I've been successfully backing up our shared kitchen laptop (Acer Aspire V5, Windows 8.1) to our trustworthy WHS v1 server since Xmas 2012.
Now the Windows Store is not working (tried every single fix on the internet with no luck) so I have to either 1) Do a Windows Refresh and wipe all my installed apps including Office 365 Student or 2) Try to do a WHS restore from our last backup on May 1, 2014.
Problem with 1) is I installed Office 365 Student from a card key that I don't have anymore, and while my e-mail address was originally associated with this purchase and install, I have since upgraded to Office 365 Home subscription and have it installed on other devices in the house. If I refresh the laptop I can't see my Student license in My Account information anymore - so I'm putting this solution aside.
Problem with 2) is the Realtek NIC is "built into" this laptop with a funky dongle to connect it to an Ethernet cable. Once I get to the "Searching for Home Server" during the restore process, it doesn't activate the NIC and fails to find the WHS. I've tried downloading the driver to a USB stick but no luck. I've also tried a couple of USB Ethernet adapters but also no luck - it just won't detect the NIC.
So any advice? For the most part the laptop still works (I'm on it now). I've tried fixing the Windows Store but all solutions point to a Refresh. I'm willing to try that but I need to be able to restore my Office 365 Student install without having the Product Key. I've tried using WHS Restore but the process won't detect the NIC for this laptop.
Thoughts? and Thanks.
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