My son has a Dell all in one computer that was plagued with malware. He did not buy it new, but it had a valid Windows 7 case badge on it. I tried to repair it from the hard drive, tried to put it back in factory install condition and it failed.
Prior that that I used every malware removal tool I knew about and could not whip the monsters out of it.
So, I downloaded a Windows install CD from Microsoft and tried to repair the install, that failed. So I reinstalled windows and used the Microsoft number from the label on the case. It seemed to work fine until about a week later I was notified it was not eligible for a reinstall. Headshake.
I had already found and fixed all the driver issues from the Dell website.
Now my son and I are discussing whether to pay Microshaft for the Windows 7 OS, buy a newer Microsoft OS or simply install Linux Lite on it.
I lean toward the latter, but my son has never used Linux.
It has not been used since I got the notification from MicroSoft.
Any suggestions?
The label on your case is likely perfectly genuine.
Use the “automated phone system” to activate it.
It’s been that way literally forever. MS makes you go through the indignity of the phone activation, probably so bad guys can’t mass activate old stickers.
The name brand PCs are built and activated at the factory with these special bulk license keys that MS allow them to use so that the machine can leave the factory activated rather than having the customer do it later and all the tech calls that would be related to that nightmare.
The problem is that if you ever reinstall the system from scratch and use the key on the case, it has never been used and frequently these keys require phone activation to work.
It is perfectly normal and has been this way literally forever.
It's time consuming and sometimes frustrating, but nowhere near as time consuming and frustrating as battling with it yourself.
And I've never had it fail. I'm convinced they put you through that awful phone business to weed out the real pirates, who would never bother with it.
Good luck!!
The reinstall message should have given you a number to call. They should be able to unlock it for you. Note: when my son went through this, he repeated the code several times to the automated responder. After these failures, he cursed - something unusual for him. It immediately connected him to a live person. Your mileage may vary.
Use telephone, be patient and call Microsoft
Post 4 is correct, and failing that, you could likely buy reinstall software from Dell for that PC.
Of course, we should make such from the image partition which is usually provided rather than the DVD installation media. By which you can usually reinstall the OD. Did you try that option (F10 during POST)? .
You have to pay very close attention to the license badge. It will clearly spell out what version of Windows is supported. If it’s a Dell computer, it’s likely an OEM copy of the OS, which is licensed different than an off-the-shelf retail copy you’d buy at a retail store or online. The product key will only work if the copy of the OS is appropriate to the key itself, so any message about not being “eligible for a reinstall” likely came from Dell or a third-party. Microsoft would never issue a message like that.
FWIW, you can buy copies of Win7 Home for dirt cheap now, but I’d understand if you went with something free (i.e. Linux). Either call Dell and get an ISO copy of the OEM OS or call Microsoft to activate. Microsoft support is easy to reach. The problem I’ve found is that once you’re in, don’t let them off the phone until the problem is resolved or your ticket gets lost. This even happens with premier support like I have for my enterprise agreement.