Reinstalling Windows 7

[kjames05]

Not sure if this is the right forum but here goes.

My computer has a ton of viruses and I want to do a clean reinstall of windows 7. My computer originally came with Vista but a year later I upgraded to 7 Home Premium. I upgraded by buying a product key (no disc) from the Microsoft website and downloading some file/application to install 7. I cannot find this file nor can I find anywhere on the Microsoft website which would allow me to download it again. Any help?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Yep.

You can borrow a disc from a friend and use your key.

Or you can use your Google-fu to find the ISO online and burn that ISO to a disc.

Hint: My Digital Life

 

[Hermitt43]

Hint: askVG.com

 

[gregrocker]

Steps to get a perfect clean reinstall of factory OEM: Reinstalling Windows 7

 

[kjames05]

update:

i downloaded a 7 .iso file and burned that to dvd
in the computer bios I chose the dvd drive as the primary boot
here's the problem
when I hit f12 and enter the boot menu, then hit boot from dvd drive it just boots to windows as usual and not to the windows install menu as i want it to. any idea what the problem is? (the dvd is in the drive)

 

[gregrocker]

Did you slow burn the DVD using ImgBurn at 4x speed? If so confirm the ISO or download another and try again, or write ISO to flash stick as given in the steps I linked just above.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

If it won't boot from the DVD, my first guess would be a bad download or a bad burn.

Download again or check the hash on the one you already have.

Or use another burning app, such as ImgBurn.

Burn at a relatively low speed, 4x to 12x.

Use high quality discs--like Taiyo Yuden.

 

[kjames05]

Did you slow burn the DVD using ImgBurn at 4x speed? If so confirm the ISO or download another and try again, or write ISO to flash stick as given in the steps I linked just above.

i burned it using ultraiso at 8x. also when the burning was done, it said verification failed. could this be the problem?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

Most likely.

Try another burn or download. Preferably using ImgBurn. It's certainly possibly you could have a bad download, in which case a jillion burns won't help.

 

[gregrocker]

when the burning was done, it said verification failed. could this be the problem?

Did you read the steps I gave in Reinstalling Windows 7 to get a perfect reinstall?

Sounds like you ignored the very first step which is not a good start.

 

[kjames05]

i used disk utility on my mac to burn the .iso to dvd. oddly ImgBurn didn't recognize my dvd drive. anyways it's working so far. thanks for the replies

 

[kjames05]

another question

when it asks you about formatting the hard drives, there are 3 hard drive partitions that show up:
PQSERVICE Total Size: 6.8gb
ACER Total Size: 71.3gb
DATA Total Size: 70.9gb

which ones should i format or delete, and what partition should i have highlighted for where i want windows installed?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

PQservice is likely a recovery partition. Leave it alone.

Acer is the one you would format. It is the C drive.

You could keep the Data partition as is if you want to---or you could instead delete it and just use PQservice and Acer.

If you want to delete the Data partition, be sure to back up whatever is on it to another drive. Then delete it. Then install Windows to Acer. Then expand C to take up the space formerly occupied by the Data partition.

If you happen to have any personal data on Acer partition now, you should back it up also before formatting.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a separate Data partition. Most "enthusiast" types use a separate data partition. Most users as a whole do not.

 

[kjames05]

PQservice is likely a recovery partition. Leave it alone.

Acer is the one you would format. It is the C drive.

You could keep the Data partition as is if you want to---or you could instead delete it and just use PQservice and Acer.

If you want to delete the Data partition, be sure to back up whatever is on it to another drive. Then delete it. Then install Windows to Acer. Then expand C to take up the space formerly occupied by the Data partition.

If you happen to have any personal data on Acer partition now, you should back it up also before formatting.

There are advantages and disadvantages to using a separate Data partition. Most "enthusiast" types use a separate data partition. Most users as a whole do not.

thank you for this.