Windows 7 Clean Install on Gateway NV57H Laptop

Finny76

Finny76

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I just purchased a Gateway NV57H50u Laptop from BestBuy that came preloaded with Windows 7 Home Premium OA.

I wanted to do a clean Install so i put in a Retail Disc of Win7 and entered my product Key (located at the back of the laptop)

When i tried to activate Win7 it gave me an error "The product key you typed in Invalid for Acativation" :confused:

I thought that when you Install Windows it picks up the Key from the BIOS of the laptop, as long as select the correction version of windows.

Do i need to reinstall windows again?
 
yeah that's what i thought so too BUT correct me IF im wrong, isint the KEY embedded in the BIOS?
 
finny76 said:
yeah that's what i thought so too BUT correct me IF im wrong, isint the KEY embedded in the BIOS?
Click to expand...

The only thing that would be tied to the BIOS would be for a volume licensing key, like what you get from an pre-built machine (and I'm not sure that Win 7 still uses that process anyway). A retail copy has no connection to the BIOS at all. Perhaps that key is already in use?
 
If you use a retail disk, no it will not activate from the BIOS. If you used say a Dell Windows 7 disk in a Dell laptop THAT CAME WITH 7, then it would automatically activate. If you use a retail disk, just use the key on the bottom of the laptop. It will activate fine. You may need to call MS, but it takes only 3-4 mins to do so. Painless.
 
/usr/home said:
If you use a retail disk, no it will not activate from the BIOS. If you used say a Dell Windows 7 disk in a Dell laptop THAT CAME WITH 7, then it would automatically activate. If you use a retail disk, just use the key on the bottom of the laptop. It will activate fine. You may need to call MS, but it takes only 3-4 mins to do so. Painless.
Click to expand...

OK i guess thats what the problem is...Im using a RETAIL version of windows 7 to Install because the Gateway did not come with any Windows CD.

I do however have a Dell Windows 7 CD that came with my Dell Laptop. Will that work with the Gateway?
 
finny76 said:
OK i guess thats what the problem is...Im using a RETAIL version of windows 7 to Install because the Gateway did not come with any Windows CD.

I do however have a Dell Windows 7 CD that came with my Dell Laptop. Will that work with the Gateway?
Click to expand...

Hi, finny76,

You should probably be using an OEM version and the Dell disk probably won't work on a Gateway.

Hope this helps.

Chuklr
 
the key on the laptop is a OEM key, the Dell disk would probably work, but on alot of those retail machines you make the CD's from a program within the OS, which is why alot of them dont come with recovery cd's anymore.
 
Javelin3o4 said:
the key on the laptop is a OEM key, the Dell disk would probably work, but on alot of those retail machines you make the CD's from a program within the OS, which is why alot of them dont come with recovery cd's anymore.
Click to expand...

So is there a way to do a CLEAN install of windows 7 if i don't want the preloaded Garbage that comes on the laptops? :confused:
 
When a manufacturer builds a set of laptops, they install the OS and all the software and demos on a single machine and test and activate first. Then, they re-image that on all the laptops with identical hardware. The only difference between the machines (that the OS cares about) is the MAC ID of the network cards. The key allows that difference and does not trigger an invalid activation when the image is restored on all the other laptops.

If they had to install everything on every single machine the same way and activate each machine with a unique key, it would take them a long time and would not be acceptable for a production line. Re-imaging is what they do, which is much faster.

So, when you buy the laptop, effectively, you get two keys.
One key is the one that is used to activate the original installation by the manufacturer and the only way you can get that key is to use a program like the magic jelly bean to recover it. This key is on all the machines (identical hardware) that went through the production line together. If you make a clean install and use this key to activate, it will go through with no problem and will not require you to call.

The other key is on the bottom of the laptop. This key is unique for every machine. The manufacturer has to give you this key because you have paid for an OS and you must get a unique key. However, this key will require that you call to activate after a clean install.
 
finny76 said:
So is there a way to do a CLEAN install of windows 7 if i don't want the preloaded Garbage that comes on the laptops? :confused:
Click to expand...

You should be able to load a retail copy of Win 7 on it just fine - I did on my Asus. However, it sounds like you have a key problem - did you try calling Microsoft?
 
Forceman said:
You should be able to load a retail copy of Win 7 on it just fine - I did on my Asus. However, it sounds like you have a key problem - did you try calling Microsoft?
Click to expand...

IT accepted the key when i installed it, however when i tried to activate i was told to call Microsoft and get it activated.. I know i can call and get it activated, but why doesn't it activate smoothy instead of me going thru hoops by calling MS.

When i had a DELL, it never asked for they key while installing Win7.
 
finny76 said:
When i had a DELL, it never asked for they key while installing Win7.
Click to expand...

Because Dell used a volume licensing key, which is already/automatically activated. Why are you so resistant to calling Microsoft to get it activated? It takes like 5 minutes.
 
You can do a clean install without issue. Use the key from the sticker on the back of the laptop and then as others have said, activate it by phone. I have done this on many different laptops and it always works. If you need to download a legit copy of win7, go here.
 
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