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Resolved Win 7 Ulitmate crashed, corrupted Bios, msg Bootmgr

Discussion in 'Windows 7' started by LarryB, 2015/02/20.

  1. 2015/03/15
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    MS Phone Activation said that my current key is blocked and that I would have to buy a new one, reformat the C drive and re-install windows. NOT!!!

    So, do you know what the steps would be needed to install a new retail key over an invalid OEM key? Or, do I have to have another OEM key? Thanks
     
    Last edited: 2015/03/15
  2. 2015/03/15
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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  4. 2015/03/15
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Thanks Evan,

    MS told me I would need to reformat my c drive?

    1. Should I get Pro over Home?

    2. Any issues with having an invalid OEM Ultimate now?

    3. How do I install the key successfully?
     
  5. 2015/03/15
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Yeah you can't activate your version of Windows 7 Ultimate with a Windows 7 Home Premium product key so you will have to perform a Clean Installation with Windows 7.

    Unless you intend on using Group Policy in Windows 7 Professional then Home Premium is fine.

    Well you can't use Windows 7 without activating it so whoever gave you that Windows 7 OEM key, it was already used and you will need to buy a new license if you want to keep using Windows 7.

    Perform a clean install of Windows 7 using the Windows 7 Home Premium disk and then activate it using the product key that is given to you by following the instructions in the tutorial that I linked to above.
     
  6. 2015/03/15
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Just be sure, you are saying that even if I buy a new Ultimate x64, I will have to reformat my c drive and start over??
     
  7. 2015/03/15
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    No. If you were to buy a version of Windows 7 Ultimate then you can just activate your product key without reinstalling Windows because you already have Windows 7 Ultimate installed.

    You can't downgrade to a lower version of Windows 7 once you install Windows 7 Ultimate unless you perform a clean install.
     
  8. 2015/03/15
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Great answer!! Would I do that by phone or can I do that locally?

    What about the OEM stuff? Can it be or must it be another OEM or can/does it have to be retail?
     
  9. 2015/03/15
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    You can activate the system using the regular online activation.

    It doesn't matter in this case. The only difference between an OEM license and a retail license is that the retail license can be transferred to another computer while an OEM license is tied to the hardware that it was activated on and cannot be used to activate another computer even if it was deactivated on the original machine.
     
  10. 2015/03/16
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Evan, excellent! Thanks

    I was wondering, what is with these ebay sellers of license keys without discs? They have positive feedbacks.
     
    Last edited: 2015/03/16
  11. 2015/03/16
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    It could be that the product key is included with the disk but if its not then they could be selling a regular Windows 7 DVD with no product key attached to it.
     
  12. 2015/03/16
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    No, they are selling the key without the DVD!
     
  13. 2015/03/16
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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    Well if its a retail key and it is genuine then I don't see an issue with that but the problem is you have no idea if the product key is genuine unless it is sealed or hasn't been used previously.

    But even if a retail product key has been used previously, if it was deactivated first then it can be sold to someone else.
     
  14. 2015/04/02
    LarryB

    LarryB Well-Known Member Thread Starter

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    Well, I bought a retail key and it worked! Is there a list of stuff that is altered by the WGA failure? So far, I know about the wallpaper (to black) and sounds (back to default?). Thanks for everything! I was also able to download an iso of W7-64.
     
  15. 2015/04/02
    Evan Omo

    Evan Omo Computer Support Technician Staff

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