Solved When Windows 8 trial ends...

smoddelm

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I'm sure this has been addressed here, but I couldn't figure out what search terms to use. I installed the Win8 consumer preview on a spare laptop quite a while ago and didn't read the fine print closely enough to realize that I would not be able to revert to Win 7 at the end of the trial. Win 7 was OEM so I have no installation disk. I don't see when I boot that there's a restore partition on the drive (!), so I've got nothing to restore from. I would gladly pay for the Win 8 upgrade but the laptop is to old to justify paying for a new license. Will I just be junking this laptop when the trial version expires?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Hello smoddelm,


The Windows 8 Consumer Preview will expire on January 15th 2013.

If you still have the product key number on your COA sticker like below on your computer (back or bottom), then you could use the tutorial below to do a clean install of your Windows 7, and activate it.

146194d1301379745-product-key-number-windows-7-find-see-oem-1.jpg



Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 - Windows 7 Forums


Hope this helps, :)
Shawn
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
I looked at the bottom. The Microsoft sticker is worn off to the point where I would never be able to retrieve all of the numbers/characters in the product key. It's an HP, and their sticker is unscathed! There's no upgrade directly from the Win 8 preview, is there? I mean, the installation checked to make sure I had a genuine copy of Win 7, right? So the fact that it is eligible for upgrade pricing is basically "embedded" in the Win 8 preview...
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Sorry, but no. Windows 8 preview only checked to see if you would be able to upgrade from your Windows 7. It didn't preserve your Windows 7 product key number.

Well, going from Windows 8 to Windows 7 is not an upgrade, but a downgrade. Unfortunately, you must do a clean install to downgrade.

You can upgrade from Windows 8 preview to the Windows 8 RTM, but you will need to purchase full (systems builder) copy of Windows 8 instead of an upgrade copy since you do not have your old Windows 7 product key number.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
Hmmm - maybe it's a long shot, but any idea if HP can match my serial number to the OEM Win 7 product info?

I have to say, I'm really shocked that the installer didn't give a bigger warning that it was wiping out Windows 7. If my memory is correct, the Win 7 preview from Vista did no such thing.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
Yeah, if you install it from within Windows 7/Vista, then it will replace your current installation. Only doing the installation at boot and selecting a different drive or partitions will it not. :(

You could order a set of factory recovery disc from HP for your specific computer model and serial number. Hopefully the serial number is not worn off as well.


Looking for Recovery Discs? | HP® Support
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
All is good. Apparently the consumer preview does mark in some way that it's a valid upgrade path to the final Win 8. I downloaded the $39 upgrade and it installed and activated with no problem. I was only given the choices of a fresh install or keeping my files - no option to keep programs. I only had Microsoft Office on the machine anyway - as I said, it was an old spare laptop.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
That's good news. :)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    64-bit Windows 10
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Custom self built
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K OC'd to 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    OCZ Series Gold OCZZ1000M 1000W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11
    Antivirus
    Malwarebyte Anti-Malware Premium
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
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