I got my laptop, a Latitude E6520, back in 2011, and lately it has been running pretty poorly, locking up frequently, etc. I've backed up everything that I want saved and I want to format my hard drive and do a clean install of Windows 7 but I'm not totally sure how to proceed.
I used the Dell Recovery tool to make a recovery disk for Windows but the disk is scratched or smudged or something and the installation stops at 'Transferring files.' So I went online and downloaded a retail Windows 7 .iso. Problem is, trying to install from that disk greys out the option to format the OS drive.
So I guess I have two questions for you guys:
1. Will I be able to activate a retail version of Windows on this computer? My product key doesn't have OEM anywhere in it.
2. How can I format the drive if the Windows 7 installer greys it out? For some additional information, that option is not greyed out on the recovery disk I made.
Thanks for the help.