Laptop Dilema

[StevenMc29]

So, about this time last year I bought a new laptop for starting Uni. It was a new touch screen Acer around £600.

All was going well until I needed a copy of MS Office put on the laptop. GF's Dad offered to do this for so left the laptop around. I thought he was putting on a genuine version but turned out it was just a version off his portable hard drive. And he accidently put on the XP version which wasn't compatible with Windows7 meaning that it could not be uninstalled. After a bit of flaffing about and getting nowhere he then took it to a guy he knew who works with computers for a living to restore it to factory settings which I was happy with because I had all my stuff backed up. He didn't restore it to factory settings because there was no restore disc so put Windows Ultimate on it which I don't think was genuine either. Ran fine for a while then shat itself again. Restored again this time to Windows7 Home Premium. Worked perfect for a few weeks then shat itself again. Its pissing me off but I don't know what to do with it.

I need a laptop for uni and this wee netbook isn't really an option for CAD etc. Do I sell it 2nd hand for a lot less than I paid and get a new laptop which would be lower spec? Or is there a permanent fix? Or what other options do I have?

Steven

 

[sbridgey]

Download a genuine copy of windows 7, the version you should get will be determined by the sticker underneath with product key on, you could use a friends copy of windows 7 if you need too and just use the product key from the base of your laptop on the sticker. you can download windows 7 via a torrent, it is not illegal if you are downloading for use with a genuine product key.

Plan b would be to download windows 8 dev. edition and use that along with office 2010 from a "friend", then when beta releases come out upgrade to them and you will have access to windows for free and legally until the beta ends!!

Plan c would be to contact Acer for a recovery disk, you may have to pay a few quid but it should work as new.

plan d would be to give it to me and buy yourself a new one with student finance that comes in on wednesday.

 

[StevenMc29]

How much roughly would the discs be do you know? If I get them does that mean I wouldn't have to install drivers etc from their website?

TBH I'm nearly tempted to buy a new one if I had the money. Not sure how much I would get for the old one though...

 

[Krispwee]

They usually don't come with restore discs anymore but come with a separate partition on the hard drive that includes all the restore stuff. You access it by pressing a few keys during boot and then follow the instructions. If when installing all these versions of Win 7 your GF's dad's friend formatted both partitions then you'll probably have to buy a new version of Win 7. AFAIK I don't think your CD key would work with any old version that you can get from a shop etc, that's what it was like with Dell anyway.

Google your laptop model and how to restore to factory during boot. If he has formatted both partitions then try Acer but it could be costly if they can't just send you a disc out. If that fails then it's a new copy of Win 7.

A 32-Bit Windows 7 OEM disc and Key is about £65. Don't go to a high street store for this. Order from somewhere like ebuyer.com

 

[StevenMc29]

Funny feeling both partitions might have been done but I'll give that a go first.

Would like what I had on it originally which would be W7 Home Premium 64-bit. Can you get student discounts on these types of things?

 

[bunzee]

If you have the key on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop you should be able to just get a disk to install from I'd have thought?

 

[Steven103]

Would like what I had on it originally which would be W7 Home Premium 64-bit. Can you get student discounts on these types of things?

Yes you can get discounts, but only for upgrade packages (e.g. vista to 7) and not the original retail/OEM full install. Also going from 32bit to 64bit (and vica versa) requires a fresh install and not a "in place of the original" update. I've never done an upgrade but the fact that some upgrades require a fresh install means the only way microsoft would know that it's a genuine upgrade and not someone just getting windows "for cheap" would be if you have to validate your original key code at some point. Upgrades are about £40 when bought from the microsoft student site. This all does sound like effort though.

OEM version (64bit disc only. No free MS support. "Tied" to a single install) http://www.ebuyer.com/259863-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-w-sp1-licence-and-media-1-gfc-02050 - £84

Retail version (64bit & 32bit included. 1 license but can be taken off the laptop and put on a new laptop easily) http://www.ebuyer.com/168373-microsoft-windows-7-home-premium-complete-package-1-pc-gfc-00025 - £110 (very good price, this is what you'll see on the high street for £150 to £250)


Now... the OEM being "tied" to one install isn't strictly true. It's legally true, but in practice should your any of your hardware break (I believe it's tied to your GUID, a bit like punkbuster online gaming bans) and need to be replaced microsoft have a phone line to reactivate the license key on your new single install. Suprisingly it's an automated system and it actually works really well, call the number, pick a few options, punch in your keycode & bam the annoying "this isn't an activated copy of windows" messages that spam your computer disappear. You could have a thousand copies of windows installed from one disc but you can only activate one at a time, if you don't activate windows it'll sort of work but restricts certain features and is very frustrating.

 

[sbridgey]

contact acer for a recovery disc, ask them about drivers being installed, i am 90% sure they come preinstalled if you get the disc from them though, it will cost you about a tenner io think.

go to here, type your SNID in and it will tell you what you need and how much. https://secure.tx.acer.com/RCDB/Main.aspx?brand=acer

If you cant get a recovery disc:

REMEMBER YOU DO NOT NEED TO BUY A WINDOWS 7 OPERATING SYSTEM DISC BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PRODUCT KEY ALREADY WHICH YOU CAN USE WITH ANY DISC FOR WINDOWS 7 HOME PREMIUM

 

[@Spoonie]

Ran fine for a while then shat itself again. Restored again this time to Windows7 Home Premium. Worked perfect for a few weeks then shat itself again.

When you say it shat itself what actually happened. The fact you have two different installs of Windows and both failed would suggest there is more to it that the source of the install.

 

[sbridgey]

When you say it shat itself what actually happened. The fact you have two different installs of Windows and both failed would suggest there is more to it that the source of the install.

The laptop probably slowed down a bit like windows does

 

[@Spoonie]

The laptop probably slowed down a bit like windows does

I will wait for OP to respond with a sensible answer.

 

[StevenMc29]

It went terribly slowly and stuff would barely load. When turned on it would show the welcome screen for 20+ mins before going to password and desktop screens very slowly. Everything seemed to work. Just very very very slowly.

Next time it said it couldn't connect to Windows or something but I think that was maybe down to it not being a genuine version? Also ran very slow after a few weeks too. Ran fine before that though. Didn't get slower over time.

 

[AliasOmega]

There is a guy on eBay who can provide you with a copy of the recovery disk for <£10. I had a laptop that came with Win7 installed, but had a XP Home OEM sticker.

Installing a new copy of Win 7 will not work, as the sticker is a factory sticker which will only work on the acer win 7 software.

If you can get a copy from that guy, you should be able to re-install the partition and be away with it.


Also, Microsoft Office student is about £24 if you go look on MSE. I picked it up for £11 last year sometime at an offer, where Office 2007 was offered, with a free upgrade to 2010.

 

[Darren S]

So, about this time last year I bought a new laptop for starting Uni. It was a new touch screen Acer around £600.

All was going well until I needed a copy of MS Office put on the laptop. GF's Dad offered to do this for so left the laptop around. I thought he was putting on a genuine version but turned out it was just a version off his portable hard drive. And he accidently put on the XP version which wasn't compatible with Windows7 meaning that it could not be uninstalled. After a bit of flaffing about and getting nowhere he then took it to a guy he knew who works with computers for a living to restore it to factory settings which I was happy with because I had all my stuff backed up. He didn't restore it to factory settings because there was no restore disc so put Windows Ultimate on it which I don't think was genuine either. Ran fine for a while then shat itself again. Restored again this time to Windows7 Home Premium. Worked perfect for a few weeks then shat itself again. Its pissing me off but I don't know what to do with it.

I need a laptop for uni and this wee netbook isn't really an option for CAD etc. Do I sell it 2nd hand for a lot less than I paid and get a new laptop which would be lower spec? Or is there a permanent fix? Or what other options do I have?

Steven

There's your issue - not the licencing aspect. Running CAD on a netbook is like trying to attack the Nordschleife with a milk float. It will do it - but it's woefully inadequate for the job. Flog it like you suggest and get a decent laptop. That will not only have the physical capability to better suit your needs, but will also sort out your current licence issue.

D.

 

[Danny133]

Sell and buy a Macbook Air.

WTF are you using CAD on windows for anyway?

 

[StevenMc29]

There's your issue - not the licencing aspect. Running CAD on a netbook is like trying to attack the Nordschleife with a milk float. It will do it - but it's woefully inadequate for the job. Flog it like you suggest and get a decent laptop. That will not only have the physical capability to better suit your needs, but will also sort out your current licence issue.

D.

No no its a 15 inch Acer. The only other working computer that I have is this 10inch Netbook which is crap for CAD and typing etc...

Sell and buy a Macbook Air.

WTF are you using CAD on windows for anyway?

I'd love a 13inch Macbook Air. Although I don't have a spare grand Also heard CAD can be a pain to get for Apple or do you just run it via Windows?

 

[Danny133]

Nope you can get it via Apple .. and a base model 13" air can be had for £950 ish