Windows 7 Factory Restore

[AlphaByte]

Hi!

I have a desktop PC, which I bought in 2007. It came with Windows Vista already installed on it. However, about 3 months ago, I had a friend format the computer (as my computer had a nasty virus), and I had Windows 7 installed on it. I have yet another virus, damn Trojan again. It just won't shift. Just keeps coming back when I reboot my computer. I cannot do a system restore, as I don't have a restore point going back to before the virus was on it.
What I want to do is restore to Factory Settings. I'm a little unsure though of how this will pan out due to my computer previously having Vista on it.
Does this restore the computer to when I first bought it, cause that was when Vista was installed on it, will it not work?

Also, I went through a You Tube video on how to do this, and when I went to Control Panel / Back Up and Restore / Recover System Settings or Your Computer / Advanced Recovery Methods, the guy in the video said there would be 2 options then available:-

Use an image you created earlier to recover your computer...

or

Return your computer to factory condition.

I for some reason, don't have the second option, I have:-

Reinstall Windows (Requires Windows installation disc).

A) Why don't I have the other option as shown in the video,

and

B) What do I do now then?

Thanks!

 

[carnageX]

If you really want to reinstall, then you'll need to get the Win7 key before hand that your friend used. You can do that by using MagicJellybean Keyfinder. Then you will need a Windows 7 disc matching the version (Home Premium, Pro, etc.) of your key. You can find out what version of Windows you have by going to Control Panel -> System -> it should say at the top Windows 7 XXXX where XXXX is the version. If you don't have a disc, find out what version of Win7 you have and I can find an ISO for you.

However, that being said, IMO you should treat a reinstall as a last option. We can help you remove the virus/malware so your system is clean.

Ideally it's up to you on which route you would like to proceed with.

 

[Beamfreak]

Then you will need a Windows 7 disc matching the version (Home Premium, Pro, etc.) of your key.

Or if you have no disc at hand you can (legally) make one yourself and then deleting the "ei.cfg" file within the ISO File (Disc File) which determines if it's a Home Premium/etc version. Then you will be prompted at installation which version you'd "like".

There are plenty of tutorials about this on youtube.

 

[carnageX]

Or if you have no disc at hand you can (legally) make one yourself and then deleting the "ei.cfg" file within the ISO File (Disc File) which determines if it's a Home Premium/etc version. Then you will be prompted at installation which version you'd "like".

There are plenty of tutorials about this on youtube.

Can also get one of the ISO's provided by Digital River legally:

[Legal Download: Windows 7 with SP1, 13 languages

 

[therealbigfoot]

Personally, I am all for the fresh install of Windows.

What I would do is (on another computer obviously)
1) Download your Windows 7 ISO from one of the reputable sites listed in previous comments

2) Use the Microsoft USB/DVD tool to put that ISO onto a flash drive, (much faster, and the process takes about 20 minutes).

3) When you reinstall Windows, choose the custom option, and install Windows onto the partition that your current OS is installed on. This will keep all of your data and files so we can recover them later.

4) After your computer is up and going, we need to activate Windows. To locate your product key, use a product key finder that searches your computer for it. Once found, activate Windows with your product key.

5) Now we need to run a complete scan, for virus's, malware, etc.

6) Your old data will be located in C/Windows.old/Users/Username

If you use the factory reset left by the OEM, it will have Vista.

 

[carnageX]

Personally, I am all for the fresh install of Windows.

What I would do is (on another computer obviously)
1) Download your Windows 7 ISO from one of the reputable sites listed in previous comments

2) Use the Microsoft USB/DVD tool to put that ISO onto a flash drive, (much faster, and the process takes about 20 minutes).

3) When you reinstall Windows, choose the custom option, and install Windows onto the partition that your current OS is installed on. This will keep all of your data and files so we can recover them later.

4) After your computer is up and going, we need to activate Windows. To locate your product key, use a product key finder that searches your computer for it. Once found, activate Windows with your product key.

5) Now we need to run a complete scan, for virus's, malware, etc.

6) Your old data will be located in C/Windows.old/Users/Username

If you use the factory reset left by the OEM, it will have Vista.

Would be a better idea to do step 4 before reinstalling; depending on the reinstall media you may need to enter the key before installing, anyway.