Resolved Can a Retail Copy of W7 be Used to Repair OEM

Hello,

I have an Acer desktop that had W7 pre-installed. Something in the OS is corrupted. My Acer has a System Restore disk - but I am 99% sure using it will effectively wipe my drive of all apps and data. The data is not an issue - I am backed up. I would prefer not starting from scratch.

I have read that there are ways to repair a W7 installation if you have a retail disk. I am considering buying an extra copy to use as a repair tool. If I buy a student version (cost around $70) can I use this as a repair tool for multiple W7 PCs that have home professional installed? All PCs have valid licenses - I just want to use the student copy as a repair tool.

Or, will Windows see that the serial numbers don't match and reject the repair? Also, will this method save my PC config?

Thanks so much! I have been banging my head on the wall for several days on this and really need to get it fixed.

Chip

 

Evan,

This sounds like this may be the best route for me (except for having to buy an additional license).

Just be to sure - will any retail version of W7 work? So the student version if fine?

What about an upgrade version - would that work?

After the repair, will my PC still have the same version of W7 and the same license as it did before?

Can you send me a link with detailed step-by-step instructions how to do this?

Chip

P.S. Would you please verify which of the following products would work? Thank you so much!!

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116713

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116986

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Produc..._Price|1||P_SignDesc1&lang=en-US&Sp=C&topnav=

 

Evan, it turns out that I have Windows 7 Professional 64bit, this means I probably cannot use Home Premium. A retail OEM version of 7 Pro will run close to $150. At this point I am thinking of just using system restore and wiping the computer drive clean and starting from scratch - very frustrating!

 

That is absolutely correct.

Have you tried running sfc /scannow?

If that doesn't work, you can use a Linux live boot Cd to recover your data files and place them into a safe location. Then you can relax and do the full restore without having to worry about your data.

 

You can download legal Win7 images from here. They do not come with keys, but you should be able to use your own.

http://techdows.com/2011/07/download-windows-7-integrated-with-sp1-iso-official-direct-download-links.html

 

Yes - and with the added bonus of a crapware free installation too

 

Wow - I wish I saw this before I used my Acer Recovery Disks - still this may come in handy in the future. I am going to download the various versions and burn them to a DVD. Thanks!!

 

I am so sorry for the delay in replying. For better or worse, I gave up at recovery and focused on getting my data backed up (which I did thanks to Ubunto(?) and then used the Acer Recovery Disk. My PC is now working, and after 100+ MS updates, the OS seems fine. I am having some other problems which I will post in another thread. Thank you all for your help.

 

Would you mind clarifying your comment? Do you mean the ISO images will install other junk s/w without my permission? if yes, I would probably only use in an emergency. Do you know this from personal experience?

 

It means NO... It will be a clean installation MINUS all the crapware that Acer will install on your PC without your requesting it.

 

Absolutely. It wasn't my intention to single Acer out in particular - it just so happens that Acer is the OEM referred to in this thread.

Like you say Arie, they pretty much all do it. Why they do it is debateable. My own theory is that its partly to make a cut on some of the stuff that's trialware such as the various AV vendors and partly so that the customer has a perception of "Added Value" with perception being 9/10 of reality for many people. Also, since much of the other junk is freeware or in house developed software, it costs them very little to bundle it.