSKHAN said:

alphanumeric said:

Look on the disk and see if there is a %OEM% in the sources folder. If yes, its custom OEM install media. If that is true the OEM key is entered automatically by a script. The OEM info for the system screen will be too. It shouldn't activate though because it won't find the correct SLIC table in the BIOS. If yours actually activated, something is not right, it must be a pirated version. The Product ID: shown on the system screen is not the product code. Two completely different things. If you remove the $OEM$ folder that should make the disk stock again. I build my own $OEM$ folders and add them to my stock ISO's to add the OEM info for each of my PC's.

This is a screenshot of the content of the disc:

http://s16.postimg.org/ff5tvmgn9/image.png

Do you see that Activator thing there? This is surely a pirated disc. Which still doesn't explain how it's Lenovo branded!

Oh, yeah, pirated for sure. Other suspect folders on it too. I wouldn't touch that disk with a ten foot pole. Who knows what it does to your system. I hope you didn't do any online banking etc on any PC that disk was used on.

Noooooo!

It takes a billion years to do a clean install and download and install the software and drivers!