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Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
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Have:
HP laptop, and the three disk that are supposed to be able to reconstruct, the system.
Original disk completely bummed out on me and is not fixable.
Question:
At the same time of getting a new disk, I would like to upgrade from Win7 Home premium (64 bit), to Win 7 Ultimate (64 bit).
Can do an upgrade by downloading the Win 7 Ult, files from the MS site at reasonable cost !!!
(Windows Anytime Upgrade: Windows 7 Ultimate for Windows 7 | Windows 7)
Can anybody tell me what the steps are to do a successful restore and install win7 Ult ?
In other words, If you buy an upgrade, does the original system has to be on the new HD ?
Or ... , can you just install the upgraded system.
Where do you find the original serial number of the crashed disk ???
Would the three disk I have from HP, have that info ??? I doubt it ...
The original disk did have a restore partition (Disk D), but that part is not readable at all.
You could restore Home Premium from HP's restore disks, then do the Anytime Upgrade to Ultimate. Its just a code. Nothing needs to be loaded when you do any Anytime Upgrade. You can buy the code from Amazon which is probably cheaper than getting it directly from Microsoft.
Why do you need the serial number from the old hard drive? That has nothing to do with Windows. Your original product key is on a sticker on the laptop, often under the battery. But you won't need that either to use HP's restore DVDs.
While the upgrade versions of Windows can be installed on a blank hard drive, there's a trick you to get it to activate. The OEM versions are just about the same price and require no such trick so that's my preference. The advantage to installing your own copy of Windows and ignoring what came with the computer is that you'll get a computer free of HP's garbage bloatware. You may have to visit their web site to download some drivers though.
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,853,608 times
Reputation: 5229
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia
You may have to visit their web site to download some drivers though.
I already checked the HP website, and downloaded all the drivers for my particular model via another computer, so I will be OK there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia
You can buy the code from Amazon which is probably cheaper than getting it directly from Microsoft.
Not from the hard drive, but of the Win 7 Home premium version ...
Forgot all about the bottom of the laptop, where the product key is located ... duuuuhhhh ...
Thanks for reminding me. I think that may be all I need for an upgrade, no ??
I will check with Amazon and see if cheaper.
Location: God's Gift to Mankind for flying anything
5,921 posts, read 13,853,608 times
Reputation: 5229
Quote:
Originally Posted by NeilVA
Do the full system restore and load an AV w/firewall before taking it online. Then do the Anytime Upgrade.
Not quite clear to me what this means.
Full system restore possible from the three disks I have, on the *NEW* drive ???
I assumed that *restore* means, *fix the problem* from your backup drive (on the old crashed disk) to your normal C: Drive.
I used another computer and looked what was on those three disks I have, and they do not look like they have a command anywhere it says *restore* ...
Also, why is it necessary to load an AV with firewall ??
Does the *anytime upgrade* come form some sleazy company ???
Have been talking to local computer shops and it amazes me that almost all of them either do not know anything or have completely different answers ...
Full system restore possible from the three disks I have, on the *NEW* drive ???
I assumed that *restore* means, *fix the problem* from your backup drive (on the old crashed disk) to your normal C: Drive.
I used another computer and looked what was on those three disks I have, and they do not look like they have a command anywhere it says *restore* ...
Also, why is it necessary to load an AV with firewall ??
Does the *anytime upgrade* come form some sleazy company ???
Have been talking to local computer shops and it amazes me that almost all of them either do not know anything or have completely different answers ...
Boot the computer from the first DVD in the set. It'll launch the HP restore program and proceed to install the factory configuration on the hard drive, Windows, drivers, bloatware, and all.
Windows 7 has a firewall built in so there's no need to install a 3rd party firewall. If you have a NAT router, you've got an even better firewall protecting you.
While loading an antivirus is standard practice and a good idea, some people are overly paranoid and act like its impossible safely to use a PC online for 30 seconds without it. The anytime upgrade is fine to use even without an antivirus.
Local shops will have different opinions because you're likely talking to people with different levels of experience. The kid who's just been there 6 monthly likely knows a great deal less about computers than the owner who opened the shop 15 years ago and still does much of the work himself.
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