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Laptop missing OS

J

J-Acito

Member
My brother wiped my laptop HDD as a prank. It won't boot, and is asking for a bootable disk. As with most computers, it did not come with disks. The sticker on the bottom is not fully readable, so I will not be able to get the COA. How bad am I screwed, and what can I do to fix it?
 
J-Acito said:
My brother wiped my laptop HDD as a prank. It won't boot, and is asking for a bootable disk. As with most computers, it did not come with disks. The sticker on the bottom is not fully readable, so I will not be able to get the COA. How bad am I screwed, and what can I do to fix it?
Click to expand...

Well, you can either buy a new copy of Windows or download a free OS like Linux Mint or Ubuntu. Linux would be the cheapest route...
 
Go back to your purchasing source and to OEM. Surely you registered your laptop? You can verify your ownership and for a very modest fee, they would send you the disk.

As for your brother, . . . I won't go there. Next time create a duplicate OS drive and put it away in a safe place.
 
corkyg said:
Go back to your purchasing source and to OEM. Surely you registered your laptop? You can verify your ownership and for a very modest fee, they would send you the disk.

As for your brother, . . . I won't go there. Next time create a duplicate OS drive and put it away in a safe place.
Click to expand...

This. The manufacturers will send recovery disks. They just need a serial number.
 
Check the bottom of the laptop for a product key. Contact manufacturer for system discs. If not possible, download legit Windows copies from Microsoft. Use the product key to install Windows.
 
J-Acito said:
My brother wiped my laptop HDD as a prank. It won't boot, and is asking for a bootable disk. As with most computers, it did not come with disks. The sticker on the bottom is not fully readable, so I will not be able to get the COA. How bad am I screwed, and what can I do to fix it?
Click to expand...
I would take his laptop (if he has one) and smash it to pieces. Make sure everything is as broken and unfixable as possible, and he complains, kill him, and make a counter charge for vandalism and demand money from his will.
 
--[option 1]--

extract the physical drive.

use free recovery software.

pin point, and recover the product key.

restore OS with windows OS disc/usb image.

apply product key and get back on your feet.

--[option 2]--

if it's windows 8 and you think the product key is not readable, the key is stored in the motherboard. install a trial key of 8.

acquire a BIOS key extractor here:
http://www.sherr.co.uk/Distribution/Software/W8key/WpKey.zip

the utility will attempt to extract the product key from the BIOS.

--[option 3]--

contact the hardware manufacturer for recovery media. more times than not, the supplied DVD's will automatically activate Windows for end users attempting to revive their OS with the help of manufacturer supplied recovery media.

--[option 4]--

purchase a discount key from a 3rd party (much more risky and not guaranteed).

--[option 5]--

anything and everything else anyone has mentioned here.
 
fire400 said:
if it's windows 8 and you think the product key is not readable, the key is stored in the motherboard.
Click to expand...

If it came with 8 or 8.1, the product key is stored in the BIOS somewhere. Just download a refresh media from MS, find the thread(s) in the OS forum. Burn the ISO to disc or to a USB key (I believe you can even do that from within the download program, after it has finished), and install. It will automagically pull the key out of the BIOS, you won't have to enter it.

Just make sure to download the same version of Windows 8.1 that was already on the laptop.
 
First, find some boots of proper size that you can kick his arse with and ensure it gets lodged up his arse. Secondly, if you have a magnifier app on your phone, try taking a snapshot of the sticker on the bottom and see if you can deciper each letter or number. And how old is this laptop? Most laptops these days has the CD key integrated into the BIOS/motherboard so when you install a fresh copy of Windows the key is entered automatically, hence you could download an ISO image of Win 7 or Win 8.
 
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