I have lost my windows 7 disks but have product code

[jcecil]

Hello,
Can i reinstall windows 7 with just the productkey? I lost the disks

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

If you bought the key off an auction site it's not genuine.

 

[raytseng]

the disks are independent from the keys. So if you are being truthful, you can someone else's disk and just type in your key when it asks for that step.

Or on microsoft's site, you can get in touch with them to order another copy of the disks (i don't know how much they charge).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246

I wouldn't recommend downloading potentially illegal disk images from the internet, you do not know if they are genuine or have viruses.

 

[schnitter]

the disks are independent from the keys. So if you are being truthful, you can someone else's disk and just type in your key when it asks for that step.

Or on microsoft's site, you can get in touch with them to order another copy of the disks (i don't know how much they charge).
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/326246

I wouldn't recommend downloading potentially illegal disk images from the internet, you do not know if they are genuine or have viruses.

Are you 100% sure this works? I remember trying to use my OEM Win 7 CD and type in the Win 7 product key on my brother's Alienware m11x laptop and it didnt work. I had to use the Alien Respawn and get bloatware like MacAfee Antivirus. Yes, product key for laptop and my OEM DVD are both Home Premium 64 bits.

 

[raytseng]

OEM is not the same disk.

Those are potentially customized Windows made for that manufacturer (in this case dell/alienware).

You can use someone else's disk if they bought the same product you bought.

So if you actually bought Windows then it would be the same.

But your friend did not buy windows at all, there is nowhere on his receipt where he gave money to microsoft. What he bought was a dell (and Dell gives a dell-ified windows to him)

As it mentions in the KB article, if the windows you need is an OEM copy, you need to get in touch with the OEM provider to get a replacement

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

Yes, you can use a regular Windows 7 retail DVD and a genuine Windows 7 OEM product key to perform a "clean install"> However, when it comes time to perform product activation, you'll need to use the "activate by phone" method.

Also from microsoft.com ^

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

A Windows 7 installation DVD incorporates both retail and OEM license agreements. If you use a genuine Windows 7 OEM product key, it will unlock the OEM license agreement. If you use a genuine retail Windows 7 product key, it will unlock the retail license agreement.

microsoft.com ^

 

[mbreslin1954]

That's a lot different from Windows XP. With XP you had to know if your key was for XP-Home-original-without-a-service-pack, XP Home SP1, or XP Home SP2 (never ran into a key from SP3). So when trying to re-install Windows XP for a friend or relative who's HDD failed, sometimes I had to install Windows XP three times before I found the version that would take the key from the sticker on the side of their computer. What a pain, that XP keys were "keyed" to the exact service pack version of XP.

 

[Dark Lord of Tech]

What a pain, that XP keys were "keyed" to the exact service pack version of XP. < never came across a dell or a hp that had that

 

[Brett928S2]

Hi

So were some of the VISTA keys... (service pack locked etc)

All the best Brett

 

[mbreslin1954]

So that's what it's called? Service pack locked. Good to know. I found it very frustrating.