8

Possible Duplicate:
How can I reinstall Windows 7 if I lost my installation DVD?

I need to reformat my computer, but I don't have my OS discs with me (I do have the cd keys, though). Can I burn a pirated copy of the OS, and then install using my legit cd keys?

Community
  • 1
cfrederich
  • 185
  • 1
  • 1
  • 7
  • 2
    Pirated software is known to include viruses and SpyWare. Don't ever use or copy pirated software, not only for this reason, but also because it's wrong. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 17:58
  • 1
    @Randolf is right in that we don't encourage or condone piracy here. Consensus is that anything that breaks an EULA isn't encouraged, I believe, and I agree wholeheartedly with this. (It would probably open StackExchange up to litigation, anyway.) – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 19:13
  • 1
    It's a technical question, not an ethical one. The ethics are debatable, of course. But that wasn't really the question. – DA. Jun 17 '11 at 20:23
  • @DA: The inclusion of the words "**using a pirated CD**" in the question is of great concern as it shows intent to [at least temporarily] violate Microsoft's copyright. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 20:33

2 Answers2

16

There's no need to pirate; you can download the ISOs for Windows 7 installation media directly from Microsoft (well, okay, Digital River's hosting the download but whatever), free of charge.

32-bit Windows 7 Home Premium

64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium

32-bit Windows 7 Professional

64-bit Windows 7 Professional

Links taken from here. I can't personally confirm they're live, but I've done this in the past and they look the same as I remember.

EDIT: Removed Ultimate links since they appear to be dead, but they're out there. Somebody feel free to comment and/or edit these in.

Shinrai
  • 18,726
  • 3
  • 51
  • 72
  • 1
    Here is a aggregated list of all of the windows 7 versions from digital river http://www.mydigitallife.info/download-windows-7-iso-official-32-bit-and-64-bit-direct-download-links/ in case you need a version other than english. – Scott Chamberlain Jun 17 '11 at 17:37
  • **BIG RED FLAG!** Those don't look like official Microsoft sources, so they might contain viruses or SpyWare! How come the links go to various IP addresses or domain names that don't end with "microsoft.com" (Microsoft's official Download Centre always provides a link that ends with "microsoft.com")? I ask that you provide an official "microsoft.com" web page that links directly to those, or else I will flag this answer for removal. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 17:41
  • 5
    @Randolf - Digital River is a reputable digital file distribution source, used by tons of big name companies. (I wouldn't trust anything that directs to an IP address, for sure, which is why I only posted those and added the disclaimer.) These aren't linked directly on microsoft.com to my knowledge because these are the download links you get if you buy a license key from Digital River - they're not EXACTLY intended for public dissemination, but they're legit and perfectly legal. – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 17:42
  • 1
    Can anyone else comment on the legitimacy of this? – tnw Jun 17 '11 at 17:43
  • 3
    @Tory - I don't expect anyone to take my word for it if they've never heard of the company (which frankly surprises me, that's like never having heard of Amazon), but I think a quick Google search should clear up any concerns about Digital River specifically (and the digitalrivercontent.net domain is, of course, registered to their corporate entity). – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 17:47
  • @Shinrai I'm just not taking chances with my person info... I did look this stuff up. Norton's site, as annoying as Norton is (I bailed for MSE a while ago), gave it the green light so I'm gonna give this a go. – tnw Jun 17 '11 at 17:55
  • 1
    Not a direct answer but here is a microsoft link showing that they used digital river to to provide iso's of windows 7 http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/windows_7-windows_install/microsoft-iso-image-for-digital-rivers-windows-7/33afd855-92fd-43ee-a76c-ace1b81140f2 – Scott Chamberlain Jun 17 '11 at 17:55
  • @Shinrai: I've never heard of Digital River before, but it seems that they're either a wholesaler or a retail outlet of some sort. I'm in Canada, and I've been dealing with local computer wholesalers for more than 20 years. Your comment that the links are not intended for public dissemination is also of concern to me -- why are you posting them publicly if you already know this? – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 17:57
  • 1
    Here is a press release showing Microsoft is using digital river for their e-commerse outsoruceing http://news.office-watch.com/t/n.aspx?articleid=70&zoneid=10 – Scott Chamberlain Jun 17 '11 at 17:58
  • 1
    @Randolf Exactly my concern – tnw Jun 17 '11 at 17:58
  • 1
    @Randolf These are all perfectly legitimate links. I've used digital river before for stuff, and just because you haven't seen a source before has no bearing on its legitimacy. I appreciate the warnings, though. – cfrederich Jun 17 '11 at 18:07
  • @Randolf - These have been on the net for years. If they really cared about being having access to the downloads, they'd have put them behind a password wall ages ago - Digital River SPECIALIZES in digital distribution, so they know what they're doing. I simply say they're not intended for dissemination because there's not a public page that says "HEY, DOWNLOAD WINDOWS HERE" - you get these links after you buy a key. (Frankly, I'm surprised they're not behind a password wall anyway. I need a password to get my bloody WINAMP installation from Digital River, but not Windows?!) – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 19:11
  • 2
    @Randolf: When I bought a digital copy of Windows 7 from my school, they linked me to Digital River. So I think it's legit. – BlueRaja - Danny Pflughoeft Jun 17 '11 at 19:26
  • @Scott Chamberlain: That news article is not from "microsoft.com" and doesn't include a link to Microsoft's web site to support its claims, so I remain skeptical. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 20:18
  • @BlueRaja: The reason I'm skeptical of Digital River is that they're making available, a copyrighted product, freely available for anyone, and yet Microsoft.com does not appear to be doing the same (although Microsoft _does_ provide options for directly ordering replacement install CDs). Given the availability of serial numbers and product keys being provided illegitimately on many web sites, it seams reasonable to me that Microsoft wouldn't approve of anyone making their installation CDs freely available in this manner. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 20:24
  • 3
    @RandolfRichardson I can confirm that Digital River is Microsoft's official distributor for installation media purchased online. I have done this before when buying Windows directly from Microsoft. These links are legitimate, and publicly accessible and known. In a similar vein, see [is discussion of removing DRM permitted?](http://meta.superuser.com/questions/2212/is-discussion-of-techniques-for-removing-drm-permitted) on meta. – nhinkle Jun 17 '11 at 20:59
  • 1
    What's more relevant is that this is a duplicate question - I just need to find the original. – nhinkle Jun 17 '11 at 21:00
  • @nhinkle - I figured as much myself actually and did a quick search but didn't turn up anything. I could have sworn I'd seen it before but I thought I might just be hallucinating... – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 21:05
  • @nhinkle - Oh, good, you found it! <3 – Shinrai Jun 17 '11 at 21:06
  • @nhinkle: Thanks for clearing this up (+1). I'm deeply concerned about the "piracy" matter, and wanted to be sure that copyright violations weren't being promoted via SuperUser.com. – Randolf Richardson Jun 17 '11 at 21:27
  • Thanks for your concern, @Randolf. The moderation team and Stack Exchange developers keep tabs on what content is allowed on the site, and we frequently remove requests for illegal software. If you ever have any questions about our policies, feel free to pose a question on [meta] or [metase]. – nhinkle Jun 17 '11 at 21:38
  • Any further discussion should be carried out on [meta] or on the duplicate question. – nhinkle Jun 17 '11 at 21:39
8

That would work however this is what Microsoft recommends.

This is what Microsoft recommends

sealz
  • 2,264
  • 2
  • 28
  • 41