Install windows 7 on a new HDD with just the old (dead) HDD's COA key?

[RebeccaValentin]

I have a Sony Vaio laptop (VPCSA35GG) which came pre-installed with a HDD running Windows 7 Professional 64 bit. It just crashed unexpectedly & I have no way of recovering anything from it. Its completely dead. And I dont have any recovery disks.

Now I have bought a new HDD to replace the old one & want to install the same OS in it. I have only the COA key (which came with my laptop when I bought it) and a retail Windows installation CD. I dont have the disk that came with the laptop.

Would this alone do? Will the COA key alone be able to activate Windows on my new HDD?

I have very little knowledge about this, so any kind help from anyone would be highly appreciated. Kindly please provide me with some help..

 

[derekimo]

Welcome to the forum,

You should have no problem doing that, using the COA key on a same version installer is fine, the key is what determines OEM or Retail. Is the retail disc a seven pro disc?

The COA key you are talking about is the one on this sticker right?



Here's a tutorial for doing the install,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

[RebeccaValentin]

Welcome to the forum,

You should have no problem doing that, using the COA key on a same version installer is fine, the key is what determines OEM or Retail. Is the retail disc a seven pro disc?

The COA key you are talking about is the one on this sticker right?

View attachment 388056

Here's a tutorial for doing the install,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

Thanks a ton!
Yes the retail disk is a win7 pro 64 bit one.. the same version as my previous OS..
yes, the one on the sticker..

& thanks a ton for the tutorial too.. thank you so much!

 

[derekimo]

Yeah, you have everything you need then. You're welcome.

 

[RebeccaValentin]

Yeah, you have everything you need then. You're welcome.

Sorry to bother you again..
but i just got something in my mind.
After installing Windows 7, what is the first thing I should do? Install all the drivers (in order) of my Sony Vaio or just install Windows Updates?
Thanks in advance..

 

[derekimo]

No bother.

I would go with drivers, then updates, updates may take you a while to get caught up.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yeah, you have everything you need then. You're welcome.

Sorry to bother you again..
but i just got something in my mind.
After installing Windows 7, what is the first thing I should do? Install all the drivers (in order) of my Sony Vaio or just install Windows Updates?
Thanks in advance..

Your Windows installation disc may supply all necessary drivers. It's kind of on a case by case basis.

I'd do the basic install with the Windows disc and then evaluate. Look in Device Manager for any yellow exclamation marks. Check your hardware for any issues---display settings, text size, USB port functionality, printer, etc.

If everything works to your satisfaction, I probably wouldn't install any other drivers. If not, consider the newest drivers for that particular functionality from your PC manufacturer's web site.

The most important thing is to have an Internet connection, so I'd probably download the LAN/Ethernet/NIC driver for that before I began, even though it's usually installed by Windows during the initial installation.

If you are going to install other drivers, install the INF driver first.

 

[RebeccaValentin]

No bother.

I would go with drivers, then updates, updates may take you a while to get caught up.

Thanks a ton again!!!

 

[RebeccaValentin]

Your Windows installation disc may supply all necessary drivers. It's kind of on a case by case basis.

I'd do the basic install with the Windows disc and then evaluate. Look in Device Manager for any yellow exclamation marks. Check your hardware for any issues---display settings, text size, USB port functionality, printer, etc.

If everything works to your satisfaction, I probably wouldn't install any other drivers. If not, consider the newest drivers for that particular functionality from your PC manufacturer's web site.

The most important thing is to have an Internet connection, so I'd probably download the LAN/Ethernet/NIC driver for that before I began, even though it's usually installed by Windows during the initial installation.

If you are going to install other drivers, install the INF driver first.

Is there any special procedure to actually get to know if any drivers are missing, apart from testing every functionality one by one?

And thanks for the information

 

[RebeccaValentin]

Sorry, I know this is something which is off topic. But got some doubts..

So these are the drivers from the Sony website ( I have a Sony Vaio S series laptop). When I finish installing Windows 7, I should just check for any missing drivers and install ONLY them? What if I miss something? (Im just a beginner and I have never tried anything like reinstalling Win before)
And does the Windows disk usually contain every driver mentioned here?
So if that is the case, then I should only go for driver updates?
Thanks in advance.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Is there any special procedure to actually get to know if any drivers are missing, apart from testing every functionality one by one?

And thanks for the information

Look for the yellow exclamation points ("bangs") in Device Manager. They typically refer to missing drivers.

Even if you see one or more, you may not have any problems with the hardware you actually use. I wouldn't expect to see more than 1 or 2 on a fresh install. Maybe none.

Or you might.

Some people are obsessed with removing all of the bangs, even though they have no problems doing whatever they want on the PC.

Other people are obsessed with always having the "latest drivers", even though they have no issues at all--the current drivers are doing the job.

I tend to leave well enough alone. If I need to do X, Y, and Z and can in fact do X, Y, and Z, I don't get in a lather over getting the latest drivers. New drivers can have unintended and unfortunate consequences.

The standard advice is to install the INF (aka "chipset") driver first, but I'm not sure how critical that is--I'll bet it's not installed first in many many cases and probably not installed at all quite often. It's hard to get definitive info on it's importance in the last few years.

The LAN driver is the most important. Without it, you aren't getting on the Internet. Normally, Windows will install it, but since it's so critical, I'd download it and have it available just in case.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Sorry, I know this is something which is off topic. But got some doubts..

So these are the drivers from the Sony website ( I have a Sony Vaio S series laptop). When I finish installing Windows 7, I should just check for any missing drivers and install ONLY them? What if I miss something? (Im just a beginner and I have never tried anything like reinstalling Win before)
And does the Windows disk usually contain every driver mentioned here?
So if that is the case, then I should only go for driver updates?
Thanks in advance.

There's no harm done in downloading ALL of them.

Whether you need to install them is another question.

If you need the functionality, you need a driver, but Windows will supply many, most, or all.

Evaluate after your install.

Get the Ethernet driver now, for sure. You can get the others now or later, if you need them.

With reasonable luck, you won't even need to use the downloaded Ethernet driver.

 

[RebeccaValentin]

There's no harm done in downloading ALL of them.

Whether you need to install them is another question.

If you need the functionality, you need a driver, but Windows will supply many, most, or all.

Evaluate after your install.

Get the Ethernet driver now, for sure. You can get the others now or later, if you need them.

With reasonable luck, you won't even need to use the downloaded Ethernet driver.

Thanks a ton again
So probably its enough if I have the chipset, LAN & Ethernet drivers, just in case I need any of them.. right?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

There's no harm done in downloading ALL of them.

Whether you need to install them is another question.

If you need the functionality, you need a driver, but Windows will supply many, most, or all.

Evaluate after your install.

Get the Ethernet driver now, for sure. You can get the others now or later, if you need them.

With reasonable luck, you won't even need to use the downloaded Ethernet driver.

Thanks a ton again
So probably its enough if I have the chipset, LAN & Ethernet drivers, just in case I need any of them.. right?

Yeah, I'd get wireless LAN and Ethernet. I'd get them and the chipset driver now. You might eventually need some of those oddball drivers like fingerprint, etc. I'm not sure how many of the oddball drivers Windows might install as I don't use that stuff.

 

[RebeccaValentin]

Yeah, I'd get wireless LAN and Ethernet. I'd get them and the chipset driver now. You might eventually need some of those oddball drivers like fingerprint, etc. I'm not sure how many of the oddball drivers Windows might install as I don't use that stuff.

Thank you