Posted on 02/22/2018 12:55:32 PM PST by NewJerseyJoe
Howdy folks. A few years ago, I purchased a refurb Dell PC through Staples. Today, I'm stuck in the infinite startup-and-repair loop.
With the refurb PCs, they don't supply physical media. I made a bootable USB on my laptop, but that doesn't work. I can repair only if I have an installation disc.
Now, if I had purchased this software directly from MS, MS would allow me to directly download the ISO image after inputting my product key on the website. I have the product key -- the refurb company put a new label on the side of the PC. When I tried that, the MS site informed me that because my installation was done by a reseller, I have to go through the reseller. I called the company that did the refurb installation -- but since MS stopped supporting Windows 7, they no longer have the software. (I doubt that's true, but that's what I was told.)
Does anyone know of a legitimate download link where I can get the Win7 Pro x64 ISO image? I have only my own product key, so obviously I can't use this for piracy purposes.
My answer is not to buy a new computer -- I have to get into this PC in the next 24 hours or so. Hoping one of you has an answer. Thanks
You can usually buy a Dell Win 7 system DVD for ten bucks. Make sure it is a legitimate Dell brand disc. They work with any Dell computer. Here:
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.Xdell+system+dvd.TRS0&_nkw=dell+system+dvd&_sacat=0
I gotta say that my desktop and Surface Pro3 have C: drive SSDs. I had massive problems updating Win 10 on my Pro3. I tried reset by saving apps data, etc. No good. I finally reset to the core to 1511 and updated to 1709 xxx.248. Made my ISOs.
If you can get that (on a new lappy or as a replacement drive), you will NEVER be disappointed. Booting only takes 10-15 seconds. It wouldn’t hurt to have an external 2-4 TB drive for backups, and ISOs once you get a fully working OS. Jus sayin...
What’s wrong with the bootable USB drive you made? Maybe you just need to enter BIOS and set it as the boot device..
My son has been trying for years to get me to switch to Linux. WHen my windows 10 laptop refused to boot after I did a system restore, I finally turned it over to him and he installed Linux Mint for me. I am now a believer!!
Not one to rain on your new purchase but MS has been hamstringing W7 for over a year now!
This really reminds me of the big story of what Apple was doing to their older iPhones, except it gets almost no coverage.
My Windows 7 got so bad it would take 20-30 minutes to launch a new virtual machine with 16 gigs of RAM and VMWare.
The good news is you might not notice how bad it is unless you are doing media production or games or using virtualization.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.