operating system recovery

I bought a refurbished computer and it came without an operating system and no cd however it did come with a product key. is there a way to download a recovery cd to get it up and going?

Hi Joanssie - Welcome to w7forums

Which operating system is this key for?

Hi, and Welcome!
If the activation key is for Windows 7, you can download the iso from here: Windows 7 ISO – Official Direct Download Links

If it isn't, you might be able to find an iso for it somewhere. Also, you could buy an installation DVD. They're pretty cheap because the license/registration key is the actual expensive part, which you allready have.

Cheers,
Fire Cat

Yea what is your Operating System (OS) that the key is for? If its refurbished my guess is Windows Vista on down (XP, 2000, etc...) and those ISO images are a little more difficult to find. But please provide then entire title of the OS that the key is for.
An example would be:
"Windows Vista Home Basic"
Also report on whether your system is 32 or 64 bit.

Could you please tell us more about the computer? Desktop, laptop or netbook? Where you got it and some hardware specs. I assume it can accommodate Windows 7 because you are posting here but we don't know anything about it.

I have purchased a couple of refurbs in the past and they all had an OS so I'm curious

BTW welcome to the forum.