[bj nick]

It has been so long since I went through the process of wiping and then re-formatting a hard drive, that I would really appreciate some guidance here. I have a Velocity netbook with a messed-up OS. A very knowledgable guy checked it out and said it's FUBAR. I do not have the original OS disk from the company and they don't have one to send me; long story. In any case, I have my Win7 home premium disk, and I'd like to put that on the netbook.

Can someone give me a link or hold my hand a little so that I can get the HD erased, re-formatted, and then install the new OS? The more basic the explanation, the better. Step-by-step.......

fwiw: I did this many times in the past, but not since about 2003.

Thank you!

[bj nick]

.....oh, and one other thing: the netbook does not have a CD drive, but I have an external USB drive to use. I know that getting the HD to see the CD drive is one of the earliest steps when re-formatting.

[Elvandil]

You don't "wipe" anything and you don't format any more, either. You just start the setup. When it asks you where you want it, you can use the advanced options to choose installation location. It is wise at that point to remove all partitions and then create new ones in the unallocated space. It is a rare chance to rebuild the partition tables.

The onscreen directions are very complete. Read everything. It isn't there just to fill the space.

[bj nick]

Hi, that's good news, but what's happening is that when I turn it on, it goes right into XP setup mode; it says "setup restarting." Previous to this, someone had tried repeatedly to install XP, and even when I remove the XP OS disk from the CD drive, and restart, it keeps cycling right back to this. What do I do so that it sees the new Win7 CD?

[bj nick]

Update: a pro PC tech said over the phone that my new Win7 disk will not work because it will recognize that it's already been used, and will konk out after 30 days. The disk I tried to use with this is an HP XP disk.

[Elvandil]

An HP disk can only be used on the machine it came with. It has drivers for that model, is licensed to that model, probably won't work on a different model, and is illegal to install on a different model.

You'll need a new disk. Try the free YLMF in the meantime. It is Linux-based but looks like XP.

[bj nick]

Not interested in being illegal. But why won't my Win7 home premium disk work? I'm supposed to be able to use the same disc for one laptop as well, right? Isn't that the way it's always been?

If not, what about buying one on Ebay? Any ideas on what I should look for? Thanks for your help; I don't want to order something and then have it not work.....such a hassle returning things.

[crjdriver]

No, you cannot use a hp disk on another system; it violates the eula. OEM type windows disk live and die with the original hardware. You can install on the original hardware ONLY.
If you want to install win7, then you need to purchase either a retail disk or an oem disk.

[bj nick]

CRJ driver, maybe you didn't see my last post...I understand and won't use the HP software. Don't want to be illegal. I am asking about my Windows 7 OS that is on my custom computer, and for which I have the OS disc. My understanding is that it is completely legal to install the OS on one other computer. That would be this one. I am just wondering if I can make it work?

[bj nick]

clarification: "one other LAPTOP computer" is my understanding. That is, a person can use it for home and a laptop.

[dustyjay]

Your Retail Copy of Windows can only be installed and used on one computer at a time per the EULA.

[bj nick]

Ok, so much for that idea. I'll have to buy a copy of XP on ebay or something......any suggestions?

[crjdriver]

I'm supposed to be able to use the same disc for one laptop as well, right? Isn't that the way it's always been?

You are confusing office and windows os. MS has let you install a single copy of office on both a desktop and laptop. The windows os can only be installed on a single computer at a time. If you have a retail version of windows, you can install it as many times as you want however you can only use it on one system at a time.

[DaveBurnett]

I would have worded that as....

however you can only activate and use it on one system at a time