The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    How to reformat Windows 7 in this situation?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by BondEternal, May 3, 2011.

  1. BondEternal

    BondEternal Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    21
    Messages:
    156
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    My friend has an Acer computer which he bought a few years back. When Windows 7 came out, he obtained an upgrade CD from Acer which he used to upgrade his Vista to a 7.

    Now, he has asked me to reformat his computer for him. The problem is, because the CD is branded by Acer, I'm not sure how I am going to activate Windows 7 after reformatting. Can the branded CD even serve the function for reinstalling Windosw 7?
     
    BondEternal, May 3, 2011
    #1
  2. 3Fees

    3Fees Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    541
    Messages:
    970
    Likes Received:
    136
    Trophy Points:
    56
    yes,, install vista sp2 first and activate the license( bottom of the machine), then use the windows 7 upgrade disk, the windows 7 license should be in the distro from acer and will activate when it goes on line.

    I formatted my disk, I installed vista sp2-activated it and then used ms win 7 upgrade disk-activated it,,no problems, same thing except name brand disks include licenses in the distro.

    Cheers
    3Fees :)
     
    3Fees, May 3, 2011
    #2
  3. Abidderman

    Abidderman Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    376
    Messages:
    734
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Use something like Magical Jelly Bean or keyfinder, backup or write down your key, reformat and use the key. It is tied to your hardware/lappy. I have done this after changing out hdd's and then to ssd's, and doing clean installs several times over on multiple computers. The key is for your computer, so you can reinstall and use it again. You just can't use it on another computer.
     
    Abidderman, May 4, 2011
    #3