Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 How to Clean Reinstall a Factory OEM Windows 7 Published by gregrocker 15 Mar 2012 Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 How to Clean Reinstall a Factory OEM Windows 7 Information A clean reinstall is often better than getting a new computer since most PC's come larded with sponsor's bloatware and useless factory utilities that have much better versions built into Windows 7. For this reason many tech enthusiasts clean reinstall using the Product Key on the COA sticker affixed to machine. 1. Download the latest official Win7 installer ISO with SP1 for your licensed version. 2. Burn ISO to DVD or write to USB flash stick (minimum size of 4GB required) using =General%20Tips"]Windows 7 USB-DVD Download Tool. 3. Back up your files externally by dragging your named User account or active User folders to another HD, external drive, flash stick or disk. Don't forget to export your browser bookmarks first. If your email is stored on computer, Google how to back up mail and account settings. Backup Quickbooks 2010+ Company files from User/Public/Documents, google your version's file location, or run a QB backup. De-authorize I-Tunes. • For unbootable Windows copy data out externally using free Paragon rescue disk or Copy & Paste - in Windows Recovery Console. 4. Make your Recovery Disks so you have a path back to factory condition, following the steps given in your PC's setup literature or in the Manual located on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer. As an alternative to Recovery Disks you can save a Windows 7 Backup Image or Macrium Image of the entire HD. • In addition to Recovery Disks some OEM Backup and Recovery options include making a drivers disk to have as an additional backup to the latest drivers on the model's Support Downloads webpage. 5. Run an audit of hardware and software including installed Product Keys using Belarc Advisor. 6. Write down the Product Key from COA sticker located on back or side of PC tower, bottom or under battery of notebook. Make sure you get the characters correct as this is a main cause of activation failure. You can input or Skip the key during install then afterwards activate at Control Panel>System, which may require a quick robocall. The COA sticker looks like this: 7. Gather your program installers. For those lacking disks, you may find them on the program's Support Downloads webpage. Favorite pre-installed apps may be found on the Downloads webpage for your model computer or manufacturer-provided Apps Disk. Others may be found by googling. Some pre-installed apps may not be available for clean reinstall - HP owners see additional note below. ● Many of the favorite apps needed and desired for reinstall are available in the terrific app Ninite - Install or Update Multiple Apps at Once. 8. Unplug all other HD's and peripherals, Boot the Windows 7 installer, choose Custom Install, then Drive Options (Advanced) to Delete all partitions not needed, repartition as desired following illustrated steps given here: Clean Install Windows 7. ● If you have a Recovery or OEM tools partition, these may not run after clean reinstall so be sure to make your Recovery Disks. ● You can wait until afterwards to see if Recovery or (Diagnostics) Tools partitions will run from boot to decide if you want to delete those partitions and recover the space into C or elsewhere (using Step 3 here). ● If you don't want to keep any partitions but also don't have a new partition scheme in mind, just click Next after Deleting all to let the installer create and format your installation partition for you. ● Until Windows 7 installer is updated with USB3 drivers use a USB2 port for flash install or load the USB3 driver from the PC's Support Downloads webpage when prompted during install. If you're prompted for drivers for any other reason during install it almost always means a bad installer. 9. The installer is mostly driver-complete, with newer arriving quickly via optional Windows Updates. Just in case, have your Wireless or Ethernet LAN driver on flash stick or CD so you can install it to get online quickly - these can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer . Then enable hardware driver auto-updating, install all Important and Optional Updates. 10. Any drivers still missing in Device Manager after several rounds of Updates can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model computer or device, along with possibly needed hotfixes which you can also wait to see if you need. Driver Install - Device Manager I would not replace any drivers given by the installer or optional Updates unless performance problems point to that specfic driver. We can help you troubleshoot these issues. • Unknown Devices are often SID card readers, or can be traced using Hardware Identification. • Co-processor, USB and Storage controllers are elements of the chipset. 11. Install programs slowly over time to gauge performance changes after each. You can roll back most any Program installs or Update(s) using System Restore. 12. Don't let any programs write themselves into msconfig>Startup as they slow startup, become freeloaders on your RAM/CPU and can spy on you. ● As illustrated in Startup Programs - Change uncheck everything except AV, gadgets (aka "sidebar"), Sync program in msconfig>Startup. ● Then after reboots do the same in msconfig>Services after checking "Hide All MS Services." ● Check back with both lists periodically to see if anything writes itself back in and turn it off in its Program Preferences or Uninstall the freeloader. ● If you have any questions about a listing, Google it to learn what it does. ● However I would not install Google programs which are relentless spyware. Only use the stable Google search box in IE9 or Firefox and don't stay signed into any Google web apps. ● You can greatly diminish spying and reduce tracking ads - periodically Opt Out of Network Advertising. 13. Use a lightweight free AV like Microsoft Security Essentials which works perfectly with the Windows 7 Firewall. If you're prone to infection add the paid real-time protection for Malwarebytes, otherwise run its excellent free scanner monthly. 14. To copy your files into the new install, open the storage folder, open each User folder (Documents, Pictures, etc.), from the Organize tab Select All, then drag the group to the corresponding folder on Explorer bar at left. Wait until the bar stops unfolding and hypertext confirms the copy location before releasing the left click. Do not copy over hidden AppData folders from User Accounts as these are a corruption path. ● The User's Favorites folder will populate IE Bookmarks. Import another browser's Bookmarks from HTML file backed up previously. Copy Quickbooks and other Program data into it's default folder location. 15. Activation at Control Panel>System may require a robocall to MS the first time to record your hardware signature in their servers. It will always work as long as you install the correct version and input the key accurately. 16. When finished, clean and order the HD perfectly using state-of-the-art free CCleaner "Run Cleaner" button and Registry tab. I recommend Puran free boot-time defragger + Full Disk Check after checking Intelligent Optimizer on Additional Operations tab for state-of-the-art defrag which includes System Files. Periodically run these as well as a full scan with free Malwarebytes and SUPERAntiSpyware. ● Avoid spyware tracking cookies placing interest ads by Opting Out of Network Advertising. 17. Finally, save a Windows 7 Backup image externally so you never have to reinstall again - just reimage the HD or it's replacement using DVD/Repair CD with the stored image. ● You can keep your User folders backed up to the cloud, sync'd to your other devices, even accessed on the web using Skydrive free 7gb of storage with each Windows Live ID: Sync Any Folder to Your SkyDrive Account 18. Henceforth if required to contact your OEM Tech Support do not tell them you Clean Reinstalled but troubleshoot as if you have the factory install. Otherwise OEM's may refuse to support Clean Reinstall but cannot void Hardware warranty. If you ship the unit back for repair under Hardware warranty save a Windows 7 backup image and then run Factory Recovery beforehand. Information Special notes to HP owners: HP Recovery will now do a Minimized OS Recovery when booting from F11, which retains only the OS, Recovery Manager, HP Support Asst, and HP Wireless LAN. This is as close to a clean reinstall as you can get without using a retail DVD with COA key. ● If you clean reinstall only to C and leave all other partitions intact, F11 Recovery key should still work later if you need it. ● You can also Extract HP 3rd Party Software from RecovCD. ● Problems with volume control lighting and HP Quick Launch buttons have been dealt with here where you can also get further support. Information Special notes to Dell owners: If your Recovery partition is triggered at boot from the F8 System Recovery Options then it will no longer run after clean reinstall, so make your Recovery disks first, delete Recovery partition during reinstall. ●The Dell Diagnostics tools stored on the OEM Tools partition often will run from boot but not from the OS after Reinstall, or you can download a bootable CD/flash stick version of them from Dell's site to replace it . Information Special Note to Sony Vaio Owners: Software which enables Fkey functions and illumination must be reinstalled from the Sony Support Downloads webpage in the order as shown here: Function keys don't work after clean install - Windows 7 Forums

Hi there, My auntie swapped her rotted old wodden windows with double galzing a while back. She hired a window installer (WI) to take tackle the problem, which would finally cost her £6000 pounds. At the time the WI explained that the area was not conservation, not to worry and that he would not need any form of approval from the council to perform the job. She took this person word on everything and went ahead with the work. After about a year the council contacted her and stated that infact it was a conservation area and that she would need to replace the windows to suit. This is now going to cost her £12,000. They gave her 3 years to do this and she now has 6 months. Is theyre something she can do..... She knows where this WI is and he is easily contactable. Can she sue? Is they're a way the council can do this job where it doesnt cost a whopping 12 grand in one hit? Appreciate the advice. Thanks

Hi all. I am trying to repair a friends laptop. When you sign in, the welcome sign appears and the blue circle spins round. But that's it. It will not go any further. I have started in safe mode with command prompt and done sfc /scannow and get this message afterwards:- Windows Resource Protection did not find any integrity violations. I have also tried to do a clean install of Windows, but the CD drive seems to be broken. It makes a strange clicking sound but doesn't seem to kick in properly. The laptop just boots up normally because of this. I have made sure that the CD drive is number 1 priority in the boot order, but that doesn't help either. Any ideas?

Hello All, Last week, I bought a laptop from Dell Online. It cost around £600 and on paper it seems to be quite a good model. The laptop came with a pre-installed copy of the 64-bit OEM Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium, together with other Microsoft software packages. I do not need this bundled software as I only ever use Linux. I do not like Microsoft's products which I find to be unreliable. Furthermore I strongly disapprove of Microsoft's ethics and do not wish to provide the company with my custom. The laptop was not available for purchase without this pre-installed software. I should like the cost of this unwanted Microsoft software, which adds around £70 to the purchase price of a laptop, to be refunded by Dell. Dell reportedly refunds other consumers, both here in the UK and elsewhere, who object to paying a "Windows Tax" for pre-installed Microsoft software that they neither want nor need. Unfortunately, Dell is currently refusing my requests for a refund on this software. This makes me more determined to secure reimbursement since I believe it is my legal right under European law. Dell's argument is that the Microsoft software was included in the sale of the machine and that if I am not satisfied with that then I must return both the laptop and software for a refund. However, Dell states that this refund comes with a penalty. It would be subject to a deduction for the cost of shipping and handling and a "restocking fee." I doubt that such a penalty is even lawful under the rules of the Distance Selling Directive. Furthermore, it is apparently commonplace in the Francophone world for customers to obtain refunds from Dell, and other computer retailers, for the cost of unwanted software that is bundled with a new computer. In securing their legal right to a refund, French consumers are relying on the judgments of the European courts. These judgments including a 2009 case heard by the ECJ, and more recently the Nov 2010 judgment in Petrus v Lenovo in the French Supreme Court. The right to return unwanted bundled software is based on the Courts' interpretation of European Directive 2005/29/EC. This is known as the "Unfair Commercial Practices Directive". The Directive prohibits twenty-three deceptive trade practices and eight aggressive commercial practices. Dell, Lenovo and Acer have all been found guilty of engaging in unlawful business practices by refusing to refund the cost of unwanted software that was pre-installed on new computers. The legal right to a refund on unwanted bundled software was galvanised in France through a test case brought by UFC Que Choisir, the main consumer rights association in France. The Directive is implemented here in the UK by way of The Consumer Protection From Unfair Trading Regulations. The Regulations came into force in May 2008. In these austere times, it is particularly galling that the purchaser of an expensive new computer is burdened with the cost of bundled software products that he does not even want. For that reason, I should like to see Dell's unethical practice of pre-installing unwanted and costly software brought before a British Court, to hopefully secure a legally binding judgment in favour of the consumer seeking a refund for its cost. Dell has stated that I have three days left (out of seven) to agree to its punitive terms of refund, after which my entitlement to return the laptop ceases altogether, so the company has claimed. A particular bone of contention concerns the terms of the End-User License Agreement (EULA) for the bundled Microsoft software. The terms of this Agreement are not available for examination at the time of purchasing a laptop from Dell. Yet the company claims, nevertheless, that the terms form part of its Contract of Sale. Again, that does not sound lawful. The OFT's Guidance on Unfair Consumer Contract Terms state that a term is unlawful if it "irrevocably binds the consumer to terms with which he had no real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of the contract." This is not the first time that the OFT has had to rein in Dell over its flagrant abuse of our consumer protection laws. In 2006, Dell was ordered by the OFT to remove a number of unlawful terms from its consumer contracts for the supply of computer equipment. All comments welcomed.