“I've enjoyed updating my PC over the
years. I've gone from Socket 1 (486DX2) to Socket 7 (K6-2) and from Socket A
(Duron then Athlon XP) to Socket 775 (Pentium D and now Core 2 Quad). The only
hiccup along the way was a duff Socket 775 motherboard.
My main system these days is an HP
G72-b01EA laptop. I've increased the RAM - easy. I've updated the BIOS no
problem. But then a brick wall loomed into view. When trying to use the
recovery discs I created when I first bought the laptop, I got a message saying
they were for a different machine. Guessing the new BIOS was to blame, I
reverted to the previous version, and the discs then worked.
No Windows 7 setup DVD supplied with your PC? No problem
I've now fitted an SSD. And again the
recovery discs don't work. For now, I've put my old spinner back in. Do I
really have to buy another copy of Windows just to use the SSD and start with a
fresh install? What about the drivers and other software included on the discs?
I suppose the moral of the story is not to buy a PC that doesn't come with
proper installation media.”
Answer: It's
been several years since I last saw a big-brand PC that shipped with proper
installation media, Geoff. You'll be out of luck there. Still, it's far from
game over for you. If all you want is a clean Windows installation, you just
need your product key. You can source a copy of the setup disc from anywhere.
Make sure it's an OEM version, though, as a retail copy will probably reject
your key. Get a disc with the latest service pack already integrated too,
because otherwise you'll spend the following week downloading updates.
Acquiring a setup disc is actually fairly
easy. Of course, if you know someone with one, just borrow it. The HP G72-bOlEA
is supplied with Windows 7, and if that's what you're running, downloads of all
versions can be got here: bit.ly/puioYK They're perfectly legal, as you still
need a valid product key to activate. They're also .iso files, so you'll have
to burn them to a DVD as an image, not as a regular file. If you don't have
suitable burning software, try ImgBurn (free): bit.ly/5qbu.
If
all you want is a clean Windows installation, you just need your product key.
You can source a copy of the setup disc from anywhere. Make sure it's an OEM
version
If you're running Vista or XP, things get
trickier. One option - a grey one - is to hit the torrent sites. Some people
will be outraged at such a suggestion, but in theory you're not doing anything
wrong. When you buy Windows, you're buying a license to use it, not the
software itself. How you acquire the setup files is largely irrelevant. As HP
and Microsoft have put hurdles in your path, I think it's fair to bend the
rules. However, make sure you download a raw, unhampered-with image, not one
that's been cracked. Using that wouldn't be grey - it'd be illegal. Also, run a
virus scan after installation - make sure no one's inserted any nastiest!
If you really want the other software that
came with the laptop - almost all of this will be bloat ware, with better, free
alternatives available - your best option is to get the system up and running
as you want it and then clone the hard drive. Try EaseUS Partition Master Home
Edition (free): bit.ly/Z46C6 This will make an exact replica of your spinner's
data structure and allow you to reinstate it on a different disk.
Now, cloning a spinner and invoking the
image on an SSD requires the final installation to be tweaked a little (the
same would apply even if you could get your recovery discs to work). This is to
ensure that Windows is aware it's now running on an SSD, meaning that TRIM is
enabled and that scheduled defrags on the SSD are stopped. Luckily, Geoff,
there's an excellent walkthrough available: bit.ly/nibcqO. Good luck!
