harddisk crashed,no backup or windows7 cd. How do i re-install w/out?

[handstandphill]

I have a HP pavillion dv6, the hard disk crashed and unfortunately i wasn't prepared so have no back up, nor the cd.
I've tried downloading windows 7 home premium ISO copy from mydigitallife.info to no avail!

Without paying for the real copy again what are my options?

Cheers

 

[MatthewHirst]

If the laptop was bought from a store, it would already have the serail on the information kind of thing, so you would need to get the install media some how, and use the code on your laptop/pc.

 

[Bmdawson1]

I had a similar problem recently and used http://www.wintobootic.com/ to put a downloaded windows 7 64-bit iso onto a USB. I had to replace the hard disk, but i could recover the data off the old hard drive using photorec and a USB hard drive enclosure. What happened when you tried to use the iso and how did you use it?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I've tried downloading windows 7 home premium ISO copy from mydigitallife.info to no avail!

Not enough detail.

What does "to no avail" mean?

You have a poor ISP or ??

Thousands of people download the ISO successfully every week.

If you have a valid 25 character Windows 7 Product Key, you would be a fool to pay more money.

 

[handstandphill]

yes i have all the appropriate product key on the back,
my question is how do i get the cd copy so i can apply the product key??

 

[ignatzatsonic]

yes i have all the appropriate product key on the back,
my question is how do i get the cd copy so i can apply the product key??

Well, most people would download the ISO and burn it to a disk.

Why you can't do that remains unexplained.

 

[Bmdawson1]

The mydigitallife iso should do it. How are you putting it onto the disc?

Edit: I find http://www.imgburn.com/ very useful

 

[bobafetthotmail]

follow this tutorial that gives you safe links to ISOs and info on how to reinstall and set everything.

 

[jumanji]

Hi handstandphill,

If your dv6 is within warranty, you should be able to get it done by HP free.

What exactly prevents you from downloading the ISO from Digital River?

Can you find a friend who has the exact edition of the media which you can copy?

Better still can you find a friend who has the same dv6 with the same Windows edition installed? You can then get the recovery disks from him.

 

[gregrocker]

What do you mean "HD crashed?" Have you repaired or replaced the HD? Is it detected in BIOS setup?

If the HD is working then you can try these steps for Troubleshooting Windows 7 Failure to Boot .

The steps try everything to start Win7, test hardware, rescue your files, leading up to possibly running HP Factory Recovery .

Or you can Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 which is vastly better than the one which came preinstalled from HP.

 

[patio]

No one has mentioned that almost all Win7 Laptops have a hidden Restore partititon...

The info for using it should be at the manuf. site.

 

[handstandphill]

as for why the ISO copy doesn't work i'm unsure. I wrote it to the dvd, all the files showed correctly on the computer i'm using to figure this all out. as for when i install in my HP with the hard drive problem it sounds as if it doesn't want to read the disk.
This makes me think my cd drive is no good (as its hopeless playing many dvd's). I'm using the usual dvd+rw 4X,
all it says is no bootable device.
Is there possibly a way to copy it a usb stick?

 

[jumanji]

You may try using WiNToBootic

http://www.sevenforums.com/software/246116-ultimate-windows-7-8-usb-boot-disk-maker-looks-like.html

 

[gregrocker]

Is there possibly a way to copy it a usb stick?

The latest official ISO and tool to write to USB stick is in Step 1 and 2 of Clean Reinstall tutorial, which you would know if you'd even bothered to read it.

If the Win7 USB tool fails, I use Universal USB Installer

 

[handstandphill]

thanks guys, now realise the cd drive is stuffed but windows 7 seems to be booting up nicely. cheers!

 

[jumanji]

Do you mean that the Windows install DVD is booting normally from your optical drive or your system is booting up normally?

Is your HDD OK or did you replace the HDD and going ahead with a clean
install?

If your system was just not booting, then it was not a hard disk crash. By hard disk crash we always take it as a catastrophic failure of the hard disk, necessitating a replacement.

Did you try WiNToBootic to create your bootable pendrive?

Once upon a time , I was also using Universal USB Installer - which is a Linux based utility. It works,no doubt, but then came RUFUS (Reliable USB Format Utility with Source) which is inside out DOS based and simpler to use. And then came the recent WiNToBootic which is outright a Windows 7/8 focussed Boot Disk Maker. The WiNToBootic site also lists various other boot disk makers including YUMI, a complement to Universal USB installer. At your leisure, you may try each one and then pick up the one that suits you. Then you are the master - need not blindly take in what others recommend. (that includes me.)

 

[handstandphill]

dvd drive didn't read the dvd (didn't sound right) so tried WINtoBootic and it worked a treat.
Now i'm having problems with no internet connection, saying i need to plug ethernet cable in. yet all i want is to connect to wireless and update windows!

 

[jumanji]

Have you downloaded all the drivers for your system from the HP site?

If not download them from another computer and install. You will have the driver for the network adapter too. Once you install the driver you should be able to connect to the internet and update the drivers (except the display driver. More often than not I had found that Windows display driver update mucks it up. I always prefer to download the display driver from the adapter manufacturer's website.). Then you can update your Windows. Defer activation till everything is OK. ( you have one month's time.)

( Thanks for the rep. Much appreciated.)

 

[handstandphill]

Ok i've found them on the HP site, do i need to download them all?
There are 4 downloads under the heading network...?

 

[handstandphill]

So i tried the atheros driver from the HP site, as it was the one that seemed most relevant to wireless connectivity. But when i install it it says that ' the device may not be present or unplugged, insert or re-insert now'..?

Is there something structural that has unplugged itself?