Reinstall W7.

[Bearpaddocks]

Does anyone know if you keep all of your data when you reinstall W7 from the same Product key to the same drive because something happened to it? Also, how do you make a Bootable USB for W7 using the product key and a W10 laptop as the device making the USB booter?

[The_russian]

33 minutes ago, Bearpaddocks said:

Does anyone know if you keep all of your data when you reinstall W7 from the same Product key to the same drive because something happened to it?

Since the product key does not store your data in any way, unless you data was backed up, it will be lost.

33 minutes ago, Bearpaddocks said:

Also, how do you make a Bootable USB for W7 using the product key and a W10 laptop as the device making the USB booter?

Use this link to download a .iso file that you will then burn to either a blanc USB or a DVD. 

 

 

Edit: You are likely already aware, but Windows 7 is End of Life and is no longer receiving security updates. Strongly consider moving to either Windows 10 or a different operating system, or if you must use Windows 7 for compatibility reasons, consider running it in a secured VM. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by The_russian

[Bearpaddocks]

1 minute ago, The_russian said:

Since the product key does not store your data in any way, unless you data was backed up, it will be lost.

But does the new install overwrite all the data that was on the disk before?

[The_russian]

7 minutes ago, Bearpaddocks said:

But does the new install overwrite all the data that was on the disk before?

Yes, the data will be lost. Here are a few options I can think of right now to get the data off the hard drive prior to reinstalling:

• Remove the hard drive from the computer and hook it up to a different computer with windows already installed, copy the files over
• Use a bootable Linux USB and an external hard drive, boot to Linux and copy files to the external hard drive
• (Not recommended) Connect a hard drive with windows already installed to the PC, copy files from original hard drive to connected hard drive with working windows (not recommended because moving a hard drive with windows installed on it between computers sometimes works, sometimes doesn't depending on if there are driver issues.

Also, please read the edit to my original post. 

Edited February 27, 2021 by The_russian

[SupaKomputa]

47 minutes ago, Bearpaddocks said:

But does the new install overwrite all the data that was on the disk before?

Make sure you backup the files before installing.

If you make an install without formatting, your files will not be deleted, BUT your programs and user folder (documents/pictures etc) will be deleted.

I suggest backing up and formatting the drive so you'll have a fresh OS.

 

You can make installer disk with any OS, all you have to do is download the image (iso) and burn it to flash drive.

For windows PC you can use Rufus USB burner.

To find out your product key:
https://www.wikihow.com/Find-Your-Windows-7-Product-Key
Write it down before installing, you can use this key at the installation.

 

To download the windows image :
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows7