Hi everyone, sorry I wasn't able to find an answer to my question despite searching. I am considering getting an Asus EEE and it comes with Windows Starter 32-bit. I believe from my reading that I can use OEM SLP technique to change this to another version. My question is can I change it to a 64-bit OS? The processor supports this. If so, how would I go about it please? Is there some sort of tutorial on this process you can point me to? Thanks!
You need to reformat your system for sure. Make sure it is running Intel Atom N450 and above with at lease 2GB of ram to have lesser lag. There is reason why it run Windows 7 starter 32bit. SO try to to push it to it's limit till it slow like mad. Before you reformat your system, extract out system recovery from Asus and Extract out Asus Netbook SLIC cert as a backup. That will be needed when you are reactivating it using hardware base SLIC 2.1 from Asus with any valid SLP key. That solve the problem of using Windows Loader method or Linux GRUB method which will be detected sooner or later.
Thank you very much! Will new EEEs have 2.1 bios? After reading about 32-bit vs. 64-bit on Netbook, I don't think I need 64-bit. In that case do I need to use that DVD you linked above or can I just use Windows Anytime Upgrade? And if I decide to cleanly reinstall 32-bit Windows 7, then can I do this using your DVD link and putting the ISO onto a bootable USB (as per your guide)?
If it is already running Windows 7 Starter preloaded from the factory, yes it has the 2.1 bios. Just run Windows Anytime Upgrade and give it a SLP key for the edition you want. It is that simple.
Thanks for that Myrrh! I know these machines are normally preloaded with a heap of OEM crap - if I decide that I want a clean reinstall of 32-bit Windows 7 then what steps do I take? Thanks again.
Didn't someone mention here that if I use Loader that it will be able to be detected in the future? Trying to avoid that. So if I want to just change the Starter to Ultimate, I understand that I just use Anytime Upgrade with the appropriate SLP. But if I want to cleanly reinstall then is there any way to avoid Loader?
The name is misleading beacuse it doesnt use a laoder if you already have slic which you seem to have beacuse your laptop came with 7. You always have to reinstall if you want a cealn install. Anytime will upgrade to ultimate yes as long as you slic 2.1 which you have but not to 64bit.
Thank you a lot. I guess what I am confused about is that if I clean install 32-bit (or 64-bit) will it ask me for a product key/etc. in order to install and will I have to activate? Sorry to be so stupid about this but if you could explain the steps I need to take if I want to clean install on this machine it would be great
you have to remember why the Eee comes with Starter, it's a netbook. I would upgrade to HomeBasic or HomePrem before Ultimate. and i would stick with x86. Netbooks are limited with space and power, that's why it comes preinstalled with Starter.
Thanks for that, essentially I just wanted something that wasn't crippled so I'll go with what you say and probably do HomePrem and stick with x86 (no real benefit I guess for an N550 with 2Gb RAM?). In that case if I wanted a clean HomePrem install, how would I go about this? I just need to know if I just go ahead and use one of the DVD resources supplied above, or whether I need to backup SLIC or any other things before I do it (I don't even know what a SLIC is so excuse all my ignorance). I just wanted to avoid problems in the future with the software coming up as pirated. Thanks.
The simplest way would be to get the WZOR ultimate with SP1, use the ei.cfg removal utility or the edition change tool on a copy of the ISO file so that you have a multi-edition dvd, then build your install media from that. Install it clean, choose whatever edition you want. Use Daz's loader, which in your case will simply allow you to choose the certificate and key for it to install. The end result would be indistinguishable from a factory load, except that all the crapware will be missing of course. The activation can be accomplished manually with: Code: slmgr -ilc [name of certificate file] slmgr -ipk [product key] slmgr -ato you can get the certificate file and keys from the sticky threads. This is really all there is to it.
Thanks very much! When installing clean will I be asked for a "Product Key" or similar in order to install? Is that just what is on the label of the machine? And when you say that I can do it manually - is that code to be entered into the cmd prompt after Windows has been installed cleanly? Cheers.
ya you will be asked to enter productkey but skip that step. There is a pretty good guide for installing 7 on top of this page.
Thanks once again. I have just downloaded the DVD iso via the depository link but now have more questions: - Should I use a Win 7 DVD to install and then install SP1? Or should I instead download a Win 7 with SP1 combined? I could not see a link in the depository for Win 7 with SP1 so I was wary about just downloading anything not recommended here! Another question is about an HP netbook that has XP installed. Some of these HP netbooks with the SAME MODEL NUMBER have Windows 7 Starter instead. Would it be possible to install Win7 on the Netbook with OEM XP using the OEM SLP or does it depend what OS was installed at the factory even if they have the same model number? Thanks.