SOLVED Official Windows 7 SP1 ISO Image Downloads

[DaydreamBeliever]

Based on what you wrote, you never booted to it, so it is hard to say what files would be accessed and when. So yes, depending on what was being attempted, some things might work.

Now i have booted to it n DVd and also used the USB Download tool to make a bootable USB. I do not get a choice of versions even when the cfg file is removed on either DVD or USB

 

[nnicc1]

You don't run disc erase programs, all you do is FORMAT the drive and poof it's clean. If you have multiple partitions I would drop all those and create a single large partition and then format that, but that's a personal choice.

When you look at the burned W7 DVD, if it only has a single file on it with .ISO extension then it was not burned properly. It must be burned with a program that understands an ISO is a disk image and burns a BOOTABLE W7 DVD with 100s of folders & files.

i put all three copies in my drive and looked at 'properties'
all were blank,said 0 bytes
dl'd winISO bootable maker,burned disc,and it shows 2.38 gig stuff,GRMCHPFRER-EN-DVD'
i think i may have it
thnx

 

[nnicc1]

final solotion

for anyone who has been following my tribulations with win 7,i accidently knocked the tower over and killed it,or at least put it in a coma
went out and bought a new computer,amazed at new tech,entire computer inside the monitor,now i have to learn windows 8
thanks

 

[TrainableMan]

Sorry for your loss. Our sister forum for Windows 8 is www.win8forums.com; you might want to check it out. Enjoy your new computer.

 

[Bige4u]

Howdy everyone, new guy here... i just have to ask because i perhaps missed something, those WIN7 SP1 downloads on the very first page, are all those RETAIL or OEM versions, it didnt specify, im looking for OEM versions only.

EDIT: does the words "retail wrap" mean they are retail versions?

Thanks

 

[TrainableMan]

They are retail versions but your legal OEM key should work just fine, just make sure you get the version that matches your key (if you have a home premium key you can't activate Pro or Ultimate and visa versa).

The difference would be that your OEM version ships with extra things including the drivers specific to your computer, trial-ware software such as MS office and virtual coin games (that you usually end up deleting anyway) and one or two helpful programs such as on-screen volume/contrast display and software to make the touchpad on laptops function.

It is recommended you download the latest drivers from your hardware manufacturer and burn them to a DVD prior to install. The more useful OEM programs are also normally available for download from your computer manufacturer. As for the trialware, you would need to either buy the software or find alternatives.

 

[Bige4u]

So these will work as well on machines like dell/hp-compaq/toshiba/acer/gateway/emachines/etc that originally came with win7 and will activate automatically upon installation w/o requiring the user to type in the COA on the laptop/desktop, thats good to know.

For some reason, i thought only store purchased or microsoft downloaded OEM versions worked with said machines and would activate accordingly on its own and retail version didnt. I required the oem version when installing original win7 home premium/professional x86/x64 , depending if for personal or buiness use on a new hard drive when the original with factory restore partition went bad.

EDIT: I currently own a win7 48in1 non SP1 dvd, i wonder if there is a SP1 version to be had, its much more convinient to have all on one disk, but what i do now is load the OS from a flash drive, its much faster.

Thanks

 

[TrainableMan]

You may need to enter your activation key. I always encourage people to get the key and write it down before you reinstall. Many laptops have pre-activation but I cannot be sure how it works exactly with this ISO.

To get your key install SIW (freeware) before you reinstall and go to the Software > Product Keys section; write it down and never share it here or anywhere online.

 

[Bige4u]

I've restored many win7 OEM machines, mostly if not all have been just the home premium version and using the COA can be trying at best when it comes to laptops.

One complaint i personally have is that the manufactures put the sticker on the bottom side out in the open which tends to have the important info(version/serial) rubbed or torn off over time rendering it useless.

The win7 48in1(oem) disk i own works best, because it reads the slick2.1 info from the manufactures BIOS telling it is win7, regardless of version and if its x86/x64 and activates it automatically w/o having to enter the individual serial number thats required.

In the past i've always relied on the COA when installing the OS on a new hard drive, but again, the problem lays with the placement of the sticker on the laptop, if only ALL manufactures would put the sticker in the underside of the battery bay, that way its out of sight and the info never gets rubbed away or torn off, desktops doesnt suffer from that problem with their COA being mutilated unless removed on purpose for whatever reason.

 

[pacman23]

COA Sticker

Having been caught out myself, I always take a photo of the sticker on the bottom of my laptop or PC case when I get it and file it away just in case.

 

[Bige4u]

Came across an ACER netbook to restore(new hdd) that came with win7 starter originally and thought i'd test it by using the retail OS links from the first page.

Sadly, it didnt preactivate like i thought it would, afterwards it showed i had three days to activate it, i thought the retail and oem disks were interchangeable when it came to manufacture machines, i guess its just applies to the serial numbers only.

Before the final install of the OS, it did ask for a serial number or given the choice to skip it to type in the serial at a later time, it did however automatically activate when an OEM disk was used, even though it did ask for a serial or to skip it as well towards the end of the install.

As you can see, these are NOT preactivated disk and i prefer it that way, of course, for temporary testing purposes only, one could use a win7 loader or slic2.1 modify their non oem BIOSes, which is not for me, too risky for my taste.

Again, since i restore original win7 oem machines, OEM disks are all i seek regardless of version or if 32bit or 64bit... retail disks do me no good, unless theres a way to convert a retail disk to an oem disk, which im sure is highly unlikely.

 

[TrainableMan]

Preactivation comes from SLIC in the BIOS and only works for the version it is designed and only if the BIOS does in fact have SLIC. If the netbook is programmed with W7 Starter then none of the links in this thread will work without some modification because none of these links are W7 Starter. If you download the 32-bit version and then remove ei.cfg the updated ISO can be used to install W7 Starter. If the BIOS has SLIC it would in all likelihood preactivate if you use the correct version but as I have said before, it is a good idea to use a tool like SIW to get the license code just in case it doesn't.

So just to be clear, preactivation does not come from the disk, it comes from your BIOS.

Use of a loader is an attempt to fake this preactivation in order to pirate the OS and is illegal and not recommended by w7forums.

 

[Bige4u]

Im well aware the activation comes from the slic2.1 in the BIOS for win7 machines... i was just curious to see if the "starter" version retail disk(ultimate x86 with ei.cfg removed) in the acer netbook to see if it would work, it did not, lesson learned, use oem only.

Thanks

 

[TrainableMan]

And if you key in the product key could you not activate it?

 

[Bige4u]

I never tried it because i was just experimenting to see what the retail and oem disks would do on manufactured machines w/o having to type in a serial number.

I did manage to finally create an WIN7 SP1 OEM 9in1 x86_x64 AIO disk with integrated $OEM$ folder with the necessary files to look specifically for the SLIC2.1 bios to automatically activate original win7 machines, along with their respective logo and wallpaper according to brand, neat stuff.

Thanks again for the all the helpful info provided, Trainableman!

 

[nation120]

bit of a newb here but built my pc a few days ago, ordered the parts from germany along with W7, i didn't know that i would not be able to change the language from german to english.

just curious, if i download the home premium x64, the same version as the german one i ordered, will it let me re-install windows in english using the same product key i used for initial registration

 

[TrainableMan]

Ultimate & Enterprise versions allow for easy changing of the OS language so I assume you have Home Premium or Professional.

So yes, if you download the same version in English you can do a complete install from this new DVD but using the product key that came with the German version.

 

[B San]

Hello everyone,

I downloaded the ISO and have been running an experimental gaming build which is now something I want to keep around... so I would like to purchase a Genuine Microsoft Product Key so that I may activate.

What is the easiest / most cost-efficient way to purchase one?

I clicked to the 'purchase online' link during the activation process, but it seems to take me to a website which says "download required Windows validation components".

I'd prefer not to install anything else on my system that is not gaming-related - as I'd like to keep it as lean and bloat-free as possible...

Please advise and thanks in advance!

 

[TrainableMan]

It's merely Validation software to help prevent piracy, it should be small and it should run once but it shouldn't stay memory resident so it's not like you will be out any RAM and very little hard drive space.

But still, since you are in the USA, it will be much more expensive through Microsoft. Better to just order a copy from Newegg. Buy the same version you have installed 32 or 64-bit, Home Prem, Professional, Ultimate. It will come with a key and a DVD, simply activate using that key when it arrives. To save money consider an OEM version, just understand that you support that version yourself and it can never be transferred to another computer.

 

[jappy297]

Why there is no japanese verion here?