Reinstalling Windows 7 On An Alienware

[Dragonvarine]

Ok, I have reinstalled Windows 7 64 Bit (SP1) on my Alienware M14x R2 (Crappy I know..) and after reinstallation I noticed everything is like normal windows (Apart from boot, which had an Alien Head and a red loading bar). The wallpaper is like normal windows, I've checked "Personalize" and the "Alienware" option is gone (Which will change the wallpaper to the alien head and has a black toolbar) and the log in screen is also like normal windows, I understand you can fix that by downloading wallpapers and a few modifications can easily fix this, but I want an actual Alienware Windows 7, like the official one after buying an Alienware, I have an Alienware Disc but I don't know what to do with it. I installed Windows 7 64 bit (SP1) with another CD and used my Alienware Windows 7 64 bit key (The key used before reinstalling windows on my original OS) and It says It's an invalid key (I do not have a key for the other CD [Not alienware cd]) I thought it would work with reinstalled Windows, now I have no idea what to do, I just want the original Alienware System OS (BTW I forgot to mention that I have all the Drivers installed, ALL of them) I do not want to call Dell for any reason, and no, i do not have warranty, (I would email dell but I can't find their address) PLEASE HELP!

P.S: I've checked online, I have not found anyone selling the Original System OS (Alienware) which apparently you get for buying an Alienware (My alienware is second hand and did not recieve a disc to reinstall windows with [Which is why i reinstalled it with my CD])

P.S.S: If you find a CD I can buy (ORIGINAL ALIENWARE OS CD), Tell me please!!

[♠ZerØ♠]

Originally posted by Secundamasser:

Ok, I have reinstalled Windows 7 64 Bit (SP1) on my Alienware M14x R2 (Crappy I know..) and after reinstallation I noticed everything is like normal windows (Apart from boot, which had an Alien Head and a red loading bar). The wallpaper is like normal windows, I've checked "Personalize" and the "Alienware" option is gone (Which will change the wallpaper to the alien head and has a black toolbar) and the log in screen is also like normal windows, I understand you can fix that by downloading wallpapers and a few modifications can easily fix this, but I want an actual Alienware Windows 7, like the official one after buying an Alienware, I have an Alienware Disc but I don't know what to do with it. I installed Windows 7 64 bit (SP1) with another CD and used my Alienware Windows 7 64 bit key (The key used before reinstalling windows on my original OS) and It says It's an invalid key (I do not have a key for the other CD [Not alienware cd]) I thought it would work with reinstalled Windows, now I have no idea what to do, I just want the original Alienware System OS (BTW I forgot to mention that I have all the Drivers installed, ALL of them) I do not want to call Dell for any reason, and no, i do not have warranty, (I would email dell but I can't find their address) PLEASE HELP!

P.S: I've checked online, I have not found anyone selling the Original System OS (Alienware) which apparently you get for buying an Alienware (My alienware is second hand and did not recieve a disc to reinstall windows with [Which is why i reinstalled it with my CD])

P.S.S: If you find a CD I can buy (ORIGINAL ALIENWARE OS CD), Tell me please!!

You alienware didn't come with a reinstall partition on the drive?

[Dragonvarine]

Originally posted by darkangel98s:

Originally posted by Secundamasser:

Ok, I have reinstalled Windows 7 64 Bit (SP1) on my Alienware M14x R2 (Crappy I know..) and after reinstallation I noticed everything is like normal windows (Apart from boot, which had an Alien Head and a red loading bar). The wallpaper is like normal windows, I've checked "Personalize" and the "Alienware" option is gone (Which will change the wallpaper to the alien head and has a black toolbar) and the log in screen is also like normal windows, I understand you can fix that by downloading wallpapers and a few modifications can easily fix this, but I want an actual Alienware Windows 7, like the official one after buying an Alienware, I have an Alienware Disc but I don't know what to do with it. I installed Windows 7 64 bit (SP1) with another CD and used my Alienware Windows 7 64 bit key (The key used before reinstalling windows on my original OS) and It says It's an invalid key (I do not have a key for the other CD [Not alienware cd]) I thought it would work with reinstalled Windows, now I have no idea what to do, I just want the original Alienware System OS (BTW I forgot to mention that I have all the Drivers installed, ALL of them) I do not want to call Dell for any reason, and no, i do not have warranty, (I would email dell but I can't find their address) PLEASE HELP!

P.S: I've checked online, I have not found anyone selling the Original System OS (Alienware) which apparently you get for buying an Alienware (My alienware is second hand and did not recieve a disc to reinstall windows with [Which is why i reinstalled it with my CD])

P.S.S: If you find a CD I can buy (ORIGINAL ALIENWARE OS CD), Tell me please!!

You alienware didn't come with a reinstall partition on the drive?

Where can I find that? :O

[♠ZerØ♠]

Well, by reinstalling off a separate, original Win 7 disk, it would have ignored the partition. It should still be there, and can be found by some work.

But what is the alienware disk? It doesn't do anything then you put it in the Disk Tray?

[kdodds]

Some do, some don't. Some come with a System Recovery CD, for others it's an option. Don't know specifically per machine. You can contact dell through their website at any time, including chat. However, getting through to Alienware support and receiving competent help can be a chore. It took me a couple of days to finally resolve getting my GPU replaced on my out of warranty M18XR2. And I had to jump through CS hell hoops to get there. The "support" offered through chat (based in who know what Hindi country) can be very frustrating. I knew what I needed, but they said no, I needed a MB, then an SSD, then it was irreparable, then a $1,500 GPU upgrade, and so on. But, OP, since you ONLY need a system disk, it should be fairly simple to get a hold of someone who can get it to you, but you may have to pay for it (I think it's $20).

[♠ZerØ♠]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Some do, some don't. Some come with a System Recovery CD, for others it's an option. Don't know specifically per machine. You can contact dell through their website at any time, including chat. However, getting through to Alienware support and receiving competent help can be a chore. It took me a couple of days to finally resolve getting my GPU replaced on my out of warranty M18XR2. And I had to jump through CS hell hoops to get there. The "support" offered through chat (based in who know what Hindi country) can be very frustrating. I knew what I needed, but they said no, I needed a MB, then an SSD, then it was irreparable, then a $1,500 GPU upgrade, and so on. But, OP, since you ONLY need a system disk, it should be fairly simple to get a hold of someone who can get it to you, but you may have to pay for it (I think it's $20).

Well, if his disk is a recovery disk, he has an easy fix. If it was a collection of drivers, then there is a lot more work to recover the partition, boot from it, and reinstall the Alienware Win 7 build.

Edit: The cost, time and effort.

[kdodds]

The drivers always ship IME with them. Even if the OP doesn't have a System Recovery, it's not expensive and can be ordered and shipped next day. Honestly, the AW disk is worth it for the AW features alone.

[♠ZerØ♠]

Originally posted by kdodds:

The drivers always ship IME with them. Even if the OP doesn't have a System Recovery, it's not expensive and can be ordered and shipped next day. Honestly, the AW disk is worth it for the AW features alone.

Sure.

Know what, you are right.

Good luck OP.

Saves me a ton of work.

I am sure you will get it fixed.

[Dragonvarine]

Originally posted by kdodds:

The drivers always ship IME with them. Even if the OP doesn't have a System Recovery, it's not expensive and can be ordered and shipped next day. Honestly, the AW disk is worth it for the AW features alone.

So basically I can purchase an Alienware Disc to get the original System OS i had before reinstalling windows?? :o (Sorry about the questions, I'm fairly stupid on this subject)

[kdodds]

Not knowing something isn't stupid, not everyone needs to know how to build a car to drive one. Same concept here. If you open "Computer" and only have a C: drive (not counting USB or CD/DVD drives), then you don't have an install partition. At different points in time, Dell included a System Restore disk, charged for it, or didn't include it at all. When you initially booted it should have asked you if you wanted to create a restore disk. If you didn't and didn't or couldn't get a hard copy, you should still be able to order one from Dell. They track each and every system that goes through their doors. There will be a service tag on the bottom of your machine. Give the service rep the tag and they can bring up your machine and order. They can tell you if they shipped a Restore Disk or not (in case you have it already and forgot, you can look for it before getting another one). If tehy didn't, they should be able to ship you one. Just go through the chat as this is a pretty simple request.

[Dragonvarine]

Originally posted by kdodds:

Not knowing something isn't stupid, not everyone needs to know how to build a car to drive one. Same concept here. If you open "Computer" and only have a C: drive (not counting USB or CD/DVD drives), then you don't have an install partition. At different points in time, Dell included a System Restore disk, charged for it, or didn't include it at all. When you initially booted it should have asked you if you wanted to create a restore disk. If you didn't and didn't or couldn't get a hard copy, you should still be able to order one from Dell. They track each and every system that goes through their doors. There will be a service tag on the bottom of your machine. Give the service rep the tag and they can bring up your machine and order. They can tell you if they shipped a Restore Disk or not (in case you have it already and forgot, you can look for it before getting another one). If tehy didn't, they should be able to ship you one. Just go through the chat as this is a pretty simple request.

Okay! Thanks for the help everyone! I will go do this now!