[ggorine]

Hi guys
I`ve got that oriole problem.

I had a problem with Windows 7 unable to boot with another Ubuntu partition. I took ours to be able to back up all the files in windows using a XP live disk. After the back up i had all my files safe but the grab has been damaged and no OS wanted to load (error 17).

After few attempts, my MBR sectors has been erased including the partition table.
So now i`ve got a lonely 250 gb unallocated partition.

Now i just want to have a genuine copy of Windows 7, but the laptop came to me with zero recovery DVDs or else and the partition containing the recover get "s…cr..e…wed".

The only things i`ve got are few Ubuntu live cds, a downloaded pirate copy of windows7 (hope to make it genuine), a windows XP cd and
THE WINDOWS 7 PRODUCT KEY printed on my laptop bottom.

I hope somebody can help me!
(i was thinking about installing a Windows7 pirate copy and make in genuine with my product key, but i`m not sure)
thnx

[joeten]

Hi and welcome to TSG get in touch with your manufacturer and see about getting a disc from them keep away from pirate copies they are oft times infected files that come with them

[ggorine]

Glad to start this forum not by sharing my limited knowledge but from the beginning with a dead computer problem

I was thinking about that but first of all i bought the PC not from a dedicated pc store and the Packard Bell will probably take ages. Another good point is that i believe in the "power" of computers and i really wish to solve this problem without using The Big Man's help (quote from School of Rock).

I was thinking to install a linux OS placing it in the end of the HD (i remember that the hidden recovery partition was the first one) after that i would have a new MBR file with a new partition table. Than i would use any recovery program to copy the fisrt 10 Gigs of the recovery part. Could it work???

spending to much time on those computers...

[TerryNet]

There are generally 3 ways to use the Recovery partition:
a. boot into it, unless the special mbr has been overwritten;
b. enter it from the booted OS;
c. first boot from a Recovery CD/DVD.

Since you have none of the above the solution is as given by joeten.

Another possibility is to borrow somebody's matching Windows 7 installation DVD, install and use your (presumably valid) Product key. By "matching" I mean the DVD and what you had need to both be Home Premium, Professional, etc.

We don't help with illegal software. I am not giving you a violation (at least not yet), but any more mention of pirated software will result in the thread being closed.

[ggorine]

Unfortunatly my other pc has a 32 bit system so this last possibility has to be delayed.

Anyway i just sent an email to Packard Bell assistance hoping that they will agree in restoring windows.

I cannot find anything about denied warranty because of partitions modifications. As soon as Ubuntu is open source and i've paid for Windows i assume that i'm free to decide how many OS i wanna have on my PC.

thank you guys, i'll write if something changes and if you find any other useful informations please tell me

[davehc]

You have raised an interesting legal point. Never thought about it before. Comparitively, if you intefere with a hardware product (NOT a computer related thing) and add something which in any way interferes with its normal operation, the guarantee becomes void. (A car, sewing machine - you name it). I wonder how far this stretches in the case of an OS? Linux, being extremely alien to Microsoft OS's, could be interpreted as interfering with the operating system.

However, I digress. You can, if you wish, download and burn a recovery disk for your particular OS (32Bit or 64Bit) If Terry thinks this is verging on pirating, then he may scratch this with no complaint from me, but I am sure it is 100% legal..Under your circumstances, this could be a solution, as I doubt you can burn your own, with the built-in facility, now you have messed up the MBR.

Best source, which is widely posted on Ms Technet forums, is http://neosmart.net/blog/2008/window...disc-download/

[DVOM]

I had a similar problem on my last laptop and found a program called "testdisk" that's available in the Ubuntu repositories. I was able to restore my 'lost" partitions.

So, if you can get online with one of your live Ubuntu CD's, do a "sudo apt-get install testdisk" command to install it and this tutorial should get you going:

http://www.cgsecurity.org/wiki/TestDisk_Step_By_Step

Also, when I did it, I was using a live Linux Mint USB stick, here's a tutorial on how to create one with the tool supplied in Ubuntu 8.10 and higher and other Ubuntu based distros.

http://www.pendrivelinux.com/ubuntu-...usb-installer/

Good luck

[Elvandil]

Originally Posted by ggorine

Unfortunatly my other pc has a 32 bit system so this last possibility has to be delayed.

Anyway i just sent an email to Packard Bell assistance hoping that they will agree in restoring windows.

I cannot find anything about denied warranty because of partitions modifications. As soon as Ubuntu is open source and i've paid for Windows i assume that i'm free to decide how many OS i wanna have on my PC.

thank you guys, i'll write if something changes and if you find any other useful informations please tell me

Changes to the partitions will very likely void your software warranty, but not the hardware.

You can't "buy" Windows. After you pay, you are leased the use of the files. But they do not belong to you even though they are on your machine. You own the plastic in the CD, but not any of its contents.

But that isn't the issue, anyway. It is the manufacturer that licenses the Windows copies on their machines, so they are really the ones that decide what you can do and what you can't. When you change partitions, you have disabled their software for recovery. So clearly they will no longer want to give support.