I have the pleasure of trying to repair my mother-in-laws Toshiba laptop. I tried everything I could think of to do a fresh install of Windows 7 using the recovery partition but it wouldn't work. The hard drive was too corrupted and I had to remove it from the laptop so I could format it using another computer. I tried installing windows using a USB and a normal install disc but it wouldn't get pass the first screen without locking up. After I formatted the drive I was able to install windows using the USB stick. I made sure to download and install Windows 7 Home Premium that was installed on the laptop from the factory. It installed properly and I was able to install all the drivers and Windows updates but I can't activate Windows because I can't read the last 5 digits of the key. I contacted Microsoft and they basically told me I am SOL. They don't sell Windows 7 keys any longer and they couldn't do anything to recover the last 5 digits of my current key. I contacted Toshiba and they told me they can't help me with the key but if I purchase "recovery media" from them and install it then activating windows won't be necessary. They charge $29.99 for the disc version and $39.99 for the usb version.
At this point I don't have much of a choice but I wanted to verify with someone here that what the Toshiba tech told me is true. I don't want to spend $30 on recovery media and spend the time installing it just to find out that I still need a Windows key.
I know better to always keep a copy of my Windows key for reasons just like this. Unfortunately my mother-in-law, like most people I help with their computers, didn't know any better.
So do I buy the recovery media from Toshiba and all will be right with this garbage laptop? Do I have any other cheaper alternatives at this point?
At this point I don't have much of a choice but I wanted to verify with someone here that what the Toshiba tech told me is true. I don't want to spend $30 on recovery media and spend the time installing it just to find out that I still need a Windows key.
I know better to always keep a copy of my Windows key for reasons just like this. Unfortunately my mother-in-law, like most people I help with their computers, didn't know any better.
So do I buy the recovery media from Toshiba and all will be right with this garbage laptop? Do I have any other cheaper alternatives at this point?