pre installed software...

[mrash]

How do i get pre-installed software back on my system? I had Vista that came with my Vaio and it came bundled with Adobe Premier and Elements, and i want these programs back. I did a back up of my hard drive while on vista, then installed Windows 7 64bit, but cant seem to find the installation file for these programs, what would the installation file look like? Alternatively, can i download from adobe and then apply the "licence" file? Thanks in advance people.

 

[torrentg]

Look in disk management for the presence of a recovery partition.

Software should be on there. Not sure how to go about doing something with it because I never had or used one before. It may only be an image or something. Or perhaps, it may have .exe you can install from.

 

[Barman58]

Unless you are supplied with install disks by the system manufacturer - unusual but dell has done this in the past - the only way to recover this software is to use the recovery partition/disks to reload the original OS and applications.

If you were running Vista you could then do an upgrade install that would retain the programs on Windows 7. This would not be possible of course if coming from XP or going 32 to 64 bit.

You would have to decide if the downside of an upgrade is outweighed by the value of the pre-installed programs.

It may be possible to replace these programs with opensource or other freely available programs as an alternative

 

[Barman58]

In addition to the above there is another remote possibility - if the pre-installed software were supplied as installers rather than a part of the actual image - it would be possible to restore the original system and copy the installers to an external storage and use this after installing Win7 to install the software.

This is an unlikely option for this type of software and would be more likely for small system utilities and drivers

 

[gregrocker]

I wonder if MS is putting some welcome pressure on manufacturers to not enforce their bloatware so much with 7.

Acer Upgrade Kit includes a clean copy of Win7 and an apps/drivers menu CD. Just pick and choose what you want to install! Dell apparently does this too.

With Vista, manufacturers enforced bloatware so ridiculously many would not support clean reinstalls or give access to needed apps without it. They make their profit margin in some cases from the sponsored bloat.

Since the missing programs were bundled with your computer, the best approach is to call your manufacturer and ask how you can obtain those specific programs, and you might get lucky. Sometimes I call back several times when told something "can't be done" until I get someone who knows or tells how. And always check their Downloads page for your model.

This is one reason why I always Save all installers including copies of disk .iso's in my Downloads folder and back them up.

 

[Barman58]

I actually mentioned Dell in my earlier post as they always used to follow this two disk practice - and it is good to see them returning to the policy.

Of course if you purchase a business machine from one of the major OEM's it would be unusual to find any bloat-ware.

 

[mrash]

Thank you for all your responses so quickly. I am pretty sure there is a partition saved for the reinstallation. This wont be wiped with a clean install would it? I have emailed Sony and they have told me they cannot give me the programs, as its been mentioned before, this was part of the Vista Licence on the original install. Its ok, i can look for open source software if i cant get anywhere with this.

 

[gregrocker]

How to restore a Windows 7-based computer to a previous Windows installation by using the Windows.old folder


Recov partitions are unfortunately normally disabled by the new OS installation. See if you can access it by tapping the F-key given on the first BIOS screen, then try F8 to see if there is access to recovery.

Acer will send recov disks for free within first 90 days of purchase; others charge shipping.

If you really need that program, then my suggestion would be to recover your Vista installation, then boot from the Windows 7 installer and create a second partition to install Windows 7 which will give you a boot menu to choose at startup (which you can set timer on or even hide) for when you need to go into Vista.

You have access to one partition from the other, as well.

 

[Barman58]

With recovery partitions I have had a lot of success over the years with simply using a partition manager to set the recover partition to the active partition and re-booting.

Always worth a try if the designated keys are not working

 

[gregrocker]

Thanks Barman. I always learn from you. I mentioned the Dell possibility on the strength of your comment and another poster here who always jumps in to correct bloatware assumptions re: Dell.

I am fascinated by the recov partition being able to boot just like the disk. Would this work with WIn7 backup image (which I keep in primary partition) or does it need to be .iso?

 

[Barman58]

Deja-Vu

What tends to happen is that the recovery partition is an encrypted or otherwise non readable format, but it contains boot files. the Fkey press actually just sets the partition as active and reboots - often from an "are you sure" type screen maybe with a link to the actual OS recovery tools - held on the original small boot partition - like Microsoft's own 100MB partition.

If you want to build your own recovery system, Paragon software do a form of this available with their higher end suites, called the backup capsule - others may too.

Windows image backups rely on the bootable recovery options either on the hard disk or install disk rather than make the image bootable.