Omega Owners Forum
Chat Area => General Discussion Area => Topic started by: jack68 on 07 May 2010, 18:31:44
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Can anyone assist with my computer problem. I'll try and give as much info as possible. I had a packard bell mx37 which i gave to my mum. She has a chap look at it and he has now installed an illegal copy of windows 7. I know vista isn't everyones cup of tea but it came with the computer and hence isn't an illegal copy. I have tried everything to get the computer back to the factory state and nothing seems to be working. I know there are several people on here who know about these things so if anyone can assist i would be eternally grateful. Feel free to pm or just add to the thread.
Jack :-/
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Do you have the original discs that came with it?
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As per new computers they don't come with any discs now. I have the vista pass code on the rear and thats about it.
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Borrow a Vista disk from somebody and install using the serial number from the back of your computer.
Any Vista disk that you can get hold of will do, it need not be the same version as the one that you originaly had on the computer.
Richard.
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I had a packard bell
My deepest commiserations
She has a chap look at it and he has now installed an illegal copy of windows 7. I know vista isn't everyones cup of tea but it came with the computer and hence isn't an illegal copy. I have tried everything to get the computer back to the factory state and nothing seems to be working. I know there are several people on here who know about these things so if anyone can assist i would be eternally grateful. Feel free to pm or just add to the thread.
If your "chap" deleted all partions on the hard drive (which he more than likely did), then all the factory recovery information is now gone.
I can quite happily provide you with a copy of Vista (although please believe me when I say that was flawed from day one), although you will need to let me know what version of Vista you originally had (eg, Home, Premium, etc) in order for your PID to work with the installation disc.
Please note that "any" Vista installation disc will not work, you need the right version (Home, Premium, etc) and as it is a scrapyard bell then it will have to be OEM (which I can sort out for you).
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Just go and reboot to factory settings or go to beginning of restore point :y
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Just go and reboot to factory settings or go to beginning of restore point :y
The OP has already stated that factory restore no longer works, and that's more than likely because the restore partition was removed when 7 was installed.
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Just go and reboot to factory settings or go to beginning of restore point :y
If your "chap" deleted all partions on the hard drive (which he more than likely did), then all the factory recovery information is now gone.
Not possible if the guy has done what KW mentioned.
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Any OEM disk will work. These OEM disks contains all versions of Vista in that bit version (ie, 32-bit or 64-bit). It is the product key that determine what version of Vista the disk will install. An OEM version gives you ALL flavours of Vista, it's the key that determines what you get.
On the other hand if you have a Manufacturer's disk (ie Dell) it only lets you install the version that they sold you, and it usually includes drivers for your particular machine.
Richard.
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Any OEM disk will work.
No it won't.
These OEM disks contains all versions of Vista in that bit version (ie, 32-bit or 64-bit).
Not all of them do, in fact I have yet to see an OEM installation disc that offers anything other than what the computer shipped with.
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I resolve problems like this on a daily basis and I use the same OEM Vista disk every time. I have yet to have an installation fail.
Richard.
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I resolve problems like this on a daily basis and I use the same OEM Vista disk every time. I have yet to have an installation fail.
Richard.
At this point I'd say your OEM installation disc is not what the public gets.
If Joe Public is going to get an installation/recovery disc, then it is tied to the manufacturer of the hardware (eg, my son's Toshiba installation disc will refuse point blank to install on anything other than a Toshiba machine).
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What Joe public gets depends on what Joe public bought. If Joe public was daft enough to buy a dell or any other branded computer he or she will have received an installation / recovery disk (if they received any disk at all). However if Joe public bought his or her computer from a company like mine, he or she will probably have received an OEM disk. I repeat my earlier post:
Any OEM disk will work. These OEM disks contains all versions of Vista in that bit version (ie, 32-bit or 64-bit). It is the product key that determine what version of Vista the disk will install. An OEM version gives you ALL flavours of Vista, it's the key that determines what you get.
On the other hand if you have a Manufacturer's disk (ie Dell) it only lets you install the version that they sold you, and it usually includes drivers for your particular machine.
Richard.
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What Joe public gets depends on what Joe public bought. If Joe public was daft enough to buy a dell or any other branded computer he or she will have received an installation / recovery disk (if they received any disk at all). However if Joe public bought his or her computer from a company like mine, he or she will probably have received an OEM disk. I repeat my earlier post:
Any OEM disk will work. These OEM disks contains all versions of Vista in that bit version (ie, 32-bit or 64-bit). It is the product key that determine what version of Vista the disk will install. An OEM version gives you ALL flavours of Vista, it's the key that determines what you get.
On the other hand if you have a Manufacturer's disk (ie Dell) it only lets you install the version that they sold you, and it usually includes drivers for your particular machine.
Richard.
Please feel free to enlighten me (and the rest of us) as to what company will "probably" provide an installation disc that contains ALL variants of Vista (or any version of Windows come to that).
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My company, RP Computer Services, provided an OEM disk which contained all versions of Vista, it is the product key that determines what version of Vista the disk will install.
Richard.
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My company, RP Computer Services, provided an OEM disk which contained all versions of Vista, it is the product key that determines what version of Vista the disk will install.
Richard.
Your company would be the first company I have ever encountered that sells (or provides) an OEM disc with all the Windows variants on it, how much for the Win 7 all variants version?
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part of 'Windows Anytime Upgrade' - A single disc is shipped, version of Vista/7 is irrelevant, key unlocks specific version.
Reason? Faster Upgrades, ring Mr Bill Gates say how much you love Vista Basic, and you want Ultimate verison, new code, and bobs your uncle, upgrade complete.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Anytime_Upgrade
However KW is right.... (hate saying that ::)) You buy a laptop off the shelf, the version of OS shipped with the recovery disk will more than likely be one it was 'sold' with, and not be upgradeable.
Its when you buy the OS packaged from MS you get this 'Windows Anytime Upgrade'
I've was Windows Fan for years, until halfway through Uni when i got my Intel Mac :)
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However KW is right.... (hate saying that ::))
I have 20 years on you, get used to it ;)
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To repeat and clarify my earlier posts.
Computer manufacturers have a duty to their customers to provide a means to allow the customer to restore his or her computer.
Large scale manufacturers tend to do this by having a restore partition on the hard drive and or provide a restore / installation disk. These restore / installation disks will only work with the system that they were supplied with.
Small scale manufacturers like myself should provide a genuine Windows disk with the system. This Windows disk is usually an OEM disk. The OEM disk is supplied in preference to a retail pack version as the OEM version is considerably cheaper. OEM versions of Windows tend not to be sold in the shops due to licensing restrictions.
In the past OEM versions of Windows could only be supplied either preinstalled on a system or sold together with qualifying hardware.
OEM versions of Windows can be identified as such as the legend "OEM Software" will appear on the packaging, on the disk, and on the license number label.
I must admit that I do occasionally have systems to work on where no means of restoring the system has been provided by the manufacturer but this is quite rare. All the systems that I have worked on this week which were non branded have had Windows OEM disks with them.
An OEM Windows disk does not have all versions of Windows on it, I have not stated that it does.
The Windows Vista OEM disk was unique in that it contained all versions of Vista in the particular bit version. All Vista 32 bit disks were identical irrespective of what version you were supplied. It was the product key that you entered during installation that determined what version of Vista would be installed. The same applies to retail pack versions of Vista.
So to repeat my earlier answer to the initial question. Borrow a Vista disk from somebody (OEM or retail pack) and install using the serial number from the back of your computer.
Any Vista disk that you can get hold of will do, it need not be the same version as the one that you originally had on the computer. Obviously as I have already stated do not use a branded restore / installation disk.
Windows 7 OEM disks do not contain all versions of 7.
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition OEM - £75.29.
Richard
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Did you stay awake all night to get the last word Richard? ;D
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To repeat and clarify my earlier posts.
Computer manufacturers have a duty to their customers to provide a means to allow the customer to restore his or her computer.
Large scale manufacturers tend to do this by having a restore partition on the hard drive and or provide a restore / installation disk. These restore / installation disks will only work with the system that they were supplied with.
Small scale manufacturers like myself should provide a genuine Windows disk with the system. This Windows disk is usually an OEM disk. The OEM disk is supplied in preference to a retail pack version as the OEM version is considerably cheaper. OEM versions of Windows tend not to be sold in the shops due to licensing restrictions.
In the past OEM versions of Windows could only be supplied either preinstalled on a system or sold together with qualifying hardware.
OEM versions of Windows can be identified as such as the legend "OEM Software" will appear on the packaging, on the disk, and on the license number label.
I must admit that I do occasionally have systems to work on where no means of restoring the system has been provided by the manufacturer but this is quite rare. All the systems that I have worked on this week which were non branded have had Windows OEM disks with them.
An OEM Windows disk does not have all versions of Windows on it, I have not stated that it does.
The Windows Vista OEM disk was unique in that it contained all versions of Vista in the particular bit version. All Vista 32 bit disks were identical irrespective of what version you were supplied. It was the product key that you entered during installation that determined what version of Vista would be installed. The same applies to retail pack versions of Vista.
So to repeat my earlier answer to the initial question. Borrow a Vista disk from somebody (OEM or retail pack) and install using the serial number from the back of your computer.
Any Vista disk that you can get hold of will do, it need not be the same version as the one that you originally had on the computer. Obviously as I have already stated do not use a branded restore / installation disk.
Windows 7 OEM disks do not contain all versions of 7.
Windows 7 Home Premium Edition OEM - £75.29.
Richard
Agrreed - when I had my IT business we supplied a Windows OEM disk with every PC we built and sold.
The Vista OEM as stated contains the full version of Vista and the version you get on the install is dependant on the serial key used.
Agreed re Windows OEMs.