Home Access Scheme/Windows 7 reinstall problem

Hi,

I got a Home Access PC from Zoostorm a couple years back or so. It's gradually got sluggish and bloated (although it was pretty bloated to begin with, there was so much garbage pre-installed). The Product key is not on the PC, but using Magic Jellybean, I found it, and proceeded to reinstall Windows 7 Professional, which came pre-loaded.

I've used the same product key, but Windows is now telling me it is not valid for activation. Should I have gone about this in a different way? I've completely formatted the drive now, so if I should have gone from the image on the partition, that option isn't available any more.

Surely the version of Windows supplied should activate from the product key that came on the machine?

Any ideas?

Thanks,

Matt.

It will have come with a Windows 7 Pro OEM key and I think that you may need a different install disk

Ahh, that makes sense. Does anyone have a link to a vanilla OEM install disc for Windows 7 Pro? All the stuff I can find seems to be messed with.

Oh, and thank-you. Not sure why that didn't occur to me.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/windows-os-software/...

SMASHING. Thanks for the help, both of you. I'll give this a whizz.

OR, the license key that the magical jellybean keyfinder got was the zoostorm OEM license key for use in the factory build process which will not re-activate anymore. I believe they are required by Microsoft to have attached the Windows COA label on the PC somewhere (which would have the correct key with it), definately no stickers on the PC?

Interesting.... there is a sticker, the usual Windows sticker, but there is no key on it whatsoever. It's the blue one, and it says 'proof of licence'.

Have I ballsed up?

Ah, I was hoping it would be a sticker with a license on it.

Well, give it a go using the OEM Windows 7 installation, it may work, but alternatively you may be stuck I'm afraid. You can always try a phone activation and grovel to the MS representative to give you the activation code.

No, it's odd, I've never seen a sticker like it. It's definitely an original Windows one, but it's very different to the one I have for Vista on the bottom of my laptop.

Thanks for the help.