No updating working

Thanks Jack it will be interesting to see what Noel has to say and I am going to look up SLIC and caterer code as I don't know off hand what they mean. I have just been onto the seller and told him about my concerns re the sticker and it will be interesting to see what he replies with. I have also asked him to get onto his techie re why I cannot shut off the touchpad when using a mouse as the manual fn+F9 quote doesn't work and it makes typing replies very difficult because it moves the cursor into previous typing if only slightly brushed against.

To me the fact that SP1 was not included is the main and most irritating point as it took me over five hours of searching for a reason for the update problem and I discovered it by sheer luck / fluke persistence.

Yep no more Ebay unless it is something like a hard drive and then only if it saves shipping that my usual supplier charges, and then I shall be asking really detailed questions.

If Noel comes back with anything untoward then I shall ask for a refund and send the machine back with the original drive in it - a 1TB 5400rpm spinner that was so slow even with 8. The new SSD will go into the old Toshiba as it's drive is just about full (120GB).

Thanks for sticking with me mate I do appreciate and the others too of course because it is not a small amount of money involved for one thing and annoying I let myself be duped as it were.

The Windows 7 installed now is 7601 which means it is SP-1.

I don't know how one would have a Windows 7 Windows License Type: COA SLP on a laptop that came with Windows 8 and be legal.

Well Jack it came with that slow spinner and 8 on it and so being a smart ass I had a spare Home premium 7 OEM and got a Samsung 850 and installed the 7 OEM onto it after taking out the original spinner.

But when I did that the problem was the USB ports would not work properly and to update the drivers the Asus support site stated that the BIOS had to be updated to be able to download and install the 7 drivers. That is when I got a bit wary as updating the BIOS as you know can be a dodgy thing to do as in bricking the machine.

So as the seller in the advert said that they would put on 7 at an extra cost so I sent the machine back and paid $135 for them to do just that - my reasoning was that if the BIOS had to be updated rather them do it and if the update went wrong then they would have to replace the machine. The result is I was then stuck with very old version of 7 (7600) on the machine. It took me about five hours and countless Googles then to work out why I couldn't get the Windows updates to go.

Before that I had asked the seller re updating the BIOS when this happened and the seller said it was totally unnecessary even though Asus definitely stated it needed the BIOS updating before the 7 drivers could be installed.
Now I am assuming they realized this afterwards and did the BIOS update before putting on that 7.

So that is why I started this thread and why I shall have to get a sticker from him or install my Home version (his is a Pro version) or do a refund depending on what Noel has to say about it - meanwhile I ma just using it.

By the by I found the solution to the touchpad I disabled it in the BIOS :)

The system does have a Windows 8 sticker - so it appears to be licensed for Windows 8 Core Edition .
This means that it is NOT eligible for a downgrade in the normal sense, and would require a full license for Windows 7 (whatever) Edition. (This is why there is no SLIC table present)

The installed Product Key is ONLY valid when the system is preinstalled by the manufacturer, with the appropriate Win 7 COA sticker on the case.

I would suggest you demand a full refund from your vendor, and go elsewhere.

Ok Noel now I have to make a decision that is not going to be pleasant as the seller seemed to go out of his way to help.

But if you say this machine cannot be downgraded normally - not even if I wipe the drive and put my own (I bought it) Home Premium OEM 7 64bit on like I did as I mentioned earlier - it has been installed on this drive before I wiped it and sent it to Sydney for them to do. I only did that because of the messages from Asus about updating the BIOS before I could install 7 drivers - see snip of the support refs for 7 64bit. It was this message to update the BIOS that got me so worried about bricking the machine.

All in all a bit disappointing but I will go with what you say as you fellows are the experts.

There is nothing to stop you using a legitimate license - but...
1) the motherboard on this machine appears to be 2013 vintage - so it's probably not brand new.
2) That BIOS update request is a little odd - either it's a goof on ASUS's part, or there's a problem with the default BIOS wrt the drivers.

IMHO , the vendor charged you $135 for what should have been a legitimate install - and defrauded you by not providing the COA sticker you are required to receive.

He saw it as easy money - not being helpful.

Ok I am in a quandary right now as to whether I should

a) Return the machine for a refund after replacing the original drive and making sure I remove the program's I put on it (security etc) am willing to lose the cost of the OEM they put on. In some reviews I have read the later versions of this machine do not have much of an advantage over this one just that they have a later model NVidia GPU in them - up to 880M from this 860M this machine has so the year build is not so much of an issue really/

b) Keep the machine and reinstall that new OEM I have as it is already tied to that board.

c) Update the BIOS and I am guessing I will have to do that using the Windows 8 drive before I do the reinstall of the 7. I take the point David re the warranty.

d) Look at other brands he has that have the full HD screen which is one of the main reasons besides speed I bought this one, and although I have had a few Toshibas and said I would not have another one.
- this old L550 Satellite I installed a SSD and a 7 OEM on - stupidly upgrading to 8 when it was cheap but.... if needs be......

To be honest when I researched this new machine it had better internals than this old Toshiba ie the new machine has an i7 4 core instead of an i5 2 core, faster RAM 1600MHz instead of 1333MHz (same amount - 8GB) the separate GPU which I only found out afterwards only comes into use for gaming - which I do very little of - so it is using the Intel 4600 HD which isn't that bad actually.
I am concerned re the activation of that OEM they put on and the grief I got finding out what was causing the machine not to update. Plus I have to say the new machine is only marginally faster then this four year old Toshiba which since me disassembling and cleaning etc plus using a new OEM on a SSD has really surprised me as I expected it to fly! and in reality the performance is not what I would have expected from what is essentially a gaming machine. That alone makes me wonder about the speed because gaming I would imagine would be sluggish to say the least.`
Also what everyone has said about the troubles I have had with it and for which I must say the support everyone has given me has been terrific and I do appreciate the advice on what to do.

But I do have to make a decision soon and I don't like getting into situations that are shall we say tense?? But $1650 is a lot of money right now and I would like to have a decent and reasonably faster machine.
PS BIOS version now 205 latest 207

Well I have decided to keep the machine as it is now working at some decent speeds. I have been in contact with the seller and I have at least got the shipping back now for free. I am guessing he has bought a job lot of this model machine and in all honesty the reviews state the newer GPU is not really any improvement to speak of.

The issue with the old version Windows well it was a bit annoying and I hope eh hets his end sorted but as far as I am concerned now Microsoft are ok with the code and stuff whether I get a sticker I don't know but I can always reinstall if necessary if push comes to sove at least I have learnt my last lesson re big items from Ebay.

But thanks to everyone you have been a real brick in helping me and I wish you alla happy new year.
John