Windows 7 Product Key Not Valid?

[bhavick]

Hi,

I am in a bit of trouble here and i need some assistance. What's happened is recently i completely erased everything on my Lenovo T61 laptop as i decided i wanted to sell it. After doing so my laptop is stuck in grub mode where it says no such partition exists. This is down to me completely erasing everything by mistake.

Now what i've been told by others is that i need to re install Windows 7 on it again as this is what was originally running on it. So i've tried downloading Windows 7 on to my PC where am asked to verify my copy of Windows 7 by entering the product key. I got the product key from the sticker underneath the laptop but when i enter it in and try and verify it, it says the product key not valid. I've tried it a couple of times and it's not working and i don't know what to do. I've also asked this same question on the Microsoft help forum and am still awaiting a reply.

If anyone on here can help i would really appreciate it, i really hope i haven't messed the laptop up for good:-(

Thanks

 

[bignastyid]

Is the win 7 install media retail or oem? Is the install media the correct version(home, pro, etc)?

 

[bhavick]

I honestly don't know, i purchased the laptop from a computer fair and it already had Windows 7 pre installed.

 

[COLGeek]

Also, was the previous Win 7 product key used to upgrade to Win 10? If so, the Win 7 key is no longer valid. As bignastyid indicated, the product key and installation version must match.

 

[USAFRet]

If it was a preinstalled Win 7 on the laptop, it is almost certainly an OEM license.

You can't download the Win 7 ISO from Microsoft...they expect you to get that from the manufacturer, or whoever you purchased it from.

 

[bhavick]

Thor, no we didn't upgrade to windows 10, to be honest we didn't even use the laptop after purchasing it. The laptop was running Windows 7 until we deleted everything.

 

[Wolfshadw]

Did the laptop come with any recovery media? If so, use that. If not (and you didn't create any), contact the laptop manufacturer for a copy.

-Wolf sends

 

[USAFRet]

If you're going to sell it, you can just do a full install of Win 10, and leave it Unactivated.
Fully functional and $0.

How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10

Give the purchaser a small discount for no licensed OS, inform him of the OS status, and let him figure out the licensing.

 

[The Paladin]

you can download a fresh ISO of WINDOWS 7 from Microsoft.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7?ranMID=24542&ranEAID=je6NUbpObpQ&ranSiteID=je6NUbpObpQ-mXMKhDG9bIQLX.14uxUEPQ&tduid=(a16ccfc538f1f4852d3771b8ec78245a)(256380)(2459594)(je6NUbpObpQ-mXMKhDG9bIQLX.14uxUEPQ)()

enter the key you have and it will provide the right software to match it

 

[bignastyid]

Paladin, that does not work for pre installed OEM keys, like the op has, only retail and store bought OEM keys.

 

[USAFRet]

you can download a fresh ISO of WINDOWS 7 from Microsoft.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7?ranMID=24542&ranEAID=je6NUbpObpQ&ranSiteID=je6NUbpObpQ-mXMKhDG9bIQLX.14uxUEPQ&tduid=(a16ccfc538f1f4852d3771b8ec78245a)(256380)(2459594)(je6NUbpObpQ-mXMKhDG9bIQLX.14uxUEPQ)()

enter the key you have and it will provide the right software to match it

Not gonna work.
Microsoft will just direct you to the manufacturer.

 

[bhavick]

Thanks all for your replies, you've all been really helpful with your suggestions. I think the best thing for me to do is contact Lenovo and explain the situation to them and hopefully they might be able to offer some or advice or a solution. If not i don't know what am gonna do.

 

[COLGeek]

If you are going to sell, just load Linux (like Mint or Ubuntu) and let the buyer install the OS of their choice. The earlier recommendation of installing Win 10 and leaving unactivated is another viable option. Just a couple options to consider.

 

[bhavick]

Hi All,

I've just got off the phone with Microsoft and they looked up the version of Windows i had installed on my laptop and guess what it's not even Windows 7, he said it's Windows Vista Business which he said Microsoft no longer supports it, so i've got no idea where am gonna download that from or even if you can anymore?

 

[USAFRet]

Hi All,

I've just got off the phone with Microsoft and they looked up the version of Windows i had installed on my laptop and guess what it's not even Windows 7, he said it's Windows Vista Business which he said Microsoft no longer supports it, so i've got no idea where am gonna download that from or even if you can anymore?

Don't even bother.
As mentioned above, just install some flavor of Linux, or Win 10. $0 and let the new owner source his own OS license.

 

[punkncat]

To me, I would look at it like this...

How much do you anticipate selling this aged machine for, and to whom?
How much is your time and trouble worth trying to get it back onto an unsupported OS platform with (2) OS upgrades since? Along with what was said above about actually selling....to add to that. I know there are a lot of people who are XP fanboi and loved that OS enough to continue to stick to it, but can't say I EVER heard such about Vista. It was a dog.

The above suggestions to Win 10 it are probably your best bet if the system will even run it, followed by the open source OS suggestion.

I see the sale of it being very challenging without someone having a specific need for something that old or feature it offers, like serial port or optical drive, etc.

There is inherent value to your nerves taking it outside and beating the ever loving (crap) out of it with a bat.....

 

[bhavick]

I suppose you guys are right might as well try and install windows 10. How do i go about doing that without paying for a license and taking in to account the current state of my laptop. To answer the above posters question i posted the laptop on gumtree which is similar to craigslist and got a couple of people who were interested. Weren't willing to pay a lot of money for it but i thought hey it's better then letting it gather dust under my bed.

 

[punkncat]

Use another computer to DL the Win 10 install to a USB stick. Insert into the laptop, boot from USB and follow directions. When you get to the point to enter the key, there is an option that says "I don't have".

 

[USAFRet]

I suppose you guys are right might as well try and install windows 10. How do i go about doing that without paying for a license and taking in to account the current state of my laptop. To answer the above posters question i posted the laptop on gumtree which is similar to craigslist and got a couple of people who were interested. Weren't willing to pay a lot of money for it but i thought hey it's better then letting it gather dust under my bed.

From a working PC, create your own Win 10 install.
Here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10
You'll need an 8GB USB stick or blank DVD.

Then, this: How to do a CLEAN installation of Windows 10
When it asks for the license key, skip that and proceed on.

Pay attention to Section II, Step 6 & 7. That speaks to deleting all existing partitions, and starting with a blank drive.

 

[bhavick]

Thank so much, i'll be doing this tomorrow. As am going to skip the license key bit, if i was to sell the laptop will the new owner be able to tell it's only a free install and not the full version?

 

[USAFRet]

Thank so much, i'll be doing this tomorrow. As am going to skip the license key bit, if i was to sell the laptop will the new owner be able to tell it's only a free install and not the full version?

Yes.
There will be a randomly appearing nagtext at bottom right.
This:

 

[USAFRet]

That nagtext, and it won't let you customize the desktop or taskbar are the only restrictions on an Unactivated Win 10.

The install the screenshot was taken from was installed on Dec 8 2016. Almost 2 yrs ago.
I installed that to test exactly what happens over time. It runs just fine, gets all the regular updates.

 

[bhavick]

Hi,

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but if i had an installation file for Windows 10 how would i burn that installation file on to a DVD-R and get it to run on my laptop?

 

[USAFRet]

Hi,

Sorry if this is a bit off topic but if i had an installation file for Windows 10 how would i burn that installation file on to a DVD-R and get it to run on my laptop?

The easiest and most current way is starting with the MediaCreation tool from MS.
Download the exe, run it, and tell it to "Create media for another PC".
This will be the most current OS version, and negate having to run multiple updates after the install.

Whatever Win 10 install you have is old, and lacking the current updates.

 

[bhavick]

How would i get my laptop to boot up from a CD in grub mode upon starting it?