acer laptop

[Hector's House]

A friend has an Acer laptop with their version of win 7 on it. Can the Acer bits and pieces be removed so it's just a plain version of win 7? Or does he need to to reinstall windows, if so I'm assuming his product key will work with an oem version, am I correct?

[Russ]

I had exactly the same issue!

You'll have to do a full format and you'll need a copy of a Win7 disk. What I did was get a copy of Win7 from a torrent site and used the serial key on the laptop to install it.

Not sure exactly how the law stands on that method but AFAIK I haven't deprived MS of anything - the serial key is genuine.

Be warned though, there will be NO drivers on it so you'll need to either pre-download them on to a memory stick or ethernet the laptop to the modem/router. Get them all from the Acer site.

[Hector's House]

Thanks for that Russ, so I was right in thinking it is the oem version he needs? I have an oem copy of win7 so that isn't a problem and I think I'd read on another thread that I'd need to get the drivers from Acer. It is the product key that matters not the disk you use or where you get it from

[Kymmy]

As far as the law is concerned the only issue would be copyright infringement but as long as you're only running one computer with the key on the original equipment then they've got no case.

Just be aware that internet copies of software could have trojans/keyloggers..etc built in that are very unlikely to be found by any AV program. It's a small risk but one that everyone should be aware of. Always best to borrow and original from a friend if possible and install using that disk and your own key

[Hector's House]

Thanks for that Kymmy though I assume that was mean't for Russ as my friend will be using my copy of win7, having said that I get the feeling I'll be asked to do it lol!