Solved Silly Question: Where can I SAFELY download windows...

O

OldDogEyes

Member
My laptop came with Vista and I want to get rid of the laptop. So I want to reformat the hard drive and reinstall a clean Vista...

It has my Windows Keycode right on the bottom as it should... but I don't have the restore disc that came with (or didn't, can't remember)..so I assume (dangerous I know) I can just snag a vanilla Windows via torrent and burn a disc, right?

So where can I safely download it? Common sense tells me to be careful about the source of my OS... I know what an MD5 checksum is but don't know where to find the official checksum... does MS maintain that info?

Thanks in advance for any tips... I feel silly having to ask...

Doug
 

My Computer

System One

Welcome
With the make and model of your computer there might be an easy way. What is make and model?
If it does not work, there is another way.

Doug dont feel silly, there are those that feel foolish for a minute for asking a question and those that are ignorant for a lifetime because they did not ask.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
I will get you an ISO to download, if needed.
But lets use the make and model method first, its a lot easier.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
richc46 said:
Welcome
With the make and model of your computer there might be an easy way. What is make and model?
If it does not work, there is another way.

Doug dont feel silly, there are those that feel foolish for a minute for asking a question and those that are ignorant for a lifetime because they did not ask.
Click to expand...

Make: Toshiba
Model: P305D-S8836
Part #: PSPD8U-005003

Let me know if you need more info...


Thanks
Doug
 

My Computer

System One

OK try this
As you boot the computer hit f8 over and over quickly
If that does not work try the same with the zero key. If neither work post back for plan B
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Before I go any further with this, let me share one more piece of info...

As posted above, this is a Toshiba laptop. I have a Dell Windows Vista system disc that came with a different computer. I tried installing that and it kept hanging in the middle of the install. The computer booted onto the Dell Vista disc fine. I never got any message or indication that the 'oem' version was different than the manufacturer of the computer that it was installing on. I recall that on older versions of Windows the install process stopped almost immediately because some check was done to see if the computer was from the same oem as the windows was purchased from... That didn't happen here.

I was able to reformat the hard drive and proceed with a fresh install. Then at some point during the installation the screen would go black. I tried it three times. To be clear, these were fresh installs after booting off of the Dell Vista disc...

Then I tried to boot the computer without the Dell Vista disc and it would hang. I booted in safe mode and was able to see that it was hanging on the CRC.SYS file which I think is related to the hard drive...

So I have a few questions:
  • I hadn't shared before that I reformatted the hard drive. Does that negate the suggestion of hitting F8 or 0 while booting? If I recall, F8 takes you to the boot menu...
  • Does that fact that it kept going to a black screen during the install of the Dell Vista surprise anyone? Or should I have been able to install that fine... Does that tell us that there is a hardware problem?
  • Does the fact the system won't boot like due to the fact that Vista wasn't finished installing or does the fact that it hangs on CRC.SYS point to a different (hardware) problem?
Thanks in advance and sorry for not 'coming clean' about everything that I had done...

Doug
 

My Computer

System One

OldDogEyes said:
Before I go any further with this, let me share one more piece of info...

As posted above, this is a Toshiba laptop. I have a Dell Windows Vista system disc that came with a different computer. I tried installing that and it kept hanging in the middle of the install. The computer booted onto the Dell Vista disc fine. I never got any message or indication that the 'oem' version was different than the manufacturer of the computer that it was installing on. I recall that on older versions of Windows the install process stopped almost immediately because some check was done to see if the computer was from the same oem as the windows was purchased from... That didn't happen here.

I was able to reformat the hard drive and proceed with a fresh install. Then at some point during the installation the screen would go black. I tried it three times. To be clear, these were fresh installs after booting off of the Dell Vista disc...

Then I tried to boot the computer without the Dell Vista disc and it would hang. I booted in safe mode and was able to see that it was hanging on the CRC.SYS file which I think is related to the hard drive...


So I have a few questions:
  • I hadn't shared before that I reformatted the hard drive. Does that negate the suggestion of hitting F8 or 0 while booting? If I recall, F8 takes you to the boot menu...
  • Does that fact that it kept going to a black screen during the install of the Dell Vista surprise anyone? Or should I have been able to install that fine... Does that tell us that there is a hardware problem?
  • Does the fact the system won't boot like due to the fact that Vista wasn't finished installing or does the fact that it hangs on CRC.SYS point to a different (hardware) problem?
Thanks in advance and sorry for not 'coming clean' about everything that I had done...

Doug
Click to expand...

Doug
If you did actually reformat the entire hard drive F8 will not restore the system.
You can only use those special OEM discs on the computer that it came with.
See if you can install Ubuntu, if you can, you have a software problem. If you cant its hardware
Use Ubuntu Live CD to Backup Files from Your Dead Windows Computer - How-To Geek
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
richc46 said:
If you did actually reformat the entire hard drive F8 will not restore the system.
You can only use those special OEM discs on the computer that it came with.
See if you can install Ubuntu, if you can, you have a software problem. If you cant its hardware
Click to expand...

Thanks for confirming what I suspected -- that reformatting the hard drive ruins the F8 approach.

Question... I found this page to download Vista: Dell.com

The instructions seem pretty straight forward... Anything wrong with that approach?

Thanks
Doug
 

My Computer

System One

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
richc46 said:
I doubt it they are still active, but why not use mine.
[Direct Download Links] Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit) - Tweaking with Vishal
You will need a valid product key number.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't know why the product key on the bottom of the laptop wouldn't be valid...

Had you posted that earlier, I probably would have ... have already downloaded from the Dell site and created the ISO and am 'burning' it right now to a USB stick...

Thanks though!
 

My Computer

System One

As long as you get one that works, that all that matters.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
You are very welcome, glad that we could help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
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