How to reinstall Win7 without CD nor USB key ?

Question

Hi,

I've just been looking for an answer on the Dell's website and this forum but all the related FAQ links are broken ! And there is no information on the website... Very disappointing.

Here is my problem : My hard drive crashed, I replaced it. I've reinstalled Win7 with a compatible version and entered my licence key. It worked but... now Win7 complains about the serial being hacked.

I understood that I have to use the reinstall function from the repair partition... but there is no repair partition on the blank drive I bought... so what's next ?

Where can I download an image of a repair disk with which I could reinstall (once again) Windows and my softwares ?

Thank you for our help.
Tristan

igor_panov · Answer

Most laptops with a pre-installed Windows OS have something like a key combo, which allows you to run the recovery function right after the booting process...

Philip_Yip · Answer

You can request the Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD from Dell. If you are in warranty and reside in the US or CA you can fill out the online media request form:

http://www.dell.com/recoverymedia/

Otherwise you have to call Technical Support for your region to request it.

I generally prefer to use the Digital River .iso and the Activation Backup and Recovery program which is a downloadable unofficial solution:

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/download-microsoft-windows-and-office/download-microsoft-windows/windows-7-sp1-iso-download/

http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/a-clean-install-of-windows-7/microsoft-product-activation/the-activation-backup-and-recovery-program-windows-7-version/