Can't Install Windows Iso Image File Downloaded From Microsoft

After struggling with system problems to the hair-pulling frustration stage, I decided to try a new install of Windows 7/64 image from MS. Attempts resulted in an error message: PRODUCT KEY is invalid. To eliminate the possibility of typos, I cut/paste the PRODUCT KEY from my registry using a utility recommended here.

A system file scan had reported a missing file but didn't name the missing file.

What should I do from here?

Totally frustrated.

Thanks.

Don

 

Do you have a key via a COA label on the machine anywhere? Or under the battery if it's a laptop?

 

Product key finders aren't usually very helpful on OEM machines as the key they find is one used by the manufacturer on that entire batch of machines rather than the unique one you need. As said, the key you need for a Win 7 system is the one on the CoA label. However if you are able to boot into Windows try it in both Speccy and in Belarc Advisor, as I have found two different keys on the same system this way. (Sorry, I cannot remember in Win 7 at what point you have to supply a product key. If it's before you install then this isn't going to help).

 

Being mute AND paralyzed, a sticker on the machine case may as well be on another planet.

Yes, I can boot in Windows, albeit very slowly, so I will try Earthling's suggestion then post back after lunch.

Thank you both.

Don

 

Belarc Adviser was an eyeopener. It rated my system at .063 of 10! I will begin working on system security immediately.

Is there a simple way to print the several page analysis? It's well beyond my comfort zone.

Don

 

Here's the report:


Belarc Advisor
The license associated with the Belarc

Advisor product allows for free personal

use only. Use on computers in a

corporate, educational, military or

government installation is prohibited.

See the license agreement for details.

The information on this page was

created locally on your computer by the

Belarc Advisor. Your computer profile

was not sent to a web server. Click here

for more info.
About Belarc
Commercial and Government Products


Back to Profile Summary

Click any benchmark setting at right for

documentation.

Why are security benchmarks important

for IT security? Many current threats

are not stopped by perimeter security

systems such as firewall and anti-virus

systems. Setting and monitoring

configurations based on consensus

benchmarks is a critical step because

this is a pro-active way to avoid many

successful attacks. The U.S. National

Security Agency has found that

configuring computers with proper

security settings blocks 90% of the

existing threats ("Security Benchmarks:

A Gold Standard." IA Newsletter, vol. 5

no. 3 Click here to view) To request a

copy of our white paper, "Securing the

Enterprise", click here.

What is the USGCB Benchmark? The

United States Government

Configuration Baseline (USGCB) is a US

Government OMB-mandated security

configuration for Windows 7 and

Internet Explorer 8. Developed by DoD,

with NIST assistance, the benchmark is

the product of DoD consensus. Click

here for details.

What are FDCC Benchmarks? The

Federal Desktop Core Configuration

(FDCC) is a US Government OMB-

mandated security configuration for

Windows Vista and XP. The Windows

Vista FDCC is based on DoD

customization of the Microsoft Security

Guides for both Windows Vista and

Internet Explorer 7.0. Microsoft's Vista

Security Guide was produced through a

collaborative effort with DISA, NSA, and

NIST, reflecting the consensus

recommended settings from DISA, NSA,

and NIST. The Windows XP FDCC is

based on US Air Force customization of

the Specialized Security-Limited

Functionality (SSLF) recommendations

in NIST SP 800-68 and DoD

customization of the recommendations

in Microsoft's Security Guide for Internet

Explorer 7.0. Click here for details.

What is the Security Benchmark Score?

The Belarc Advisor has audited the

security of your computer using a

benchmark appropriate to your

operating system. The result is a

number between zero and ten that gives

a measure of the vulnerability of your

system to potential threats. The higher

the number the less vulnerable your

system.

How can you reduce your security

vulnerability? The local group policy

editor (accessed by running the

gpedit.msc command) can be used to

configure security settings for your

computer. Windows home editions don't

include that editor, but most security

settings can also be made with registry

entries instead. Warning: Applying

these security settings may cause some

applications to stop working correctly.

Back up your system prior to applying

these security templates or apply the

templates on a test system first. For

domain member computers, the

benchmark configurations are available

from the benchmark creator's web site

as Microsoft Group Policy Object files

that can be used with Active Directory.

Follow the links above to the web site of

your Benchmark's creator.
Security Benchmark Score Details

Computer Name: Don-PC (in

WORKGROUP)
Profile Date: Sunday, September

18, 2016 10:30:41 AM
Advisor Version: 8.5c
Windows Logon: Don
Try BelManage, the Enterprise version

of the Belarc Advisor

Score: 0.63 of 10 (what's this?)

Pass = Pass
Fail = Fail
Benchmark: USGCB - Windows 7,

Version 1.0.1.0
+ Expand all sections

pass + Account Lockout

Policy Settings Section Score: 0.63

of 0.63

fail + Password Policy

Settings Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + User Rights

Assignments Section Score: 0.00

of 0.63

fail + Security Options

Settings Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + System Services

Settings Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Audit Policy Settings

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Computer

Configuration - Administrative

Templates - Network Connections

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Computer

Configuration - Administrative

Templates - System Settings Section

Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Computer

Configuration - Administrative

Templates - System - Troubleshooting

and Diagnostics Section Score: 0.00

of 0.63

fail + Computer

Configuration - Administrative

Templates - Windows Components

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Security Patches

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Windows Firewall

Inbound Rules Section Score: 0.00

of 0.63

fail + Windows Firewall

with Advanced Security - Domain Profile

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Windows Firewall

with Advanced Security - Private Profile

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Windows Firewall

with Advanced Security - Public Profile

Section Score: 0.00 of 0.63

fail + Internet Explorer 8 -

Local Computer Policy Section

Score: 0.00 of 0.63
Copyright 2000-2016, Belarc, Inc. All

rights reserved.
Legal notice. U.S. Patents 8473607,

6085229, 5665951 and Patents

pending.

 

You're getting distracted Don - what does it say about your licence key? (Software licences on the left)

 

Speccy yielded PRODUCT KEY but I won't get back to the problem until 2pm Central time. A wonderful lady friend from Johannesburg is performing on a live webcast at 1pm. I try never missing her shows. She generally dedicates a song or 3 to me, her cyber dad. Everyone is welcome to join us at www.streetjelly.com

I think forumite Eldon loves Josie's Folk Music, both covers and fabulous originals. It's absolutely free but you must register (free) to chat with us or to make requests. Cya there?

Don

 

Let's hope it is accepted

 

I have EVERYTHING crossed, including my eyes!

 

As to your system security score, I ran Belarc on the only Win 7 system (a VM) that I still have and it too came up with a score of 0.63/10. However it isn't used much so it is missing a number of security updates which I'm currently trying to correct. If that succeeds I'll run Belarc again and see if I can make any sense of the report, though hopefully another Win 7 user will pre-empt me on that! Belarc has dropped the security score after Win 7 so I'm a bit cautious about trying to read too much into it.

 

Thanks,

I'll devote the balance of the day trying to reinstall Windows 7/64 assuming the discovered PRODUCT KEY is valid. I'll post back with my findings, likely tomorrow.

Thanks for tossing out a lifeline.

Don
SSG and certified gasthaus liberator

 

Regarding Belarc Security Benchmark Score: Unless you have better than Win7 Home Edition, don't get excited. Home doesn't have a local
security or group policy editor. Security changes could still be made by manually editing the registry. Ask yourself if that kind of effort is needed.
My home score is 1.25 with green checks on Account Lockout and Security Patches. The rest aren't much concern to me for my standalone
system. My messing around with the registry is a real concern!

 

Don,

In this thread:

http://forums.majorgeeks.com/index....l-firefox-after-lightning-storm.309472/page-2

at Post #68, I link you to Virtual Clone Drive which you would need to run the Windows 7 ISO to repair Windows and I also attached ShowKeyPlus which would read your OEM Windows Product Key (read Post #69 as well).

 

SOLVED!

The VA advised me that Windows 10 is still free to those of us using Assistive Technology so I'm downloading now. All 3.3 GB.

I think this will solve my other issues so I just wanted to thank all of you wonderful people.

Don

 

GL DON and thx to you, too

 

Here's the link for anyone limited by "special needs".

By the way even though the windows 10 free upgrade has finished for windows 7 or 8, you can still get it if you use assistive technologies such as the magnifier, screen readers, etc, so still free.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade

Once everything is running well use free Macrium Reflect to back up your system.

 

I just hope that your machine will run Windows 10 and you won't have to try and find device drivers so that everything works.

 

mdonah,

I delayed going from Windows 7 to 10 for that exact reason. As a fledgling composer, my music software is very CPU demanding and driver updates generally lag months behind a new OS release. I'm being assured by fellow songwriters that all critical drivers for Win 10 are now available.

Don

 

Just had that wonderful Eureka moment! Everything seems to work fine. Btw, I did not get asked for Windows 7 PRODUCT KEY! It's a full, new install.

It's noticeably MUCH faster and all the problems that I've wasted weeks fighting are gone! I haven't tried watching a movie yet to check if black screen problem is gone but expect it's fixed too. I'll watch NetFlix later today then report back.

Thanks again wonderful folks!

Don

 

Great news Don. Was this an upgrade or a clean install? If it was an upgrade that has also cured previous problems you really have come up smelling of roses. If a clean install you have a bit of work to do reinstalling and reconfiguring your software. Either way I'll be surprised if you don't really enjoy 10. Once I realised how good it was I upgraded all the systems here and everyone is very happy with it.

 

Don,

I'm curious as to whether Windows 10 activated. Could you check by goingity to the Start button, select Settings then Update and Security then Activation and see if it says Windows is activated?

 

It's running beautifully! I'm still "schooling" but I like Windows 10 a lot. My 6+ minute boot times are now under 1 minute; no more black screens when watching a movie; and, I can again use screen saver.

You folks are great!

Thanks.

Don

 

@Earthing,

Yes, it was a full new install and I was NEVER asked for a previous PRODUCT KEY.

Agreed, I have a lot of tweaking to do yet.

Don

 

Having trouble launching Band In A Box since upgrading to Windows 10. How can I tell if I have all and current drivers for Windows 10?

 

Band-in-a-Box is fully Windows 10 (32 or 64-bit) compliant.
Check Device Manager for any devices without drivers.

 

If you have problems launching it, try compatibility mode -type in compatibility mode, and click on run programs made for previous versions of windows, and a trouble-shooter box will come up -click next, and use the drop down box to find your program, and then choose the operating system it used to work in-( you can try more choices) If a later driver is not available then the older one should work ok in windows 10 this way.

 

Thanks baklogic.

Their Support people are sending me a pre-loaded external USB drive that is believed to tame all compatibility issues. I will have it next week. Their customer service is second to none.

Regards.

Don