Computer's running abysmally slow...no idea what it could be.

Thats fine mate.

Lets start from the beginning.

The iso is from Digital River which is Microsoft. You will notice that this post has been up for ages. Thats because its legal. You will not find any help or mention of keys.

The ISO should be mounted on the USB stick via Microsoft's tool.

The network (ethernet) port drivers are found here http://www.msi.com/product/nb/GX640.html#/?div=Driver&os=Win7 64

Under Realtek LAN - extract the files to a external folder.

Back up all your docs and files settings etc, on a seperate drive or media. (see method at end)

Boot from the burnt ISO, install windows.

Install ethernet (network) Realtek Lan driver and then use windows update to do what it can.

Install and update remaining drivers via manufacturer.


RECOVERY PARTITION METHOD
After backing up, continuously tap F3 on start up to enter recovery partition.
 
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Thanks for the quick reply.

Okay, I'm going to download the iso file and then run the DVD/USB tool and install it onto my external hard drive since I don't have any blank DVD's on me at the moment.

bigfellla said:
Back up all your docs and files settings etc, on a seperate drive or media.
Click to expand...

I'm putting all my documents and movies on my external hard drive. How do I put "settings" on an external though?

Finally, I'm still a bit confused about the recovery partition method. So should I try to do this before I reinstall completely?
 
Its up to you on the recovery partition. The pros are that all the drivers will be installed (although probably outdated). This means outdated drivers but functional hardware.

The major con is bloatware that has been installed on your computer. At this stage I would recommend giving consideration to an ssd to replace your hard drive and do the install on that.

I always prefer a fresh vanilla install and build from there. The ISO + ethernet driver gives you that. I slipstream them together. You can choose what settings and what applications are installed.

To back up your documents and settings (e.g. desktop wallpaper etc) go to here.

Dude, just make sure everything imporant to you is copied and backed up including but not limited to:

Outlook PST file
IE favourites
Steam and other passwords

Just have a think and don't back up blindly, other than that you will have a new machine.

Once you're online and activated with all drivers installed and Windows updated:

Download and install PC Wizard, from my sig. install it and run it and go to FILE, SAVE AS and click OK. Copy the text out of that file into this thread.

***EDIT****
When you install Windows, just delete the partition, don't create a new one before continuing with the install.
 
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So, when I tried to burn the ISO to a DVD/USB stick with the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool it said that I had an invalid ISO file. Did a little google searching and it seems like this is a common problem. Currently, I'm burning the ISO file to a DVD using Image Burn. Should this still work okay?
 
Tried running the install by booting from the CD and it looked like it was going fine and then this message popped up:

"No device drivers found. Make sure the installation media contains the correct drivers, and then click OK."

What driver's am I missing and where might I find them online?

Edit: While screwing around on my computer I found a "Advanced Recovery Method" where there was an option to "Reinstall Windows". Now, this almost sounds too good to be true but...would doing that option reformat my computer?
 
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Alright, so I did the reinstall through the "Advanced Recovery Method" and everything seems to be going fine. Windows finished updating and I'm going to install my video card driver and then I'll run PC Wizard and paste the text here.

Quick question though, I noticed that my C: drive is practically already full already (12.7 GB free of 273 GB). Could anyone explain how it's already full? Was this "reinstall" not really a clean install?

And merry christmas!
 
That may be the case. Right click on Computer and select manage. Then select Disk Management and you will be able to see what is being used on the disk.
 
Yep you can do that, but make sure you have a back up of your files etc. But technically, this isn't really considered a fresh install.

At this stage also, If I were you, I would build a slipstreamed version of Windows 7 that includes your additional drivers. You can see how here http://www.techradar.com/au/news/so...ld-a-slipstream-windows-7-install-disc-715117

Essentially, what you do is get the ISO of Windows 7 you downloaded earlier and integrate all your particular hardware drivers (most up to date ones from the manufacturer and 3rd party) and recreate a new Windows 7 install ISO.

The benefits of this for you are:

1. You can reinstall a completely fresh copy of the slipstreamed Windows 7 without the hassle of driver issues and errors you saw before (even if you don't have ethernet drivers).

2. If your hard drive goes bust one day (fairly inevitable), you will be able to easily replace the HDD and quickly reinstall the OS and all drivers (something you cannot do now due to driver errors you got)


Once you have created a Windows 7 ISO, slipstreamed with your laptop's specific drivers, plus any third party ones (nvidia etc):


  1. Ensure the slipstreamed version of Win 7 ISO works as it should by conducting a quick installation test. Win 7 doesn't take long to install, so test it first. As soon as you get to the desktop, stop there and go to 2.
  2. Then back up all files and folders and the slipstreamed ISO externally (on another HDD)
  3. Then boot via the slipstreamed Win 7 ISO, delete all partitions on the HDD.
  4. Create two (2) new partitions. One for your personal files and another for Windows 7 (50GB min). This seperates your files from the Windows install (makes reinstalls easier in the future).
  5. On Windows 7 partition a complete a fresh install of Windows 7 that you slipstreamed.
  6. Once back Windows 7, go to Disk Manager, and on the second partition, format it and then copy over your personal files.
  7. Update Windows and check all hardware is working in Device Manager.

Job done. A bit of work, but you will get a much better install, up to date, without needing to worry about it again (even in the event of a HDD failure).

This is how I do it. The system image just copies back over every fortnight or so onto the Windows partition (without touching my personal files). Everything installed, no chance of viruses etc.

As long as you back up the slipstreamed image (in addition to burning it on to a DVD), back up your files, and test the slipstreamed image before deleting anything, there really isn't any risk.
 
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