Windows 7 recovery disk

[echavez119]

So I have an Asus X54C laptop and the hard drive got fried last month. I was able to switch out hard drives but now I keep getting error messages saying Windows is not ginuine. I called Asus and they said I would need a recovery disk for Windows 7. I didn't purchase it from them yet because I wanted to take a look at other options I had plus I was not ready to drop $60 for it. My dad has a recovery disk for his laptop but it's a toshiba. Will it work on my Asus laptop? If not, do you have any recommendations for this issue?

 

[ignatzatsonic]

A Toshiba recovery disk likely won't help--those things are manufacturer-specific.

Other than pay $60 to Asus, you may be limited to trying to find a Windows 7 ISO file online.

MS is trying to make that difficult, so you won't find any authorized sites from which to download. It's up to you as to whether it's worth taking a chance on an unauthorized site, which could mean a doctored or malware-riddled ISO.

If your Asus has a COA sticker on it with a legible 25 character Product Key, you could borrow a Win 7 disk from a friend and install from that as long as the friend has a legit disk and it's for the same version mentioned on your COA sticker.