Windows 7 Licencing question

FrankJH

FrankJH

FrankJH

Soldato
Joined
6 Jun 2005
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22,598
hey guys - any advice appreciated

I have a Win 7 Dell laptop (bought originally by me) that didnt come with any Windows disc and I want to rebuild it after a number of recent BSOD's, but it is still working currently

Ive just realised (unusually I believe) that the laptop doesnt have the Windows licence number sticker on the bottom either, so without paying for another Win7 disc/licence is there any way I can get this licence number from Windows itself without having to fight with Dell.

I have an OEM Windows 7 disc for the same release version from OCUK for my desktop - so the physical disc isnt a problem at all, but I just cant find the licence number anywhere at all

Any ideas?
 
Create a recovery DVD and use that. The software should be preinstalled and it would have nagged you to death to create them.
 
The Product Key he will find with Magic Jelly Bean will be a generic one used by all Dell computers. I suspect it wont work with a non-Dell OEM DVD. Though it is worth a shot if you cannot create the recovery DVDs.
 
SiriusB said:
Create a recovery DVD and use that. The software should be preinstalled and it would have nagged you to death to create them.
Click to expand...

Surely a recovery dvd could reproduce the BSOD issue as it wont be recovering with factory drivers etc (no seperate partition either on the hdd)

My new Sony laptop is bugging me to make recovery dvd (but there is a licence sticker on the bottom too) - I just dont recall the Dell doing this in the slightest

FYI Jellybean states it doesnt work with Win7 (on that link anyway, along with not working with Office 2010), thanks for the link though :)
 
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FrankJH said:
Surely a recovery dvd could reproduce the BSOD issue as it wont be recovering with factory drivers etc (no seperate partition either on the hdd)

My new Sony laptop is bugging me to make recovery dvd (but there is a licence sticker on the bottom too) - I just dont recall the Dell doing this in the slightest
Click to expand...

The Dell Recovery DVD content is taken from a hidden partition. It will basically be a factory reset - i.e. the same as it was the day you first switched it on.

If it came with Windows 7 then it should have the software and the hidden partition. You can tell if the partition is there or not by seeing if the visible partitions add up correctly. Every single Dell laptop I have set up in the last year has had this software and the nagging. It is very likely you simply switched off the software or removed it. I believe it is called Dell DataSafe or similar.
 
SiriusB said:
The Dell Recovery DVD content is taken from a hidden partition. It will basically be a factory reset - i.e. the same as it was the day you first switched it on.

If it came with Windows 7 then it should have the software and the hidden partition. You can tell if the partition is there or not by seeing if the visible partitions add up correctly. Every single Dell laptop I have set up in the last year has had this software and the nagging. It is very likely you simply switched off the software or removed it. I believe it is called Dell DataSafe or similar.
Click to expand...

I work in IT - I can assure you I never got any such prompts, and as per my last post there is no hidden partition at all I double checked that

I should have checked the bottom of the laptop when I first got it - but I have never bought a laptop which didnt have a licence key on the bottom (and Ive had several)

It wasnt even a cheap dell laptop either, so I cant see any reason why they shouldnt provide each customer with their own licence anyway
 
FrankJH said:
I work in IT - I can assure you I never got any such prompts, and as per my last post there is no hidden partition at all I double checked that

I should have checked the bottom of the laptop when I first got it - but I have never bought a laptop which didnt have a licence key on the bottom (and Ive had several)

It wasnt even a cheap dell laptop either, so I cant see any reason why they shouldnt provide each customer with their own licence anyway
Click to expand...

Your Dell is an odd one then. Every new PC I have seen, used, setup or otherwise dealt with has either come with recovery discs or a means to create them. For yours to have neither is strange.
 
Dano said:
Remove the battery and check it's not hidden underneath.
Click to expand...
This. It had me stumped the first time I came across it. I believe it is because the license numbers wear off the stickers that MS use so Dell decided to put them in the battery compartment.
Also I believe that it is F11+ Ctrl on startup to access the recovery partition.
 
FrankJH said:
hey guys - any advice appreciated

I have a Win 7 Dell laptop (bought originally by me) that didnt come with any Windows disc and I want to rebuild it after a number of recent BSOD's, but it is still working currently

Ive just realised (unusually I believe) that the laptop doesnt have the Windows licence number sticker on the bottom either, so without paying for another Win7 disc/licence is there any way I can get this licence number from Windows itself without having to fight with Dell.

I have an OEM Windows 7 disc for the same release version from OCUK for my desktop - so the physical disc isnt a problem at all, but I just cant find the licence number anywhere at all

Any ideas?
Click to expand...

Mine doesn't have a key on the bottom of the laptop either, but on mine it is under the battery. Have you tried removing the battery and looking there?

I also had issues with my preinstalled Windows before I wiped mine and reinstalled with the disc I had to pay £5 extra for. No issues since *touch wood*

There may be a recovery partition if you don't have the disk.
 
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