Solved Where is a good place to buy Windows 7?

[MisterEd]

I was given an old Toshiba Tecra M7-S7331 convertible laptop/tablet. It originally came with Windows XP Media Center but was upgraded to Windows 7 Pro. The only problem I know of is that its hard drive is bad. I don't know what the key was for Windows 7.

I installed a new hard drive and installed Windows 8/8.1 Pro on it only because I had a key for it.The website for Toshiba still has this laptop but the links for drivers are broken. I used the full version of Snappy to install some drivers but the Device Manager still says some things still need drivers. Both the wired and wireless says the drivers are installed. For some reason I can't connect to anything using WiFi. Wired networking does work. Windows update gives an error.

BTW, I had forgotten how bad Windows 8/8.1 was. Open Shell makes things more tolerable but not enough. Windows 7 was much better.

I am next going to try Windows 7 Pro on it to see if that works better. If it does I plan to buy a Windows 7 key for it. The problem is the two placed I know that seem to be reputable show Windows 7 is now unavailable. Does anyone know of a reputable place that I can still buy Windows 7 Pro?

Also, last year I bought one of those Windows 7 Pro OEM keys online. I used it to upgrade a computer which had Windows 7 Home. Would it be possible to transfer that key to the laptop? I know technically that shouldn't be possible but is there a way around it?

 

[SIW2]

mikes unboxing youtube channel suggests a place. It is pinned below all his videos.
here is the most recent video:

BEST Budget 500w PSU Gamemax Rampage Silent 80 Plus Bronze - YouTube

 

[MisterEd]

mikes unboxing youtube channel suggests a place. It is pinned below all his videos.
here is the most recent video:

BEST Budget 500w PSU Gamemax Rampage Silent 80 Plus Bronze - YouTube

Thanks a lot. I am first going to install Windows 7 to makes sure everything works. If it does I'll buy Windows 7 Pro.

 

[Megahertz07]

Does the computer that had Win 7 home (and you upgraded to pro) has a COA sticker on it?

 

[MisterEd]

Does the computer that had Win 7 home (and you upgraded to pro) has a COA sticker on it?

All my Windows 7 computers used retail copies of Windows 7. I might be able to use the key for Windows 7 Home Family Pack. The computer upgraded to Windows 7 Pro originally used this key. It might still have an activation left.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Ed,

couple questions,
how Dead is that old drive, if you can load it - run Either Magic jellyBean or Produkey
ProduKey - Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Windows/MS-Office/SQL Server
KeyFinder | Magical Jelly Bean

was the OEM key you purchased System Builder, if so you will not have to buy another
Note
TRY it anyway, then run the tool from here, post the output and i'll be able to tell
Windows Genuine and Activation Issue Posting Instructions

 

[MisterEd]

Hi Ed,

couple questions,
how Dead is that old drive, if you can load it - run Either Magic jellyBean or Produkey
ProduKey - Recover lost product key (CD-Key) of Windows/MS-Office/SQL Server
KeyFinder | Magical Jelly Bean

was the OEM key you purchased System Builder, if so you will not have to buy another
Note
TRY it anyway, then run the tool from here, post the output and i'll be able to tell
Windows Genuine and Activation Issue Posting Instructions

I have used Magic jellyBean and Produkey many times. I found the keys for Windows 7 Home and Office 2007 Standard on the drive of a dead laptop. I am out luck with this hard drive. Once in a while it shows two partitions but I can't access them. Sometimes it causes the computer to either crash or blue screen. I can't even repartition the drive. I get an I/O error if I try.

I installed Windows 7 Home on the computer. I had to used the full 35GB download of Snappy to get all the drivers it needs. The Device Manager says everything is working now. However, the Intel 3945ABG Pro/Wirless adapter is not functioning correctly. I can see SSIDs and select them but when I try to connect to one I get an error. Ethernet works OK but since this a laptop I would prefer WiFi.

Windows Updates aren't working. I am going to copy SP1, SP2 and Simplex over the network so I can update it manually. Maybe one of these updates will fix the WiFi. If I can get WiFi working I will keep Windows 7 and activate it.

 

[torchwood]

hi

whats the error code, believe that device drivers should be in the driver store

please run msinfo32, copy/paste the results

 

[MisterEd]

hi

whats the error code, believe that device drivers should be in the driver store

please run msinfo32, copy/paste the results

What information are you looking for?



Both the Wired and Wireless show working drivers but only wired works OK.



There are several SSIDs shown.



If I try to connect to one of mine I always get an error.



My router security is fixed at WPA3-Personal Transition. My laptop only supports WPA2? Could that be why I can't connect to the router?

Update:

I finally was able to get to my router settings by updating the app on my phone. I use split bands so I have separate SSIDs for the 2.4, 5, & 6 GHz bands. I changed the 2.4GHz band from WPA3-Personal Transition to WPA2. That solved the problem. My Toshiba laptop can now connect to the Internet.

BTW, I did some research and found WPA3-Personal Transition is supposed to be backward compatible with WPA2. I wonder why the laptop couldn't connect then? Anyways, it is connecting now so that is all that matters.

- - - Updated - - -

I started this thread looking for a site to buy Windows 7 Professional. I picked a site recommended by a well respected YouTube channel. After I ordered and paid for Windows 7 Professional the page changed to say product no longer available. I contacted support and was told I would get a refund in 5-7 hours. That was two days ago. I contacted the YouTube channel by email and was told that if I have not gotten a refund by next Monday that I should email him again. He has promised in the past to make good on anyone that has problems with that site. Note he is an affiliate of that site so I hope he meant what he said.

 

[torchwood]

Hi Ed

well done.... btw its possible that if you have Intel ProSet installed, the route would be Router >> IntelProset> driver.
there may have been a pass thru conflict in Proset

 

[SIW2]

If you get a key for higher edition, you dont need to reinstall. You can upgrade the current installation.

 

[MisterEd]

Note I put off activating Windows 7 until I got WiFi working. Now that is working.

I am documenting the steps from recollection so they may not be complete. I am doing this in case someone else has to do the same thing.

Activate Windows 7 Home Premium
Go to Control Panel > System and Security > System
Select Change product key
Enter key for Windows 7 Home Premium
Select Activate Windows online now
When finished Windows 7 Home Premium was activated

To upgrade to Windows 7 Professional without reinstalling:
Go to Start and type "Windows Anytime Upgrade"
Run Windows Anytime Upgrade
Enter key for Windows 7 Professional
It must have taken 30 minutes to complete
When finished Windows 7 Professional was installed

Activate Windows 7 Professional
Go to Control Panel > System and Security > System
Select Activate Windows online now
Enter key for Windows 7 Professional
When finished Windows 7 Professional was activated

 

[SIW2]

no need to activate home premium first.

enter any win7 pro key into anytime upgrade.

anytime upgrade runs for a couple of minutes, then claims to have failed.

ignore that.

reboot and the upgrade to the higher edition completes.

now can activate with appropriate key.

 

[torchwood]

Hi

saw your post on 10 forums, i moved to 10 with my Acer6930G with 4g ram, didn't notice a terrible drop off in performance, originally shipped with Vista
i would make a couple of comments
a lot of users said that they didn''t like how it was first presented, on a clean install, so i actually performed the upgrade this kept all my personalisations and drivers. (note i made sure i had the latest drivers > first<)
Remove any 3rd party AV's and any optimiser type progs

 

[MisterEd]

no need to activate home premium first.

enter any win7 pro key into anytime upgrade.

anytime upgrade runs for a couple of minutes, then claims to have failed.

ignore that.

reboot and the upgrade to the higher edition completes.

now can activate with appropriate key.

Actually when Anytime Upgrade failed the error message said I needed to activate Windows 7 first. That is why I did that. That is what I get for being logical about it. :sarc:

BTW, last year I did an Anytime Upgrade on another computer from Windows 7 Home to Pro. It had been activated by Home for a long time already so the upgrade was straightforward. What was strange was that I was offered Anytime Upgrade from the start so don't remember having to run anything from the Start.

 

[SIW2]

I started this thread looking for a site to buy Windows 7 Professional. I picked a site recommended by a well respected YouTube channel. After I ordered and paid for Windows 7 Professional the page changed to say product no longer available. I contacted support and was told I would get a refund in 5-7 hours. That was two days ago. I contacted the YouTube channel by email and was told that if I have not gotten a refund by next Monday that I should email him again. He has promised in the past to make good on anyone that has problems with that site. Note he is an affiliate of that site so I hope he meant what he said.

What happened about this?

 

[MisterEd]

What happened about this?

Thanks for asking. All the YouTube channel did was to tell me to contact the seller again. I chatted with the seller again on their website. They said I needed to give them more time. I said I had already given them five days. .... I contacted PayPal to file a complaint. I had a refund five hours later.

I reported this to the YouTube channel who said that it was normal for this to take that long because it was international. I don't buy that because the original purchase only took minutes to be paid by PayPal to the seller.