Win 7 to new hard drive

[gregrocker]

Find a Win7 installation DVD and clean reinstall without the factory bloatware and useless utilities which have better versions built into Win7. If you must download the ISO, check the comments to make sure nothing's been added and rightclick scan with AV and Malwarebytes

Reinstalling Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums

 

[wbeans]

I plan on getting a legit copy of Win 7 off the net, don't want to but I'm forced to of course.

Also, this is the new HDD i plan on getting (exact replacement) Buy.com - Western Digital Scorpio WD3200BEVT 320 GB Internal Hard Drive - Bulk that's all I need to buy right, and it just plugs right in?

 

[mjf]

So you're options are:
1) Contact Dell and see if they still provide recovery disks. Bought 2009 - was it Windows 7 when bought?
2) If you have a COA sticker on the side and can get hold of a set of installation disks you can try a clean install. I haven't heard of OEM clean install problems here but have on MS Answers forum. If you give MS the age of the PC and a hard luck story they may send you installation disks for a small fee?
3) If (2) fails buy OEM installation disks.

Add: Be careful buying off the net.

 

[DocBrown]

You might check TigerDirect & NewEgg for their prices on laptop HDs

What model Dell laptop is it ?

 

[wbeans]

What good are the recovery discs if they don't reinstall Win7?

I need a new HDD since this one has a bad sector from physical damage, most likely because I dropped it twice.

Already checked newegg, same HD is 49.99 then add in a couple bucks for shipping. Also, I dont' need to buy a case for it right, just bare HD and its plug & play?

It's a Inspiron 1745, purchased Nov. 2009 with Win 7 Home Premium 64bit installed

 

[mjf]

Recovery disks made when the PC is generally bought do restore to full factory settings.
System Repair disks just carry out repair, reimaging etc.

 

[wbeans]

Since I have a bad sector and I try resetting to factory settings can't it corrupt the install?

I'm just looking for the easiest way to get Win 7 onto the new hard drive, all my files I need are backed up externally already.

 

[DocBrown]

After you get a new laptop HD, do you have any friends that have a Win 7 Home Premium 64bit install DVD ? With your Dell Key Code on the laptop, there is a 99% chance to get win7 on the laptop

 

[wbeans]

Actually, I just setup my mom's new Inspiron 570 desktop with 64 Home Premium a few days ago, bought from Dell so no DVD but maybe I can just get an image from her computer and use that?

Also, thanks for the Tigerdirect tip...buy.com added in tax/s&h afterwards and it came to about $60, ordered from Amazon for $54 then I checked TD and it was $39.99 no s&h/no tax!!

 

[mjf]

Actually, I just setup my mom's new Inspiron 570 desktop with 64 Home Premium a few days ago, bought from Dell so no DVD but maybe I can just get an image from her computer and use that?

Simple answer: No.

Each OEM OS is tied to the specific PC it runs on.
Bite the bullet and start fresh.

 

[Bill2]

If this computer is still working and you can locate the dell recovery manager (may be called dell datasafe or something else, check under Start-All programs, should be there unless you have formatted the c: drive sometime), just create the recovery disks right now. You can use them to factory restore on the new hdd.

 

[Bare Foot Kid]

Here's what they're trying to tell you.


After you have copied out or made back-ups of the data you need to save to external media; if you can find an exact Windows version that the PC shipped with you can do a clean install using the activation key on the COA sticker attached to the PC though it may require a robo-call to MS to sort the OEM batch-key.

How to Activate Windows 7 by Phone


If you can't find an exact same version, you could use the info in this tutorial to create an "all versions" installer of any version Windows installer, to install using the same method I posted above.

Windows 7 Universal Installation Disc - Create


After you have made backups of everything you care to save, the best method is to do a complete wipe (secure erase) of the entire Hard Disk Drive first, it over-writes everything, all the old Windows code including all the old drivers/programs, giving you the best possible space to install Windows to.

SSD / HDD : Optimize for Windows Reinstallation

 

[wbeans]

New hard drive will be here this Friday and Dell is shipping me a new Windows 7 cd for free and that will be here in 2-3 days.

Thanks for all the help guys. Def will be coming back here if any issues arise in the future

 

[gregrocker]

If Dell actually sends you a Win7 Installation DVD rather than bloatware Recovery Disks, then you are a lucky guy since they stopped doing that on new shipped units last year.

Now you can get a perfect Win7 install without the factory bloatware or useless factory utilties which have better versions built into Win7: Reinstalling Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums

If you get Recovery Disks, you can gradually clean up the factory bloatware to get better performance using these tips: Clean up factory bloatware

 

[mjf]

It was a fair bit of effort but at least you have a solution.
I have a suspicion you will get factory recovery disks - even so you get them for free.

 

[wbeans]

She said I will be getting 5 disks, I told them my hard drive failed and I need the Windows 7 disks for the new hard drive

Dell Customers can now request a set of backup discs containing the factory-installed operating system as well as the device drivers and utilities specific to your system.

• Requests are limited to one (1) set of backup discs per system purchased.
• The backup discs requested must match the operating system that was factory installed on the original order.

http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/backupcd_form?c=us&l=en&s=dhs