Just bought a 2nd-hand laptop from a small computer repair shop. When I got it home, I checked for Windows updates. It came back saying there were nearly 500 updates (including sp1) that needed to be downloaded and installed. I did so. Then, when my computer restarted, a message window came up stating that my Windows version may be conterfeit and urged me to go online and buy a genuine copy. When the OS finished booting, the background color was black and in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen, it stated "Windows 7 Build 7601 This copy of Windows is not genuine."
After reading a few posts here, I understand that there may be a few ways to fix this, but according to the little sticker on the bottom of my Dell laptop, it originally came with Win 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Ultimate is now installed on my laptop. The laptop also originally came with a 640GB hard drive from Dell, now it has a 250GB hard drive. I'm guessing that the guy from the repair shop installed Win 7 Ultimate after downgrading the hard drive.
Is there any way to use the product key (sticker) on the bottom of the laptop to install and activate the original version of Windows that was on the laptop (win 7 Home Prem) without purchasing a new OEM copy?
After reading a few posts here, I understand that there may be a few ways to fix this, but according to the little sticker on the bottom of my Dell laptop, it originally came with Win 7 Home Premium. Windows 7 Ultimate is now installed on my laptop. The laptop also originally came with a 640GB hard drive from Dell, now it has a 250GB hard drive. I'm guessing that the guy from the repair shop installed Win 7 Ultimate after downgrading the hard drive.
Is there any way to use the product key (sticker) on the bottom of the laptop to install and activate the original version of Windows that was on the laptop (win 7 Home Prem) without purchasing a new OEM copy?