Microsoft → Can we get Windows 7?

Gracie's going nuts and I promised her I'd try to help., and I know you guys here know almost everything! She's doing a big presentation and has a PowerPoint slideshow to support it. The slideshow contains some video (mp4) and quite a few sound clips (were in mp3 but in PowerPoint they are showing as m4a) in addition to the usual images and text. On her desktop, running Win 8 and PowerPoint 2013 (through her Office 365 subscription), everything works like a charm. But on her laptop, running Vista and Office 2010, none of the videos nor the sound clips work, and she's panicking.

She'd like to try upgrading her laptop to Windows 7 (it can't handle Win 8) so she can use one of her 5 Office 365 licenses to install the newer PowerPoint, which won't work on Vista. But there are two questions (here's where I'm hoping you can help):

1. Is there anywhere she can still get a legit license for Windows 7? I know some disks are still being sold on Ebay, etc. but are they really legit? Any stores still carrying them?

2. If she does install Win 7 and then installs Office 365, that may not solve the issue---a friend with Win 7 and Office 2010 says the videos and sounds don't play because some codec is missing, and I'm wondering if that is because only Win 8 has the right codecs already installed. It works fine on my desktop and hers, but they're both running Win 8, and my laptop is older than hers.

Running the show online in PowerPoint Online, the videos and sound don't work even on our Win 8 computers, so that isn't an option either.

Any thoughts to help out an old friend? Thanks!

You will be able to help her, as the licenses are still available at newegg and amazon, just not at Microsoft any more.
»www.newegg.com/Product/P ··· NodeId=1
»www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_ ··· 28832011

I hope this helps cover the needs for your request..

Thanks, Norwegian! I'm assuming these are totally legit licenses, right? I know that Amazon does carry products that are sold by third parties and can sometimes be a tad iffy .

Also, those are full versions, not upgrades from Vista, and they're OEM versions. I couldn't find upgrade versions from Vista to 7; I'm somehow remember that wasn't possible?

As I said in my post, I'm not sure this will totally solve the problems with the unreliable playback of video and sound, but it's a step in the right direction, and anyway, she hates Vista .

Win 7 was a vast improvement, so you might get lucky there.
Not sure if the questions to troubleshoot can be asked in the »Audio/Video Chat or not.

If you are worried about legit, a major computer supply store you trust might have a copy too.
I believe only OEM manufacture supply has finished.
Retails sales are still okay.

Thanks again. Actually, the ones being offered on both Amazon and New Egg are OEM, not retail. I do see that Best Buy says they have copies; some are "marketplace" which means other sources, but some look like they are in store or available for order. Might check that out. Thanks!

I downgraded my Dell laptop from Windows 8 to Windows 7 a few months ago. This is the website that I bought my Windows 7 64bit Home Premium OEM copy. They only charged me approximately $67.00.

»snaggstuff.commerce-sear ··· log=YHST 70971705878797&query=Windows+7&x=0&y=0

Before re-installing OS, I'd try to download and install K-Lite Codec Pack. Take just Basic edition and see, if it helps.

I've been installing Win7 Pro from my old TechNet subscription. The keys are used up but when you try to activate it (and it fails) it will give you the option to purchase a key immediately from MS (to combat piracy). Seems like the price was around $150. YMMV

Thanks so much to everyone who responded; it looks like an upgrade version isn't available, so it's a question of just springing for the full (and usually OEM) version, which is fine. If she does that, I think she will go the route of upgrading to the 64 bit version; apparently, her Vista is 32 bit but the computer is capable of 64, and the Advisor she ran said that if she does the 32 bit version she can do an in-place upgrade which would keep programs and files, but if she does 64 bit (and it says she can), she'd have to do a clean install, which she is willing to do.

Konaguy, thanks for that link; branded OEM versions, but a lot cheaper than other sites, if they're still good. And Ozo, the k-lite pack is a great idea for anyone having that difficulty---though I don't think it will be needed, see below.

On the other front, good news! They don't call Gracie Geek Goddess for nuthin' I guess; she decided to try changing the format of the video from mp4 to wmv and the audio from m4a to mp3 and now it's working almost perfectly in Vista with PPT 2007 IF she opens the pptx file; if she does a ppt file (which is supposed to be the one compatible with 2007) it doesn't work!

So push comes to shove, she can try using the laptop as is. But she really does want to upgrade anyway. This is a laptop she almost never used; it sat in a closet as she went from an XP laptop loaded to her Asus tablet for travel and new 8.1 desktop for work/home. She dragged this out of the closet just for this presentation, and it has almost nothing on it, so a clean upgrade won't matter.

Thanks a million!

Microcenter also sells 7 64 bit pro.oem. about 133 last I saw.

I just bought a copy of Win7 Pro (OEM) from my local computer shop last week - $109 cdn...

I couldn't find any retail boxed copies of Win7 - but OEM license/media seems to be pretty readily available.

I was skeptical of that site at first, but I called them up and they addressed any concerns that I had. I needed a Windows serial number only, as I downloaded the Windows 7 ISO from Microsoft already.

Thanks, Konaguy; I was concerned since that site was offering a lot of single copies vs. the "here's what we carry" multiple copies of the Amazons and NewEggs, and, at around $70, was a lot cheaper. I always am a tad concerned with OEM copies anyway. I think this may be something she'll do, since the lure of then being able to use her already-paid-for Office 365 subscription is tempting. Thanks.

Some of the software on those sites appears to be geographically limited and may not activate if installed or used outside of the predefined geographical area.

»www.microsoft.com/en-us/ ··· nfo.aspx

Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 32 Bit or 64 Bit - $66.99

»www.digisoftstore.com/Op ··· _12.html

I ordered Win 7 Professional from them and the install was legit (activation was successful). It's an OEM upgrade, of course, and they email you a key and a link to a website where you download an ISO of the install DVD. It all went smoothly and I was able to use the OEM upgrade to get a clean Win 7 install on a bare drive laptop.

I haven't seen Win 7 this cheap anywhere else unless you're buying in volume.

Thanks for pointing that out, some may not be aware of that.

Myself, if I used Newegg I'd go to the local newegg site for my country, in which you then put it back on the seller site to make sure they sell the right one.

It is a little confusing, what I was trying to say is manufacturer licensing (OEM) has finished.
OEM licenses via retail stores are still fine.

The site I linked to above sells OEM versions of Windows 7. I bought my copy for around $67.00 -including shipping.

But their cheap versions of Win 7 are branded, and their unbranded versions are not competetive pricewise. DigiSoft sells legit keys to unbranded OEMs that you can d/l from Digital River.

Yeah, but the registration key that came it should work on any computer. They sent me a Dell OEM Windows 7 disk. I didn't use it, as I had already downloaded and burned the Windows 7 ISO from Digital River to DVD.

I used the registration key + Windows 7 installation ISO from Digital River and was able to downgrade my Dell laptop from Windows 8 to Windows 7.

If it's an OEM, the key will only work on one computer.

Anyway, it looks like we bought the same thing for the same price from different vendors, so I don't know what the argument is about. I was just trying to help OP with a different suggestion for a cheap, legit copy of Win 7. Of course, here at DSLR forums, no good deed goes unpunished. Will keep my 2 cents in my pocket from now on and refrain from advice-giving to people who don't want it.

Yes, I know it will work on only one computer. However, the point I was/am trying to make is it doesn't matter what brand of computer you install it on. The way you wrote your previous post implied the registration key would only work on a Dell laptop. If that was the case, I wouldn't be able to install Windows using the ISO I burned to DVD with the registration key I purchased.

a href, I really appreciate the additional link! And it seems to me that the discussion (not a fight at all) was all in the spirit of being helpful! I've learned the hard way not to be too sensitive here . All the suggestions have been greatly helpful, and that, after all, is what this is about! Thank you all!

said by altermatt :

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On her desktop..., everything works like a charm. But on her laptop..., none of the videos nor the sound clips work, and she's panicking.

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Only certain types of audio and video files get embedded in PowerPoint presentations. Other types get linked. When you move the presentation to a new computer, the linked files get left behind.

See the following troubleshooting link:

»support.office.com/en-US ··· US&ad=US

said by altermatt :

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...now it's working almost perfectly in Vista with PPT 2007 IF she opens the pptx file; if she does a ppt file (which is supposed to be the one compatible with 2007) it doesn't work!

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The .pptx extension is the default file extension for PowerPoint 2007, 2010 and 2013.

The .ppt extension is the default file extension for the older PowerPoint 2003 and earlier versions and supports even fewer types of multimedia file formats.

So if she's using PowerPoint 2007, she will get the most compatibility with the .pptx file format.

Thanks, jupitermoon. The files are indeed all embedded, and once she changed the formats to older formats (wmv instead of mp4 and mp3 instead of m4a) everything worked fine in PP07 on her Vista laptop.

She does still want to upgrade to Win 7, both because she hates Vista and so that she can use one of her Office 365 subscription licenses---you get 5. She's just loathe to make the upgrade now, before her presentation, in case it breaks something .