LandzDown Forum

Morning Golden,

I have a very strong suspicion that the OEM System Builder Pack is actually just a Windows Home Premium x86 "retail" version.To test this, can you say whether the laptop come preinstalled with trials of MSOffice, Norton, McAfee or similar products?

I bought the OEM Retail disk so my boyfriend could install over Vista 32-bit on his home built desktop computer. That desktop computer is disassembled at this time due to Joe relocating for a job opportunity. I'll have to ask Joe what came with the installation. I can also ask my Tech friend who I bought the disk from.

The ASUS laptop does have the Repair your computer option on the Advanced Boot Options menu. There is no option to press F11 Recovery at boot. Goes straight from splash screen into the Welcome screen, then into Windows once password is typed in.

If the 20GB partition is the Recovery why does it say 100% Free?

Late for work.

Thanks Golden.

Donna,

I have good news : you can install a retail version of Windows Home Premium x86 and simply activate it with your legitimate OEM key I had this confirmed by some associates over at SevenForums and am confident its a go.

Steps:

1. Backup any data required off the laptop.

2. Make a note of the OEM key.

3. On a clean computer, download the following (all legitimate):

- Windows Home Premium x86 SP1
You want the English x86:X17-58996.ISO
http://www.mydigitallife.info/official-windows-7-sp1-iso-from-digital-river/

- Microsoft USB Installer
http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msstore/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

4. You will need a 4GB USB thumb/flash drive. Install and run the USB installer, and when prompted point it to the .ISO file you downloaded. This will format the USB drive and then write the .ISO to this USB and make it bootable. You will install Windows from this USB drive.

5. Boot the laptop, and enter the BIOS by repeatedly hitting the DEL key. Once in the BIOS, find the setting that lets the laptop boot from a USB flash drive before any HDD. Save the BIOS settings and then exit the BIOS.

6. Plug in the USB drive and then reboot the PC.

7. Windows installation will start.

To ensure all traces of the malware are removed, I recommend doing the following:

a. At the first screen that prompts for language preferences, hold SHIFT and then press F10.
b. You will now see a CMD window with the prompt X:\Sources.
c. Type DISKPART and hit enter.
d. Type list disk and hit enter. It looks like you only have 1 physical disk which should be numbered Disk 0
e. Type select disk 0 and hit enter.
f. Type clean all and hit enter - this will completely wipe every sector of the disk and is more thorough than a format. It may take a few hoyrs.
g. When finished, type exit and hit enter.
h. Type exit and hit enter once more.

8. You will now be back at the first screen, the language preferences screen. Now proceed with installation as normal.
-  Do NOT choose online activation - you have 30 days to do that - and you may need to do that via phone. We will cover that later.
- Choose the CUSTOM install option when prompted.

Let us know how you get on.

Regards,
Golden

G'day, Golden!  Excellent instructions.  Thank you.

I could not agree more! Gives new definition to the word "Excellent"!

Only thing missing are the pictures and a hand to hold....HA! Just kidding. 

I do have a 4GB USB handy that I need to format before I begin this process.

I also have a 4.7GB DVD-R. Can I also burn that ISO to the DVDV-R for future use if my son needs it as a backup of some sort? I was prepared to actually buy a Win7 retail in case he ever needed it since the disks I made from the recovery restore image obviously is of no use.

I'm going to wait till Friday to do this, that way I can devote my full attention to this project from beginning to end without interference. I may have questions, but I'll read your instructions thoroughly before I begin.

PS Well spotted on the empty recovery partition - I missed that 

Why....uh....thank you!    Confidence booster!  Coming from you, that means everything!!!!!

And yes, of course. I'll let you know how I get on.

Thank you so kindly Golden...Corrine.

Donna

Yes - if your Windows is 64 bit, then you need to download the 64 bit ISO.

Acknowledged!

The USB installer will actually format the USB drive for you before it loads the .ISO to it, so no need to pre-format it.

Ow...I just read that! What a time saver!

Yes, you can also burn the .ISO to a DVD if you like - no problems at all. If you don't have a DVD burning software handy, I recommend using IMGBURN at 4x speed only to ensure you get a good DVD - its a free, lightweight burner - of course you can always use whatever you are comfortable with.

Great! That way I can burn him a disk for future use since the 4 Recovery disks are obviously no good.

I am not familiar with IMGBURN. I have used ISO Recorder by Alex Feinman though it has been quite awhile. I shouldn't have any trouble figuring it out, but would you be willing to guide me if I install IMGBURN for the disk?  I'll do that after I finish the install with the USB and let you know how it goes. I realize that I could just use the disk for this purpose, but for continuing education I'd like to experience first hand how to achieve this feat with USB and disk so I can use that knowledge in the future once I graduate from my GeekU malware removal training. I'm quite sure I'll come across someone who doesn't have one or the other. I'd truly appreciate your time and guidance. 

Ok. After finally finding a way to download such a large file without violating my download limit and getting kicked off line by my ISP, for some reason when I browse to the desktop with the WINDOWS 7 USB/DVD DOWNLOAD TOOL and click Next it says the following:

Invalid ISO file

The selected file is not a valid ISO file. Please select a valid ISO file and try again.

I've tried this twice now. The file that is downloaded to the desktop is 1.95 GB's. Is something wrong with the file? Did it not download successfully? I could have sworn that while it was downloading the file was supposed to be 3.1GB's.

Any ideas?

Hi Donna,

It sounds to me as if the download is imcomplete - the full size of the .ISO is 3.09GB. This explains the errors you get when you try to run the USB tool. You will have to delete the incomplete .ISO, and download the full .ISO again.

You MUST use the USB tool to burn the .ISO, since it is setup to make the USB bootable for the installation - dragging and dropping the .ISO to the USB drive using Windows Explorer simply copies it to the USB drive, but it doesn't make it bootable. If it isn't bootable, you will not be able to install Window s7.

Summary:

- Download the full 3.09GB .ISO completely
- Use the USB tool to copy the .ISO to the USB drive AND make it bootable in order to install Windows 7 from it.

Regards,
Golden

I have success in downloading the 3.9GB file to my desktop and I'm in the process of transferring it to the USB drive. I noticed that on the USB is a file known as AUTORUN.INF (16bytes-1KB) which I know is the primary instruction file associated with the Autorun function. Will that interfere with the installation of the ISO once I configure the BIOS to boot from the USB drive?

I did try to delete the AUTORUN.INF file but can not due to permissions not granted. I do not recall the file being there prior to installing Panda USB vaccine.

Also, the current boot order is CD/DVD ROM Drive BBS Priorities. I do not see anything in the Aptio Boot Menu that specifically states USB Drive for selection as a boot order.

My options are as shown in the image in this post. I can get a better/fuller image of that screen if needed.

Thanks!