Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2017 November 13

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November 13

Reinstalling Windows 7

How does one reinstall Windows 7 from a backup DVD (which one had previously made from the Windows 7 already installed on the hard drive) to a brand-new, completely blank hard drive? Is it a matter of "just insert the DVD and follow the directions", or does one have to memorize the steps? (Note: My hard drive has NOT failed yet -- I had a new one installed just a few months ago -- I am asking this in order to be able to reinstall Windows 7 on my own when this second hard drive, inevitably, will also fail a few years from now.) 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:EA04 (talk) 10:26, 13 November 2017 (UTC)

Take a look here: https://www.wikihow.com/Install-Windows-7-(Beginners) . You probably do not have to remember the steps, as there are menus, but you can decide beforehand which disk you want to install etc. Another good thing is to make sure you have your license key. If it is not handy, say on a disk sticker, look it up from your working installation and record it. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 01:30, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

You mean look it up from Control Panel > System, as I just did? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:EA04 (talk) 02:04, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

I don't think that works, I use Belarc Advisor to retrieve the license key. It is encrypted in the registry. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 12:31, 14 November 2017 (UTC)

How exactly DO you do this? Where does it show the license key? Never mind, I just found the product key -- my only question is, how can I tell whether this is my key or the manufacturer's, and does it actually matter when installing from a DVD which I make myself? (The OS on my computer was NOT an original installation -- it was a reinstallation onto a replacement HD made by the Geek Squad from a DVD-ROM which was marked "Intended for installation of Windows 7 using OEM tools".) 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:0:0:0:EA04 (talk) 02:22, 15 November 2017 (UTC)

You install the program, run it, and then it makes a file called:C:/Program%20Files%20(x86)/Belarc/BelarcAdvisor/System/tmp/(your-pc-name).html and displays it in a browser window. Section #licenses has the keys. Graeme Bartlett (talk) 02:29, 15 November 2017 (UTC)

The key in Control Panel > System is not the installation key and won't work with the installation disc. You need to use a different method to get that key, like what Graeme Bartlett suggested. 93.139.55.105 (talk) 19:30, 19 November 2017 (UTC)

What about the key on the package from the installation disk (which I found after 2 days of searching, in a place where I least expected to find it)? 2601:646:8E01:7E0B:404:F3D3:C557:159A (talk) 03:02, 20 November 2017 (UTC)