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mishabear16
5 Posts
0
2984
April 18th, 2019 01:00
Reloading operating system
My son's laptop came with Win 7 Home and was upgraded to Win 10. Years of great service. This year, he started to bog down so he tried a system restore to factory defaults. As the laptop comes up, it asks for keyboard and language settings, he hit "next" and it says "please wait" as it continues installation. After a couple minutes, it then repeatedly boot cycles and repeats the keyboard/language process over again.
We went to the Dell website to download a recovery disk and it claims the service tag does not exist. Microsoft sends me back to the Dell website to get the software. The CD key on the laptop is for Windows 7. How do we restore the laptop back to Windows 10 without a recognized service tag, media, or Win 10 CD key?
What system do you have? You can download onto another PC the Media Creation Tool from MS, create a USB install disk from it (select "Create an installation media for another PC"), and use that to do a fresh install of Windows 10. You would need to boot the problem PC from this install disk. [If you keep tapping F12 when you start the computer, it should bring up boot option selections. Select the USB install drive.] When it gets into the install select "don't save anything". It will wipe everything out. You may need to download some current drivers from Dell after the installation (hopefully Dell has not messed them up). He will need to install all his software and I hope he has backed up his data so that he can restore that.
JohnD
@mishabear16 wrote:
The CD key on the laptop is for Windows 7. How do we restore the laptop back to Windows 10 without a recognized service tag, media, or Win 10 CD key?
Do a fresh install of Windows 10.
When you get to the part asking for a product key, skip it.
After Windows 10 is installed, go online (usually easiest to do connecting directly to your router with an Ethernet cable). And activate Windows. Microsoft already has a record that your laptop was running Windows 10.
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mishabear16
5 Posts
2328
0
Posted April 25th, 2019 18:00
"You can download onto another PC the Media Creation Tool from MS"
Nope. They ask for the CD key, say its a OEM, and to get the media from Dell.mishabear16
5 Posts
2331
0
Posted April 25th, 2019 18:00
I managed to resolve my issue thru a disk purchase via eBay. Obtaining the media was the primary issue. No way to do a fresh install without access to the media!
I have no doubt your solution would have worked if I was able to perform all the tasks. I DID discover that once the new Win 7 was installed, the computer was given a NEW Service tag and Express number. This is likely why the Dell site was unable to provide me with an install media. Is this standard for Dell Win 7 installs?mishabear16
5 Posts
2327
0
Posted April 25th, 2019 18:00
"Do a fresh install of Windows 10"
That was the problem - obtaining the media. MS said to get it from Dell and Dell said my Service tag doesn't exist(tho it is printed on the back of the laptop).
Seems once Win 7 was installed and later upgraded, the laptop got a NEW Service Tag and Express code.
Philip_Yip
11 Legend
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16052 Posts
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65915 Points
2290
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Posted April 26th, 2019 01:00
You shouldn't have been given a new Service Tag etc. however if it is a 2nd hand system it may be refurbished and the motherboard may have a different Service Tag to the case. You can see what it is by powering off and then powering up the Dell and pressing [F2] this will take you to the BIOS setup. The system information will tell you the Service Tag from the motherboard. You can Download Windows 10 without a key from Microsoft, you cannot Download Windows 7 from Microsoft without a Retail Product Key. This is a flaw we have mentioned for years however eventually Dell made Windows 7 Pro downloadable via the Dell OS Recovery Tool. Detailed instructions are available here: https://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/windows-oem-faqs-and-downloads/ We don't know if Dell and Microsoft will remove these downloads come January 2020.
Philip_Yip
11 Legend
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16052 Posts
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65915 Points
2441
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Posted April 20th, 2019 11:00
You do not need a Product Key to reinstall Windows 10, however Windows 10 Installation Media also accepts Windows 7 and Windows 8.1 Product Keys. Follow my instructions here to Download Installation Media from Microsoft, make a Bootable USB, Clean Install Windows 10 and then update your system drivers using Dell Update:
https://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/windows-oem-faqs-and-downloads/
Windows 11 Installation Guide
Windows 7 Installation Guide