It took me a day to get Windows 7 back on my computer. There were obstacles every step of the way. I decided to wipe my Windows partition and start from scratch. My Windows 7 update disc would not validate a fresh install: even though there is no technical reason, it wants to see an older version of Windows present in order to do its thing.
The workaround learned from the internets is as easy as it is sad: install Windows 7 twice! On the second install, it sees itself and thinks it’s updating an older version of Windows, even though it is itself. Wow. Anyway at least that worked, even though mysteriously, writing itself over a copy of itself takes 90 minutes. Installing my stats program of “choice” (I actually don’t have a choice, it is the least crappy program on the market) was the next hurdle. It would crash on launch, even on this virginal install. While it disables the screen and the mouse, the rest of the computer works. I know this because my laptop can access the files on the desktop just fine, whilst the screen is frozen. Bizarre.
I am officially out of ideas trying to get the stat program to work. I will resort to an alternative way to use this program, by using VPN to tap in to the University computers and use it remotely. It’s not as elegant as running Windows in a window on my own computer, but I kinda really need this done.