Cannot reserve Windows 10 because MS says my Windows 7 was not legally activated

[ihrescue]

Hi Folks:

I am running Windows 7 Home Premium with Service Pack 1 on a Dell Inspiron 1545. It has a Pentium Dual Core CPU T 4500 @2.30 GHZ, 2.0 GB Ram w/ 64 bit operating system.

My system properties indicate that Windows 7 is activated. But when I try to reserve a download for the new free Windows 10 it says I never activated my Windows 7 so it must be an illegal copy. I can't upgrade with the free download without a legal Windows program.

With the help of Cyber Tech last year I worked through some malware impacts on this computer and suspect that somehow possibly I am no longer recognized as having a legal Windows 7 application as a result of some of the file changes that may have occured.

Can I get some ideas for how to resolve this?

Thanks

Mike

[renegade600]

google shows that vista came with your computer. so is win 7 the original os on your computer or did you upgrade? What does the coa sticker say for the os if you are not sure. If you upgraded, did you use an upgrade version or oem? Though win10 does make mistakes, in a lot of cases it is finding users upgraded their computers using system builders oem because it was the cheapest and declaring them non genuine.

[ihrescue]

Originally Posted by renegade600

google shows that vista came with your computer. so is win 7 the original os on your computer or did you upgrade? What does the coa sticker say for the os if you are not sure. If you upgraded, did you use an upgrade version or oem? Though win10 does make mistakes, in a lot of cases it is finding users upgraded their computers using system builders oem because it was the cheapest and declaring them non genuine.

Thanks renegade600:

I purchased the Dell Inspiron in Oct 2010 and while it had two hard drives fail it was Windows 7 from the start as the OS.

Is the COA sticker on the bottom of the laptop?

[renegade600]

did the current install of windows 7 from the recovery disks for that specific computer or from other win7 disks? If from other disks are you using the key that came with the computer? If not using the key that came with the computer, where did it come from? also where did the disks come from and are they "for distribution for a new computer only", manufacturer oem, or anything that says oem on them.

[ihrescue]

Renegade600: Sorry for the delay I have been swamped. When I had the malware problem I sought help here on CyberTech but before I could get to that I then had a problem with the log in window not loading on boot up. So I restored Windows from an earlier date on my computer and I was able to login and complete the malware removal process. To my knowledge this is the only Windows manipulation I have done. I didn't re-load Windows from another source. In my properties area it says that Windows is activated and it lists my product id below it. Does this help clarify?