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As I have a Dell laptop, it appears I cannot use the Windows 7 ISO images that Microsoft provide for download, as they won't recognize the product key printed on the machine. Instead, Dell provide a download of their recovery disc image, but it is somewhat larger than the bare Windows ISO images and will not fit onto any media I have here. Is there any way of removing unnecessary parts of the file so that I can install it onto a 4GB SD card to restore my system when I change out my hard disk?

Periata Breatta
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  • You can indeed use any Windows 7 ISO to install an OEM copy of Windows 7. In order to shrink the .wim file on the current .ISO you would need to know whats contained within it, in order to remove it, which is the same way you build your own custom .wim image. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:16
  • You can use the ISOs you download using the approach I talk about in the answer to, [Where can I download Windows 7 (legally from Microsoft)?](http://superuser.com/questions/78761/where-can-i-download-windows-7-legally-from-microsoft/1046062#1046062), to create a bootable image that will work with an OEM license. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:17
  • Here is a related answer to a similar question: [Do I need to activate Windows 8 if I used it before?](http://superuser.com/questions/1151443/do-i-need-to-activate-windows-8-if-i-used-it-before/1151469#1151469) – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:19
  • @Ramhound - Are you sure? The reading I've done about this suggests that as Dell uses System Locked Preinstallation, the serial numbers they provide are in a different format that are not recognized by standard Microsoft installation discs... – Periata Breatta Jan 05 '17 at 16:20
  • I am 100% positive. You have to activate the installation manually but it will still activate. The license key on the COA sticker can still be used to manually activate the installation. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:23
  • [Reinstall Windows 7: OEM or Standard?](http://superuser.com/questions/742927/reinstall-windows-7-oem-or-standard/743089#743089) and [OEM Windows 7 key with downloaded ISO?](http://superuser.com/questions/774570/oem-windows-7-key-with-downloaded-iso?rq=1) describe how you can convert a Retail ISO into an OEM ISO easily enough. Of course modifying ei.cfg isn't required because manual activation is still possible. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:24
  • Hmm. I don't seem to be able to even download the official ISO image. The download tool in the linked answer only seems to want to download Windows 10 images, and the link I find given most often (https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7) gives me an error when I put my product key in it ("We've encountered a problem with the product key you provided. Please try again or visit the Microsoft Support Contact Us page for assistance."). Any suggestions on how to get hold of Windows 7 iso image? – Periata Breatta Jan 05 '17 at 16:41
  • I provided multiple answers, written by me, that describe how you can download a Windows 7 ISO **directly** from Microsoft. Have you looked at those answers, followed them, and concluded they are not being downloaded directly from Microsoft? – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:42
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    This [answer](http://superuser.com/questions/78761/where-can-i-download-windows-7-legally-from-microsoft/1046062#1046062), offers Windows 7 ISO files, I have personally verified it recently. You can use the tool described in this [answer](http://superuser.com/questions/1151443/do-i-need-to-activate-windows-8-if-i-used-it-before/1151469#1151469), to download Windows 7 ISO files, directly from Microsoft. I never linked to the [website](https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows7), and I didn't do that, because I knew you couldn't use it. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:46
  • Ah, thanks. The multitude of different ways of doing it in different circumstances are somewhat confusing,.. :( – Periata Breatta Jan 05 '17 at 16:49
  • Which is the reason, i linked to the **specific** answers which I wrote, and I knew would work. – Ramhound Jan 05 '17 at 16:49

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