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Cheapest OS options...Smart girl...Dumn mistake.
Hi there, I recently purchased a laptop from a fellow military wife. She said it was in perfect working condition, however that was not the case. I used a drive scrubber program and wiped the hard drive clean. I neglected to think about not wiping my windows 7 operating system. What is the least expensive way to obtain a new windows OS? I don't have alot of money to spend and Microsoft wants 200 for a recovery disk that I am not even sure would work as I used a military grade wiper...Any advice/help would be much appreciated.
- 06-25-2012 01:37 PM #2
If you have access to a store at your military base where you purchase software, you could try contacting them to find out.
If you are in the USAF, you would have to go through your majcom.
There is a code to use.
Your IT personnel will know how to do it.
If you are Army, you may be able to do it via AKO,
http://army.com/ako-army-knowledge-online
I have no idea about the Navy/Marines.
Talk to your IT guys, there is a process to get it for about $29.99
Talk to your husband...have him check with his military service groupLast edited by abseh1; 06-25-2012 at 01:43 PM.
SIGNATURE...When I post info I assume you have already read this link
How to Start Removing Viruses and Spyware from your Computer
- 06-25-2012 03:21 PM #3Member
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Hi notsoplainjane,
I know of 2 cheap ways to fix this problem.
1.) You could call the manufacturer of the laptop to see what recovery disks would cost. They usually run about $20-30.
2.) Can you read the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop? There is a way to obtain the software and burn to disk. All you need is the COA which is paid for and makes it perfectly legal.I am currently taking a degree in Malware Removal, and during this time, it is not appropriate for me to offer any assistance in the analysis of or the removal of Malware without the assistance of my instructor. Thank you for understanding.
If you think you might be infected with malware or have recently cleansed your computer of malware without the help of an expert, please read and follow the instructions in How to Start Removing Viruses and Spyware from your Computer. This can alleviate time consumed in trouble shooting your current computer problems.
If your problem is solved, here's how to say thanks!
Very proud parent of a U.S. Navy C.B.
"People may forget what you say,
People may forget what you did,
but People will never forget how you made them feel!"
- 06-26-2012 08:36 AM #4Member
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I agree to try all the options provided above. If the COA key is there, you can use any installation disk, just enter your key when prompted and it should take. There is another option if you still have your military access - check the Exchange (brick and mortar or online). Microsoft offers decent military discounts.
If you (or someone in your household) are a student, MS offers very good Student discounts too - check your school's bookstore.
Also, there are free Linux alternatives.
Having said all that, your friend should have provided ALL the disks that came with the computer as part of the license agreement SHE AGREED TO when she first started using that computer.
- 06-26-2012 07:01 PM #5Member
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If I may add, the Product Key found on the bottom of the laptop is only good for the version of Win7 that was previously installed. Meaning that if Win7 Home Premium 32-bit was previously installed you can only use that key with a Win7 Home Premium 32-bit disk. Product Keys are version specific far as I know.As posted by Digerati:
If the COA key is there, you can use any installation disk, just enter your key when prompted and it should take.
I experienced a similar situation when my sons computer was so infected there was major file corruption beyond repair. There was no recovery partition and for some reason the disks that I created from the recovery manager were corrupt. Could be because they were created after the first infection. We never did figure that out.
To make a long story short, an expert in OS's was called in by the friend of mine who helped me to cleanse the infection and he provided me with the instructions on where and how to obtain a Win7 Home Premium 64-bit ISO to download, burn to disk and install using the product key found on the laptop. Worked miracles for me and my son now has a disk just in case. All it cost me was the price of a 7.5GB DVD-R.
And as Digerati suggested there are many alternatives. See link below:
Top 5 Best Linux OS Distributions
Oh! Did we mention that the above OS's are FREE?I am currently taking a degree in Malware Removal, and during this time, it is not appropriate for me to offer any assistance in the analysis of or the removal of Malware without the assistance of my instructor. Thank you for understanding.
If you think you might be infected with malware or have recently cleansed your computer of malware without the help of an expert, please read and follow the instructions in How to Start Removing Viruses and Spyware from your Computer. This can alleviate time consumed in trouble shooting your current computer problems.
If your problem is solved, here's how to say thanks!
Very proud parent of a U.S. Navy C.B.
"People may forget what you say,
People may forget what you did,
but People will never forget how you made them feel!"
- 06-27-2012 08:57 AM #6Member
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This applies to OEM licenses - which by far, are the most common especially with factory assembled computers and even more so with notebooks.Meaning that if Win7 Home Premium 32-bit was previously installed you can only use that key with a Win7 Home Premium 32-bit disk. Product Keys are version specific far as I know.
IF the license is a full retail version (not likely in this case), they come with both 32-bit and 64-bit installation disks using the same key. However, you can only install one, or the other, on one machine only.
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The Following User Says Thank You to Digerati For This Useful Post:
- 06-27-2012 08:46 PM #7Member
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Wow! I never knew that! Thanks Digerati.IF the license is a full retail version (not likely in this case), they come with both 32-bit and 64-bit installation disks using the same key.
I am currently taking a degree in Malware Removal, and during this time, it is not appropriate for me to offer any assistance in the analysis of or the removal of Malware without the assistance of my instructor. Thank you for understanding.
If you think you might be infected with malware or have recently cleansed your computer of malware without the help of an expert, please read and follow the instructions in How to Start Removing Viruses and Spyware from your Computer. This can alleviate time consumed in trouble shooting your current computer problems.
If your problem is solved, here's how to say thanks!
Very proud parent of a U.S. Navy C.B.
"People may forget what you say,
People may forget what you did,
but People will never forget how you made them feel!"
- 06-28-2012 09:19 AM #8Member
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Yeah. That is something to remember when building your own computer. If you buy the less-expensive OEM version of Windows, you must select 32 or 64-bit when make your purchase. That is another reason OEM is cheaper.
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