Formatting a laptop

[mmatthewuir]

Formatting my girlfriends laptop. Could use some help.

1. When she bought the laptop it came with windows 7. Obviously no discs though. Surely I can punch in her key somewhere and download windows 7? I could just torrent it, but she has a legit key so I don't really see the need of pirating software.

2. I've formatted a desktop a 1000 times, but is there anything I should know specifically about formatting a laptop?

Thanks for the help.

 

[CataclysmZA]

If the laptop didn't come with any discs, there should be a utility included that will allow you to copy over the install for the recovery partition to disc. Otherwise, you can also use the recovery partition to re-install the OS and then remove the bloat first before doing anything else. Once you're done with the initial setup and all the app installs, use an app like Macrium Reflect to make a backup of the fresh install so that in future it'll be a cinch to put it back the way it was.

 

[Aquadyne]

Reboot... During startup press F11. That should take you into Recovery mode and do a factory reset..
Be aware that this process does not work for all brands of laptops and the recovery is sometimes initiated differently, but it is a good rule of thumb.

 

[mmatthewuir]

Thanks for the help. This would save me having to download windows some how?

 

[satanboy]

What is a lap top?

 

[NomNom]

Use the recovery partition to reinstall Windows.

 

[Tun@]

If you decide you want to download it don't use torrents
use these links - http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-digitalriver-windows-7-sp1-13-languages.html

 

[FlatspinZA]

Reboot... During startup press F11. That should take you into Recovery mode and do a factory reset..
Be aware that this process does not work for all brands of laptops and the recovery is sometimes initiated differently, but it is a good rule of thumb.

?

What is a lap top?

^ This

Some laptops have the recovery built in, without needing a recovery disk, and others need a disk. Google your laptop model with "recovery" in the search.

 

[froot]

If the laptop didn't come with any discs, there should be a utility included that will allow you to copy over the install for the recovery partition to disc. Otherwise, you can also use the recovery partition to re-install the OS and then remove the bloat first before doing anything else. Once you're done with the initial setup and all the app installs, use an app like Macrium Reflect to make a backup of the fresh install so that in future it'll be a cinch to put it back the way it was.

While Windows 7 still does, Windows 8 doesn't (so for those of us with Windows 8 laptops, we can't upgrade the hdd's without having to clone and restore the partition. I recently bought a laptop preloaded with Windows 8, and upon searching the manufacturer's website, they say you should use Windows 8's "reload" option.

 

[Aquadyne]

?

What, does your brain hurt when trying to comprehend? Shall I speak slowly?

 

[Fudzy]

What, does your brain hurt when trying to comprehend? Shall I speak slowly?

I think he's getting at the fact you're implying F11 works on all notebooks.

 

[Fudzy]

If it's running Windows 7 Professional you can download the isos from MS themselves, then use the Windows 7 USB Installer app to install via a thumb-drive.

 

[Aquadyne]

I think he's getting at the fact you're implying F11 works on all notebooks.

Hence my retort... As I clearly stated..

Be aware that this process does not work for all brands of laptops and the recovery is sometimes initiated differently, but it is a good rule of thumb.

 

[FlatspinZA]

Hence my retort... As I clearly stated..

Big words, "hence"? Don't outdo yourself.

 

[Aquadyne]

Big words, "hence"? Don't outdo yourself.

If you consider those big words, I can see why you struggled with my comment. You in the woodworking class?

 

[Rickster]

The first thing you need to do when you are formatting a laptop is to find out what branded hardware the laptop uses EG WiFi (Realtek,Broadcom,Atheros) to do this goto device manager and look what your system has and then you must goto your laptops website,add your model and download the drivers and save it on a usb.

The things you need to download: Intel/AMD Chipset driver,Intel HD/ dedicated G card driver,Sound driver,Wifi driver and LAN driver

 

[CataclysmZA]

so for those of us with Windows 8 laptops, we can't upgrade the hdd's without having to clone and restore the partition. I recently bought a laptop preloaded with Windows 8, and upon searching the manufacturer's website, they say you should use Windows 8's "reload" option.

I don't think it's a bad thing though, upgrading to a larger hard drive would entail some cloning software anyway. I like that some manufacturer recognise the possibility that you'll be reformatting and they give you the install and driver discs in the package. I think HP, Dell and Fujitsu still do that?

I do like the Reload option in Windows 8 though, that would have been a major time-saver for me when I was working in retail. I'm still investigating how it actually works, because Microsoft makes no mention of encryption for the snapshot it uses for the Reload option, so if I'm correct it would still be vulnerable to virus intrusions.