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Windows 7 Home Premium OEM Bad HD - Failing to boot from DVD
Hi all, I'm having trouble installing windows 7 x64 from an iso burnt to a dvd on an Asus K-53E laptop. After selecting my boot options from the bios to load from DVD, it just keeps asking me to insert proper boot media. I've read some of the threads about similiar issues to mine but haven't been able to make anything quite work.
Purchased a laptop with a broken HD for $50 since a new HD was only about $45 and it seemed worth it. There are product keys on the bottom.
Booted the laptop to find the original HD was, indeed, failed and refused to boot. From what I understand, this means I can't recover the hidden OEM key on the original HD and I'll have to call MS to help me activate it or purchase a new one. That's okay, but I'd like to be able to get it to recognize the DVD. If i can't get it to work in a day or two with the DVD, i'll buy a USB Flash Drive and try that way.
I have some ideas, anyone have some input?
1. Perhaps the DVD drive is bad.
-If it's bad, is there any way for me to test it?
-The DVD drive does show up in the bios boot loader.
-I popped the "bootable dvd" I attempted to make into my working computer and it does seem to be able to boot from it, however, I'm not convinced the DVD drive is bad yet.
2. Perhaps I have the wrong ISO?
-I torrented a "Win 7 Home Premium with SP1 x64 dvd" iso and when i right click on the setup file and check the details tab in properties, it says "File Version 6.1.7601.17514" -
-Do I need to get a specific manufacturer's restoration disk?
-How can I "check" my iso (something about a checksum or comparing some hash or something?) to make sure I downloaded the correct one?
3. I burnt the DVD incorrectly or the type of DVD is wrong?
-I'm using Maxell DVD+RW 4.7GB - Are DVD-RWs a problem?
-On my 5th trial here, I used UltraISO per some other similiar posts and just burned the ISO directly to the disc as an image.
--I'd read about extracting the boot file from the ISO and using it to create a new ISO but... I started thinking "Why would I extract the boot file from the ISO and then add it to the original files to create a new ISO --Wouldn't I just get two copies of the boot file?" --It seems to me I should get the boot file from a different disk and then combine it with the files in my current ISO into a new one.
Again, my goal here is to get any install of Windows 7 going so I can have the computer in marginally working order when I call MS to see if they can help me activate this OEM key or just buy a new windows key. Please halp!