The worst computer issue I have tried to fix, every solution on the Intent doesn't work (download issue across all of windows)

[I Am The JK Man]

This is a laptop that is used only for Netflix on a TV. A lot has happened in my quest to fix it.

 

• Chrome was playing weird and said it needed to be reinstalled.

• Reinstall didn't work.

• Tried doing it manually.

• The installer would not download in IE.

• Manually got the installer with a USB flash drive

• Chrome "Aww snap" on everything, chrome settings and all.

• Tried everything to fix that with no luck

• Realized that windows hadn't been updating

• Tried to update windows but that wouldn't download either

• Forced windows to update with different tools and registry edits

• Realized AVG was installed and might be issue

• Killed avg with everything the I could find.

• updated drives and whatever i could

• Yet even windows help wont load.

• I have internet connection because IE pages load

• Came to the conclusion that a fresh install of windows is the best way

• Because of Sony being mean I can't download an ISO from anywhere

So I have tried EVERYTHING I have read online with no luck at all. This computer has always been broken because I got it secondhand from someone that didn't know how to use a computer safely. Really I'm looking for anyone that knows of a way I can get a clean install. If not i’m going to exset defeat and take it into a teach shop.

Sony Vaio VPCCW15FG

Windows 7 home premium 64 bit service pack 1

 

Thanks 

[belfouf]

are the date & time ok in the system ?

did you run malwarebyte ?

[AlTech]

1 hour ago, I Am The JK Man said:

This is a laptop that is used only for Netflix on a TV. A lot has happened in my quest to fix it.

 

• Chrome was playing weird and said it needed to be reinstalled.

• Reinstall didn't work.

• Tried doing it manually.

• The installer would not download in IE.

• Manually got the installer with a USB flash drive

• Chrome "Aww snap" on everything, chrome settings and all.

• Tried everything to fix that with no luck

• Realized that windows hadn't been updating

• Tried to update windows but that wouldn't download either

• Forced windows to update with different tools and registry edits

• Realized AVG was installed and might be issue

• Killed avg with everything the I could find.

• updated drives and whatever i could

• Yet even windows help wont load.

• I have internet connection because IE pages load

• Came to the conclusion that a fresh install of windows is the best way

• Because of Sony being mean I can't download an ISO from anywhere

So I have tried EVERYTHING I have read online with no luck at all. This computer has always been broken because I got it secondhand from someone that didn't know how to use a computer safely. Really I'm looking for anyone that knows of a way I can get a clean install. If not i’m going to exset defeat and take it into a teach shop.

Sony Vaio VPCCW15FG

Windows 7 home premium 64 bit service pack 1

 

Thanks 

Reinstall Windows and get back to us if those issues arise again.

[I Am The JK Man]

23 hours ago, Julian2000nl said:

Did you try Ubuntu? I use Ubuntu every day, works way better then Windows.

With laptops: It most likely works straight out of the box without installing any drivers.

With desktops: It works straight away without installing any drivers.

(if you have anything like a USB DVD reader or something it may need drivers.)

 

If you really want to have Windows you could buy a new license and install it. 

 

If worst comes to worst I will actually so this. I don't use windows on this laptop for anything other then Netflex and youtube.

[I Am The JK Man]

22 hours ago, AluminiumTech said:

Reinstall Windows and get back to us if those issues arise again.

I would love to but my problem is I don't have recovary diskcs and I cant get ISO's

[cakevreter2000]

get ubuntu from a usb (download it on another pc)  forceboot to the usb in the bios and install ubuntu. once you have done this get a iso from windows and install windows  but to be honest if all you do is YT and NF you could also stay on ubuntu. its easy to use, no virusses, free software for almost everything i love it and use it all the time except if i want to play a game.

[I Am The JK Man]

2 minutes ago, cakevreter2000 said:

get ubuntu from a usb (download it on another pc)  forceboot to the usb in the bios and install ubuntu. once you have done this get a iso from windows and install windows  but to be honest if all you do is YT and NF you could also stay on ubuntu. its easy to use, no virusses, free software for almost everything i love it and use it all the time except if i want to play a game.

I just cant get an ISO period. Sony locks you out and for what I use this computer for I cant warrant the monny to get a new key or pay Sony. I'll just use this os your telling me about 

 

[cakevreter2000]

why does sony block you out? what does it say when you try to download one or install from usb?

[I Am The JK Man]

4 minutes ago, cakevreter2000 said:

why does sony block you out? what does it say when you try to download one or install from usb?

The windows key is not valid to download the ISO from Microsoft so I cant get one (legitimately at lest). And I dont have anyother recovery disks.

[cakevreter2000]

oh well. welcome to the linux family

[belfouf]

On 24/10/2016 at 10:44 AM, belfouf said:

are the date & time ok in the system ?

did you run malwarebyte ?

up

[I Am The JK Man]

On 10/24/2016 at 7:14 PM, belfouf said:

are the date & time ok in the system ?

did you run malwarebyte ?

Time and date are correct 

Ran  malwarebyte got rid of everything 

 

still no luck 

[I Am The JK Man]

For some reason my chrome installer executables wont even run 

[belfouf]

1 minute ago, I Am The JK Man said:

For some reason my chrome installer executables wont even run 

did you try to turn off anti virus ?

[AlTech]

2 hours ago, I Am The JK Man said:

I would love to but my problem is I don't have recovary diskcs and I cant get ISO's

If you had Windows 10 then I would say do a software reset. It basically reinstalls Windows without needing a physical DVD.

IDK if that's on Windows 7 or not.....

Edited October 25, 2016 by AluminiumTech
Fixed a typo

[I Am The JK Man]

3 minutes ago, AluminiumTech said:

If you had Windows then I would say do a software reset. It basically reinstalls Windows without needing a physical DVD.

IDK if that's on Windows 7 or not.....

I wish it was that simple. Sadly the only way to get a true windows 7 reset is a ISO or a disk.

[belfouf]

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_update/windows-7-windows-update-stuck-at-0kb-0/e1f898af-572d-4847-92be-d65a5d194a2a

[I Am The JK Man]

26 minutes ago, belfouf said:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_update/windows-7-windows-update-stuck-at-0kb-0/e1f898af-572d-4847-92be-d65a5d194a2a

I have already done those steps with no luck. It was a registry edit that allowed me to install the windows updates. One update is still hanging no mater what I do. 

 

I still haven't lost all hope this is an issue I want to fix more out of curiosity then necessity 

[corrado33]

Sounds like a particularly nasty virus that blocks your attempts to install anything that could fix it. 

 

I've run into a few of these. The easiest way is to reinstall windows honestly. I'd go through your "add and remove programs" list and take out anything you don't use or can't recognize in the meantime as a last ditch effort to fix it.

 

In all honesty it probably screwed something up beyond repair.

 

Oh and yeah, reason number 8 million for why I hate microsoft operating systems. They make it impossible to re-register windows on computers that already had windows installed on them. You have no idea how many times I've installed windows 7 pro on a computer with the registration code sticker saying "windows 7 pro" only to tell me that the registration code is invalid for that particular operating system. 

 

So, is it pirating if the computer already had windows on it and you're just trying to fix it? I think not. (Although I would never do such a thing because I'm a good computer user and don't condone pirating in any way, my computers are always healthy and never require reinstalling windows whatsoever.) When you buy a pre built computer you're also buying the windows registration key for that particular computer. If something happens to that computer that makes that particular installation not viable (say a bad virus), then you're screwed because you can no longer use the thing you paid money for (that registration key.)

 

What microsoft needs to do is to let you type in your windows registration key, then send you the iso you need to get windows installed on that computer legally. It still won't work unless you install it on that particular system with the exact same hardware (since the keys are registered to the hardware) so it'll be a pretty safe system. 

 

I find it ridiculous that when you buy a piece of SOFTWARE (windows) that you're not allowed to use it as much as YOU want for YOUR own personal use. In effect, you're not buying the software, you're buying the license to use the software. Over the course of our lives, many of us have bought the windows operating system dozens of times. That's ridiculous. 

[Sauron]

You can download a Windows image directly from Microsoft, even if you don't have a license (although of course without a license you won't be able to activate it). If you don't want to buy a new license, you can use a tool called ProduKey to recover the key used for the current installation, then try to find a Windows 7 image on a torrent website (which in this case is perfectly legal because you actually own a copy).

[NeoFrux]

I don't believe it's piracy to download an OS image (especially as Windows can install with a trial period), so I don't see a problem with finding one elsewhere. I have one I could throw up onto Google Drive or something if you're interested. You did say you had a license key, right? On the underside of the PC? Or did you have to use something like Magical Jelly Bean to find it? Depending on when exactly that PC was imaged in Windows 7's life cycle, it might have a hardware certificate instead (like all prebuilt PC's / laptops with Windows 8 and up do) and not actually require a key at all.

 

All that being said, however... It might have a recovery partition, and if so, you don't even need the disc to factory reset. The user's guide on Sony's website mentions one, so give this a shot:

 

• Turn off the laptop altogether
• Power it back on
• Hit the F10 key repeatedly when you see the VAIO logo
• If a recovery partition exists, you should see an "Edit Boot Options" screen
• Hit the enter key
• Now you're in the recovery environment and can restore Windows to factory fresh

 

If you need more help on that, Sony's got a more detailed guide. Note that you can create your own recovery discs from Sony's recovery software rather than having to purchase them.
 

... All that being said, you'll probably want to check the hard drive. It might be part of the problem, here, since it's so old. Burn off those recovery discs either way, then run something like DiskCheckup's extended SMART test. It'll take a while, but if it reports an error, you'll want to get a new hard drive.

[corrado33]

3 hours ago, Sauron said:

You can download a Windows image directly from Microsoft, even if you don't have a license (although of course without a license you won't be able to activate it). If you don't want to buy a new license, you can use a tool called ProduKey to recover the key used for the current installation, then try to find a Windows 7 image on a torrent website (which in this case is perfectly legal because you actually own a copy).

Yeah, that's the issue. For many old dell computers I have the product key (sticker on outside of computer) but finding the image to get it to work is next to impossible unless you buy the very specific disks from dell.

[NeoFrux]

Just now, corrado33 said:

Yeah, that's the issue. For many old dell computers I have the product key (sticker on outside of computer) but finding the image to get it to work is next to impossible unless you buy the very specific disks from dell.

Dell machines have recovery partitions like the Sony I described above, and also provide the option of burning your own recovery discs (video). The problem only really arises when they haven't been created and the hard drive is dead, though few realize you can even burn those discs, hence the frustration.

[corrado33]

46 minutes ago, Runefox said:

Dell machines have recovery partitions like the Sony I described above, and also provide the option of burning your own recovery discs (video). The problem only really arises when they haven't been created and the hard drive is dead, though few realize you can even burn those discs, hence the frustration.

Yes, the dell machines in question had their drives formatted years ago without creating the recovery disks.

[Sauron]

12 hours ago, corrado33 said:

Yeah, that's the issue. For many old dell computers I have the product key (sticker on outside of computer) but finding the image to get it to work is next to impossible unless you buy the very specific disks from dell.

You could try to call Dell and ask for either the disc you're looking for, or call MS and ask for a key - they will usually provide one in situations like this.