Need help installing Win 7 on blank HD

[Learnin]

Hello,

I had a computer that got some kind of virus because I tried to start it up one day and it told me that it could not find \boot\bcd. To make a long story short, it couldn't be fixed & I pulled the hard drive out of the computer, hooked it up to another, and reformatted the drive. I cant reinstall from the recovery partition because it was bad too and got wiped. What I want to know is if there is a way to get windows 7 installed back on the HDD? I don't have install disks since my computer didn't come with one. I have a verification key that came with the computer, so can I download windows 7 from somewhere and install it (without having to pay for it)? Can I take win7 from my other computer and somehow install it on the drive?

Thanks

PS I am looking for a legitimate source if it can be downloaded. I don't want info on pirated stuff.

 

[bobkn]

It may be posssible to modify a Windows installation DVD to work with an OEM key. (I've never tried it.) Search on ei.cfg.

It's also possible to find legitimate (not pirated) .iso files for several Win7 installers online. I'm not sure whether the rules here would permit posting links, but they're easy enough to find at mydigitallife. (The links are actually to Digital River, an online distribution service.)

The normal source for restore disks would be the PC's manufacturer. They may not be free, although they should cost much less than a new Windows license. They also would not, in general, be regular Windows installation media.

 

[kegobeer]

You can download Windows 7 from DigitalRiver, then use the Windows 7 key that is affixed to your computer/laptop/etc. Just google "legal windows 7 download" and you'll find all the info you need.

 

[gregrocker]

The retail and OEM installers have been the same disk since XP.

Follow the steps given here to get a perfect Clean Reinstall Windows 7 Factory OEM

 

[theog]

Did you make the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Disks?

You can order OEM Recovery disks from your OEM manufacturer's website.

   Information

We always assume you have made your Recovery Disks using the OEM manufacturer's Recovery Media Creator app the first day you had your new PC.
& made the Startup Repair CD.
startup repair disc-create
​

 

[Learnin]

I downloaded the windows 7 install from digitalriver. I burned it to disk and started the install. It got to 98% of expanding windows files and then said that the necessary files couldn't be found
I am going to run the install again and see what happens. Thanks for the help. hopefully I will get this thing running again.

I was wondering if it is possible to install the OS on the hard drive while it is plugged into another computer via usb. When I started the digitalriver iso it just jumps into installing on the current computer. Can I tell it what drive to go to from a functioning computer?

 

[gregrocker]

Did you burn the ISO to DVD using Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool or ImgBurn at 4x speed? These are the surest ways to know it is burned correctly.

Then reboot the computer with DVD in drive, tap the key given on first boot screen for BIOS Boot Menu, select DVD drive to boot. Do you get a prompt to "Press any key to boot disk?"

Before you begin read over these steps to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7,
ask back if you have any questions.