Cannot return computer to factory condition after partition editing

After doing everything i have decided to do a clean install. I have a couple of doubts though,,,

1) I have got a legitimate windows 7 prof disc. Can i install the same and use my home premium key ?
2) Someone told me that i can activate windows only once. Is it true ???
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
also is it possible to make a recovery partition just like HP had on my laptop ...so that i dont need to DVD and the activation key again and again ???
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
After doing everything i have decided to do a clean install. I have a couple of doubts though,,,

1) I have got a legitimate windows 7 prof disc. Can i install the same and use my home premium key ?
2) Someone told me that i can activate windows only once. Is it true ???

1: I don't think so, at least not without some trouble.

I'd just download a Home Premium ISO from mydigitallife.info and burn it to a disk. Install and use your Home Premium Product Key.

2: That's false. You can install only to 1 motherboard if you have an OEM key. You can install to unlimited motherboards with Retail, but only one PC at a time.


I don't know of any way to make a recovery partition. A legitimate disc is the most reliable method you can have.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bitIntel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
For a clean install, check here: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/219487-clean-reinstall-factory-oem-windows-7-a.html#post1839164

You cannot use your Windows 7 Professional disc, the ISO has to be the same as your OEM version, which in your case is Windows 7 Home Premium.

However, once you have clean installed Home Premium you can use Windows Anytime Upgrade with your Windows Professional product key to upgrade to that version.

A retail version of Windows can be activated as many times as you want, but you may have to use the telephone activation service after the first five activations.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-BitIntel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHznVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavilion Elite 495UK
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-Bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz
Motherboard
MSI 2A9C (CPU1)
Memory
8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHz
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
HP2310i
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1x1954GB Hitachi HDS22020ALA 330 (RAID), 1x1954GB Hitachi External for backup and storage
PSU
460W
Case
HP Elite
Cooling
Air cooled
Keyboard
Logitech K750 solar-powered keyboard
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M180 mouse
Internet Speed
2Mb
Other Info
Pure Avanti Flow Internet Radio with iPod Dock, 64Gb iPod, HP USB Speakers, Sony MDR-V500 Headphones, Sony Vaio F-Series Laptop
so from what i understand is:
1) I should download ISO of Windows 7 home premium and use my key
2) The key can be used to activate Windows 7 on my laptop (at least 5 times online)

Please correct me if i have understood wrong !!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
As you are using Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit then you need a Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit ISO.

Because you are using an OEM product key you won't need to activate it.

The activation scenario I mentioned applies to a retail version of Windows, not OEM.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-BitIntel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHznVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavilion Elite 495UK
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-Bit
CPU
Intel Core i7 870 @ 2.93GHz
Motherboard
MSI 2A9C (CPU1)
Memory
8Gb Dual-Channel DDR3 @ 664MHz
Graphics Card(s)
nVidia GeForce GTX 460 1024MB dedicated RAM
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
HP2310i
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
1x1954GB Hitachi HDS22020ALA 330 (RAID), 1x1954GB Hitachi External for backup and storage
PSU
460W
Case
HP Elite
Cooling
Air cooled
Keyboard
Logitech K750 solar-powered keyboard
Mouse
Logitech Wireless M180 mouse
Internet Speed
2Mb
Other Info
Pure Avanti Flow Internet Radio with iPod Dock, 64Gb iPod, HP USB Speakers, Sony MDR-V500 Headphones, Sony Vaio F-Series Laptop
I am using HP Probook 4520s which came with Windows 7 Home Premium 32-bit.

I have downloaded

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1-U ISO - English x86: X17-58996.iso from Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO from Digital River « My Digital Life

hope this works !!!

That should work fine.

Be sure that you have only 1 hard drive connected when you start.

Back up any data you want to keep.

Delete all partitions. Look for "drive options, advanced".

I'd make sure I had a LAN driver for the PC so I could definitely connect to the Internet after the install. You may already have it downloaded or have it on a disk from HP.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bitIntel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
can anyone of you provide me tutorial for burning the files i have downloaded

it was a zip file which after unzip has couple of folders, a setup file etc...

how should i burn that using imgburn..so that i can install windows 7,,,,
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
You should have an ISO file from the mydigitallife.info download.

In Imgburn:

Switch to 'Write' from mode menu or do that via the 'Write image file to disc' button.

Insert blank DVD.

Select a file to write by clicking on the 'Browse for file' button. Look for an ISO file. Locate the file and open it.

Click the big 'Write' button. Use a fairly slow speed like 4x or 8x.

That's it.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bitIntel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
no i didnt got an iso file, instead it was a zip file , which after unzip has all the folders and setup. now can i burn all the folders directly or i should make iso and then burn ??
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
I'm not sure what you have done and have never constructed an ISO from a download.

The files I have downloaded from mydigitallife.info have always been ISOs.

I'd play with the "build" mode in Imgburn and see if that would create an ISO.

If it does, then navigate to the ISO and burn it in the "write" mode.

If that fails, try the "read" mode on what you have downloaded.

You need to get an ISO that you can then burn.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bitIntel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Ignatz Special; 4 speed manual gearbox; factory air conditioning; one of one
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium SP1, 64-bit
CPU
Intel Skylake i5-6600K, not overclocked
Motherboard
AsRock Z170M Extreme 4, micro ATX
Memory
8 GB HyperX DDR4-2666 (2 x 4 GB)
Graphics Card(s)
none; graphics are integrated on CPU
Sound Card
onboard: Realtek ALC1150; external: USB Behringer UF0-202
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell S2340M 23 inch IPS
Screen Resolution
1600 x 900
Hard Drives
System: Crucial MX100 series SSD, 128 GB;
Data: Samsung Spinpoint 103SJ, 1 TB;
Backup: WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX-00D8PB0, 3 TB
PSU
Rosewill SilentNight 500 watt fanless, semi-modular
Case
Antec Solo II
Cooling
Noctua NH-U12S; Noctua F12 intake, Noctua S12A exhaust
Keyboard
Microsoft 200 6JH-00001 USB
Mouse
Dell or Microsoft optical wired; USB
Antivirus
Microsoft Security Essentials and Malwarebytes Premium
Browser
Pale Moon
Other Info
All fans PWM; speeds at idle: CPU circa 500 rpm; intake circa 600 rpm; exhaust circa 600 rpm; CPU temps 27 idle and 47 C load in a warm room (27 C/81 F) when running Intel Extreme Tuning Utility stress test.
well i found the solution myself :D will post it here, might be of help to others....
This guide will take you through the steps in burning a pre-prepared Windows Vista / Windows 7 installation source directory to a disc.

Note: Instructions wise, Windows 2008 should be basically the same as Windows Vista, and Windows 2008 R2 should be basically the same as Windows 7.

My source directory (which I've called 'VISTA_INSTALL') looks as follows:



That's everything you'd get on an original Vista installation disc. If you're missing bits (e.g. the 'boot' folder), it probably won't work.

Right, let's begin!

1. Load ImgBurn!



2. Click the 'Write files/folders to disc' button.

Note: This is basically the same as switching the 'Mode' to 'Build' and setting 'Output' to 'Device'.



You should now see a screen like this:



3. Insert a blank (or erasable) DVD disc in your burner.

Note: The message in the status bar should now say something along the lines of 'Ready'.

4. Add the installation source folder to the 'Source' box.



5. Switch to the 'Advanced' tab, and then to the 'Bootable Disc' one.



6. Enable the 'Make Image Bootable' option.

Set the 'Emulation Type' to 'None (Custom)'.

Point the 'Boot Image' to the 'etfsboot.com' file within the 'boot' folder in your source folder - i.e. "T:\VISTA_INSTALL\boot\etfsboot.com"

Enter 'Microsoft Corporation' in the 'Developer ID' field.

Enter '07C0' in the 'Load Segment' field.

Enter '4' in the 'Sectors To Load' field if your etfsboot.com file is 2K in size, enter '8' if it's 4K. (Basically it's the size of the file in bytes divided by 512 - i.e. 2048 / 512 = 4)

Note: Vista's is normally 2KB and Windows 7's is 4KB... so enter '4' if you're building a Vista OS installation disc and '8' if you're building a Windows 7 OS installation disc.



7. Now we're ready to burn so click the big 'Build' button!



8. Assuming your source folder is in order (i.e. it contains a 'sources' folder with an 'install.wim' file in it) and depending on your current settings, the program will prompt to correct certain things so they match (as closely as possible) an official Microsoft disc/image.

Click 'Yes' to whatever it says needs correcting - these settings have been tried and tested so we know they work!



9. When prompted, give the disc a name and click the 'Yes' button.



10. You'll then be presented with one final 'information' screen before the program starts to burn the disc.

Double check everything looks roughly as it does below and then click 'OK'.



That's it!
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium 32bit

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1Intel i7 2600kG.Skill Ripjaws (DDR3-1600) 2x4GBNvidia GeForce GTS 450; Intel HD Graphics 300...
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Own build
OS
Windows 7x64 Home Premium SP1
CPU
Intel i7 2600k
Motherboard
ASUS P8Z68 Deluxe
Memory
G.Skill Ripjaws (DDR3-1600) 2x4GB
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia GeForce GTS 450; Intel HD Graphics 3000(GT2+)
Monitor(s) Displays
Dell Ultrasharp IPS panel U2311H, Samsung SyncMaster P2350
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 850 Pro SSD 256GB, Samsung SSD 840 120GB, Seagates 1TB Barracuda ST31000528AS x2
PSU
Seasonic M12II 520W
Case
Lian Li Lancool PC-K60
Cooling
Case: 1x120mm, 3x140mm CPU: Hyper 212+
Keyboard
Logitech MK520 (wireless)
Mouse
Logitech MK520
Internet Speed
6-7 Mbps
Antivirus
Norton Security Premium, Malwarebytes on 2 (MSE on 3rd PC)
Browser
FireFox
Other Info
Audio: Logitech Z523 2.1
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