Toshiba OEM 7 Home Premium

[allend66]

Hi, 3 quick questions for the gurus, if you please!

I bought a Toshiba Satellite L500-20Z, and it does not tell me which version I am running, ( 32or64 ) though I know it IS x64.

The in-store shpeil said it was equipped with Win 7 Home premium 64bit, with 32bit recovery partition.

Question 1 - is there any way to tell between 32 or 64 (apart from a "Program Files (x64)" folder on my C: drive), and

Question 2 - how do I tell what build I have? (the above link says nothing)

Question 3 - how to tell if the recovery is 64 and not just 32 without wiping my existing instal?

(I suppose I could take an image of my current C: drive and use that instead of the recovery partition if disaster strikes.... only trouble is with OEM theres so much bloat and crap that's incluided...)

I'm a noob, from XP, and this is my 2nd post. Thanks all!
D

 

[richc46]

I think that most of your questions will be answered by:
typing winver in search
right clicking on the computer icon on desktop and properties

Not sure how to tell about recovery but I am quite certain it is the same as your OS.

 

[allend66]

thank you Sir, I had just seen that winver.exe somewhere else,...

Have a good day

 

[richc46]

Your welcome, sorry I cannot answer the third question. We will both learn when another comes along with the information

 

[Mellon Head]

The recovery partition will be the same version as what is installed in the machine, so if your version is x64, the recovery image will be x64, and vice-versa.

To see if you are running 32 or 64 bit, just look at the System page in Control Panel. It will tell you there.

As far as the build is concerned, it should be 7600.xxx It isn't really important as Toshiba probably modified that when they added the bloat ware.

I have a Toshiba A210 laptop with all the bloat ware added in. It's running Vista HP. What I did was to make the normal Toshiba recovery disks if they are needed for an emergency, and then I made a copy of a friend's Vista HP OEM disk. If anything goes wrong, I'll use that disk to restore, and use the Toshiba key, avoiding the bloat ware in the process. No worries on piracy there, since I'm using my own key to re-install.

 

[allend66]

System page in Control Panel doesn't give the info, I'd post a screen grab but I'm at work at the mo... maybe when I get home.

Thanks!

 

[Barman58]

Right Click on Computer select properties - architecture info is about halfway down

 

[allend66]

oops! my bad - I was looking quickly as a comparison to the posted jpg, and my version is in spanish! Thanks again..

 

[richc46]

You are very welcome, come back any time with questions or just to visit.

 

[DeaconFrost]

1: You should know, based on what you paid for when you bought the laptop, but your system properties should tell you clearly.
2: Who cares what build you have? If you bought it from Toshiba, it came with Windows 7 final...no need to know the build number, unless you are messing around with a hacked warez copy...at which point it won't be discussed on here.
3. The recovery will be whatever OS came with your laptop, which should still be installed.

I'm making an assumption here, but based on your questions, you seem to have installed a copy of Windows 7 that you didn't get from legit sources. I may be wrong, but if you are only using the legit copy that came with your laptop, you wouldn't need to ask these questions.

 

[gregrocker]

You rightly complain about the factory bloatware. Maker's have stopped providing Win7 install DVD's (even though they are required to by MS upon demand) in order to enforce sponsor's bloatware which may provide their only profit margin. This bloatware is so insidious it can corrupt Win7 even with uninstall using the cleanest method Revo Uninstaller in Advanced Mode. So run http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1538-sfc-scannow-command-system-file-checker.html after uninstalls.

More important is to uncheck all msconfig>Startup freeloaders except AV and gadgets, and use a lightweight free AV like MS Security Essentials or Avast5. Replace inferior factory utilities with the better built-ins in Win7.

Many tech enthusiasts find a clean-copy DVD of their OS version and reinstall using the OEM Product Key on the COA sticker on machine. Any installer can also have all versions unlocked: http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/85813-windows-7-universal-installation-disc-create.html

Make your Recovery DIsks or save a Win7 backup image of the entire HD first so you have a path back to factory condition if needed to service warranty or sell computer.

The installer is mostly driver-complete, with newer arriving quickly via optional Windows Updates. Any drivers then missing in Device Manager can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer or device.

Install programs slowly over time to gauge performance after each. Don't let any programs write themselves into msconfig>Startup as they become freeloaders on your RAM/CPU and can spy on you. I only allow AV and gadgets.

When it is finished, clean and order the HD perfectly using state-of-the-art free CCleaner then Auslogics Disk and Registry defraggers monthly.

Then save a Win7 Backup image externally so you never have to reinstall again, just reimage the HD or replacement using DVD or Repair CD.

 

[allend66]

I may be wrong

Respectfully, you are.

I asked because I bought the laptop with Win 7 Home Premium OEM from Carrefour, and the instore literature said it had x64 installed with x86 recovery. Later when I phoned Toshiba customer Support they asked me about the DVD that came in the box - guess what: no DVD was in the box. So it would appear that the recovery partition with drivers and bloat is x64, but Toshiba said they will only send me a x86 version DVD. This is probably the source of the confusion.

I guess I won't know for sure untill I format and clean instal...

 

[allend66]

@gregrocker - thanks for the information (and not insulting me). I tried Revo but unless I got it wrong, it wasn't supported for x64 - so I went with 7forums' recommendation of Glary Utilities uninstaller (from the free software thread).

You're also right about the upon demand bit - Tosh cust.support told me - and this is not advertised - I only had 15 days from the purchase date to claim my Win7 DVD - and this I only found out by accident because I tried to register my guarantee online and it wouldn't work so I had to phone customer support - at the same time I asked about the recovery partition being x64 or x86 and discovered the missing DVD from the box. (Online registration fails if the laptop is older than 6 months from factory departure, in case anyone wants to acuse me of illegal activities.)

Upon learning that Toshiba would only send me a x86 Home Premium DVD I thought about getting a legit x64 ISO download from Digital River, and using my PAID-for OEM licence to activate it, but as they say, if it isn't broken, don't fix it. I'll live with the recovery partition (and bloat).