[Buccaneer]

I have a T410 laptop that runs well, but it has Vista Home Basic on it.

I purchased a [supposedly] good Windows 7 Pro COA for a Lenovo on eBay.

How can I use that COA to install Win 7 ?

There is nothing on the laptop that I need to save so a clean fresh install is OK.

[Advertisements]

Hello Buccaneer,

 

I purchased a [supposedly] good Windows 7 Pro COA for a Lenovo on eBay.

 

 

Have you got a link to where you purchased the COA from so we can take a look.

[phillpower2]

Hello Buccaneer,

 

I purchased a [supposedly] good Windows 7 Pro COA for a Lenovo on eBay.

 

 

Have you got a link to where you purchased the COA from so we can take a look.

[Buccaneer]

Hi phillpower2

 

Here is what I purchased:

http://www.ebay.ca/i...:RRIRTB:CA:3160

[phillpower2]

Many people have given positive feedback having purchased and successfully used the COA on other HDDs that the seller has sold on, my concern on your behalf is that the COA may be an OEM type that has already been used on a Lenovo computer and is therefore not transferable. 

[SleepyDude]

Hi,

 

In my opinion it will not work for you because its an OEM license and to activate windows the machine must have information on the BIOS/UEFI that matches the Operating System but in your case it have only the SLIC tables for Windows Vista not Windows 7.

 

Another thing, it seems the license if for Lenovo Singapore according to the image, most likely it only works to activate windows 7 specific to that region. Don't know if it's the region where you live.

[Buccaneer]

Many people have given positive feedback having purchased and successfully used the COA on other HDDs that the seller has sold on, my concern on your behalf is that the COA may be an OEM type that has already been used on a Lenovo computer and therefore not transferable. 

 

Yep, I think that mayt be it. When I try and use the COA I am getting:

Error

The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options.

I have contacted the seller and asked for a usable COA key. I will update this thread after I receive that.

Thank you !

Edited by Buccaneer, 12 December 2015 - 12:12 PM.

[Buccaneer]

Hi,

 

In my opinion it will not work for you because its an OEM license and to activate windows the machine must have information on the BIOS/UEFI that matches the Operating System but in your case it have only the SLIC tables for Windows Vista not Windows 7.

 

Another thing, it seems the license if for Lenovo Singapore according to the image, most likely it only works to activate windows 7 specific to that region. Don't know if it's the region where you live.

 

I think you are correct about it being an OEM license; please see my comment to phillpower2 above.

Thanks for your help !

Edited by Buccaneer, 12 December 2015 - 12:23 PM.

[SleepyDude]

Hi,

 

I know its OEM because of this Windows 7 pro OA on the COA image, OA its the reference to the OEM activation used by big brands like Lenovo, Dell, HP, etc.

 

 

1. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Activation is also known as
OA. It basically is OEM basic input/output system (BIOS) activation --
meaning they've activated it already and you don't need to enter the
key and activate yourself.

[phillpower2]

 

Many people have given positive feedback having purchased and successfully used the COA on other HDDs that the seller has sold on, my concern on your behalf is that the COA may be an OEM type that has already been used on a Lenovo computer and therefore not transferable. 

 

Yep, I think that mayt be it. When I try and use the COA I am getting:

Error

The product key you entered appears to be for software pre-installed by the device manufacturer. Please contact the device manufacturer for software recovery options.

I have contacted the seller and asked for a usable COA key. I will update this thread after I receive that.

Thank you !

 

 

Windows is telling you that you need to use OS media provided by Lenovo and this will most likely be the case with any other key that the seller may pass on to you, I say "may" because the seller clearly states;

 

NOTICE TO ALL BUYERS:  

THE ACTUAL STICKER YOU RECEIVE MAY BE OF A DIFFERENT COLOR THAN THE ONE SHOWN IN THE DESCRIPTION PHOTO. 

NO REFUNDS, NO RETURNS,  NO INSTALL DISC, NO HDDs.

 

 

To do a fresh - clean install using non Lenovo software will require an unused product key.

[SleepyDude]

By any chance the machine have a sticker like this?

[Buccaneer]

By any chance the machine have a sticker like this?

It does not.

It's a Thinkpad T410 with an i5 processor and 8GB of ram.

It runs pretty well for what I use it for.

I'd like to, if possible, install Win 7 / 64bit on it.

Do you have any advice on where I can obtain the cheapest legal legit copy of Win 7 ?

[phillpower2]

There is no such thing as a cheap Microsoft OS I'm afraid 

 

DirectCanada

 

Just thinking outside of the box here, what about contacting Lenovo to see if they will provide Windows 7 Pro recovery media for you, if they will it will most likely be far less expensive than purchasing an OEM or full retail disk.

[Buccaneer]

There is no such thing as a cheap Microsoft OS I'm afraid 

 

DirectCanada

 

Just thinking outside of the box here, what about contacting Lenovo to see if they will provide Windows 7 Pro recovery media for you, if they will it will most likely be far less expensive than purchasing an OEM or full retail disk.

 

I had some email communication with the seller before purchasing the COA sticker; he assured me that what I was purchasing would allow me to end up with Win 7 on my laptop.

That obviously did not work, and the seller has kindly refunded me my entire cost. 

I also had thought about contacting Lenovo about getting the recovery media, but I am the 2nd owner of the machine.

I purchased it from Liberty University in Lynchburg VA - they had over 200 of these T410's at $100 a pop.

 

I was able to find an unused and unopened retail version of Win 7 for $55.00 on eBay, which I thought was a pretty good price.

 

I am thinking about buying a SSD for this laptop.

Am I better off installing Win 7 on the hard drive and then copying it over to the SSD ?

Or can I just remove the current hard drive, throw in the SSD and run the install DVD ?

Edited by Buccaneer, 12 December 2015 - 06:12 PM.

[phillpower2]

I purchased it from Liberty University in Lynchburg VA - they had over 200 of these T410's

 

 

It would have been better if you had included the above information in your OP, you have been trying to use an OEM product key on an OEM computer/motherboard that has already been registered with Microsoft through the Volume Licensing Programs with an allowance for a lesser OS than Windows 7.

 

I also noted in your OP that you mention that the notebook was running Vista Home Basic, this particular OS did not ship as standard with the T410 with the only Vista offering being Vista Business (32-bit) see here this limits any Microsoft upgrade path from disk to either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Ultimate, much better to skip the upgrade option and purchase a new disk and unused licence key like the one that you mention in your reply #13.

 

Have you got a link to the Windows 7 DVD on ebay.

 

The notebook when new did have an option of either an 80 or 128GB SSD upgrade prior to purchase and so would not normally be an issue, I would atm stick with trying to install Windows 7 to the present HDD as a precaution, if Windows 7 installs + fully updates ok and the same for the systems own drivers I would then consider purchasing an SSD, you dont want to go to the time, trouble and expense of purchasing anything if there is a chance that Windows 7 will not install on the computer for whatever reason.

[Buccaneer]

 

I purchased it from Liberty University in Lynchburg VA - they had over 200 of these T410's

 

 

It would have been better if you had included the above information in your OP, you have been trying to use an OEM product key on an OEM computer/motherboard that has already been registered with Microsoft through the Volume Licensing Programs with an allowance for a lesser OS than Windows 7.

 

I also noted in your OP that you mention that the notebook was running Vista Home Basic, this particular OS did not ship as standard with the T410 with the only Vista offering being Vista Business (32-bit) see here this limits any Microsoft upgrade path from disk to either Windows 7 Home Premium or Windows 7 Ultimate, much better to skip the upgrade option and purchase a new disk and unused licence key like the one that you mention in your reply #13.

 

Have you got a link to the Windows 7 DVD on ebay.

 

The notebook when new did have an option of either an 80 or 128GB SSD upgrade prior to purchase and so would not normally be an issue, I would atm stick with trying to install Windows 7 to the present HDD as a precaution, if Windows 7 installs + fully updates ok and the same for the systems own drivers I would then consider purchasing an SSD, you dont want to go to the time, trouble and expense of purchasing anything if there is a chance that Windows 7 will not install on the computer for whatever reason.

 

 

I apoligize for not including the info on where I purchased it; I did not think that was relevant.

Here is the Win 7 DVD I purchased:

http://www.ebay.com/...=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

 

Thanks for your help !

 

 

Edited by Buccaneer, 13 December 2015 - 08:44 AM.