Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

Page 5 of 58 FirstFirst ... 3456715 ... LastLast

  1. Posts : 32
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
       #40

    1). Will the "clean reinstall" process delete Microsoft office? If so, by using the product key number to reactivate Office, you can download Office "x" amount of times.

    2). I am a little confused on step 7. What does "gather your program installers" mean?

    Sorry for all of these simple questions for some of you experts.
      My Computer


  2. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #41

    Hi Bob,

    1. Yes - the clean install will format the entire hard disk, so everything on the hard disk, incl. the MSOffice installation will be deleted. You can install MSOffice again, and activate as normal using the Office key.

    2. By "gather installers", Greg means that you should save any program installers to aan external USB drive, so that once you have installed Windows 7, you can then access these to install your other software to your PC. If your programs came on a set of DVD's, and you have those handy, then you don't need to worry since your installers are already accessible on the DVD's.

    Many OEM installations have a utility to burn the drivers/installers specific to that OEM installation to a DVD as a backup - if you have that facility, you should run that BEFORE you proceed with the clean install.

    Regards,
    Golden
    Last edited by Golden; 27 Jun 2012 at 00:59. Reason: add info about OEM installer/driver DVD burn option
      My Computer


  3. Posts : 32
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
       #42

    Thank you for the quick response.
    1). I have Office on the home computer and this laptop which makes for 2 downloads (same product key used on both). If I reinstall Windows 7, activating Office on the laptop will make for a total of 3 downloads, correct? What is the limit Microsoft assigns for Office 2007?

    2). By exporting my username file to an external HD, I am not transferring other programs like Garmin, Google sketchup, etc?
      My Computer


  4. Posts : 19,383
    Windows 10 Pro x64 ; Xubuntu x64
       #43

    Hi Bob,

    1. It sounds like you have a MSOffice Home & Student 3 Licence pack? is that correct? If so, then strictly speaking you are re-installing the 2nd MSOffice installation. We need more detail about what type of Office bundle you have.

    2. No, I don't think so. The actually programs tend not to be installed in the username, although some related profile files might be. Google will be accessible from your internet browser (at least from IE) once you reinstall Windows. I'm not sure about sketchup, and presumbaly Garmin is the GPS software - they will probably need to be installed from the installation disks.

    Regards,
    Golden
      My Computer


  5. Posts : 50,642
    Thread Starter
       #44

    I always reinstall Google Sketchup from the latest download on its website. That along with all other downloaded installers are best directed to your Downloads folder which should be unhidden by rightclicking a blank area of Start menu, choose Properties>Customize. I keep every installer except those which come on disks in Downloads folder, and don't use the disk installer if there is a newer download (e.g. printer/scanner) on the program's Support Downloads webpage.

    If you drag your named User account to external, make sure the key folders (Documents, Pictures, Favorites, Downloads, Video, etc.) are intact and completed copying.

    You can always easily reinstall Office since it already has that computer's hardware ID recorded in its Activation servers. I would do a Custom install to only choose the features you know you want, or want to sample. Then I would turn off any features for this or any other program which don't need to be starting with Windows in msconfig>Startup and >Services after hiding all MS Services.
      My Computer


  6. Posts : 32
    Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit SP1
       #45

    Yes, I do have Home and Student 2007. I may PM one of you Seven Guru when I attempt this next week. Office is the only program currently on my laptop that I paid for. So, I want to make sure there will be no problems installing it. Thank you Greg and Golden.
      My Computer


  7. Posts : 31
    Win7 64bit
       #46

    Office Starter


    Does anybody know how Office Starter would be affected by this method?

    Would there be any way to back this up before formatting?

    Since it's only available to OEMs, I have to assume I would need to use the Toshiba Recovery Media (Discs or Recovery Partition) instead of the Windows iso from Microsoft.

    I would have to keep the partition in case something happened to the discs, otherwise if a reinstall was necessary, I would lose Office Starter, correct? I was kind of hoping since I had made the Recovery Discs, I could lose the partition and gain a few GB.
      My Computer


  8. Posts : 50,642
    Thread Starter
       #47

    You can download MS Office Starter freeware from here: Microsoft Office Starter 2010 free download - Software reviews, downloads, news, free trials, freeware and full commercial software - Downloadcrew

    However MS announced last week it is phasing out Office Starter to replace it with Office Web apps which are part of Office 2013: Microsoft begins phasing out Starter edition of its Office suite | ZDNet
      My Computer


  9. Posts : 31
    Win7 64bit
       #48

    I saw where you said that MS was discontinuing Starter after I followed the external link, and because it had 2/3 reviews saying it did not work, I went to the MS OEM site, where I found they are no longer offering it to OEMs.

    I would not be comfortable relying on the Downloadcrew's offering. If it were a requirement that I keep the partition, I would opt for that over the unsure D/L.

    I don't expect you to know an exact answer about every system builder out there, but I'm going to ask about the likelihood of this situation: Would the recovery media hold everything necessary to restore the recovery partition, or would some data be excluded from the discs? Toshiba has seen fit to make their Recovery Discs 5 DVDs.

    Thanks for putting up with me.
      My Computer


  10. Posts : 50,642
    Thread Starter
       #49

    That's OK. Seems the comments about download failure are cropping up this month just as MS announces it's abandoning Starter. You can try installing the download on another machine to see how it works.

    There's also Open Office which is very well liked and completely compatible.

    The Toshiba Recovery disks normally have everything that's preinstalled on them. You can always try to Clean Up Factory Bloatware.
      My Computer


 
Page 5 of 58 FirstFirst ... 3456715 ... LastLast

  Related Discussions
Our Sites
Site Links
About Us
Windows 7 Forums is an independent web site and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Microsoft Corporation. "Windows 7" and related materials are trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

© Designer Media Ltd
All times are GMT -5. The time now is 22:16.
Find Us