Windows 7 Product Key

I have a Windows 7 product key on a sticker stuck to the bottom of my laptop. However, HP have not provided me with the installation discs, only a way to backup my current OS in it's current state.

As I have purchased a Windows 7 license for this PC and have the original product key attached to the machine, am I free to use another Windows 7 disc to perform a clean installation should the situation arise at a later date? I would amuse so, as I would be using an activation key that I own?

Yes, you can download an ISO image file of the version of Windows 7 you have and then burn it to a DVD disc. Use ImgBurn, its free and also will verify the burn.

Burn between 4x and 12x speed to get an accurate write.

The key is good for either the 32 bit or the 64 bit version. BUT only ONE install per product key.

Go to this page of the website for download links: Windows 7 ISO – Official Direct Download Links

The x86 download is about 2.4GB and the x64 version is 3.0GB.

Hi sunnyside

You can use a retail product key on a Windows 7 DVD of the same version for which it is coded, (eg) you can use a friend's retail copy of Windows 7 Home Premium to reinstall Windows on your computer as long as you use your unique retail Windows 7 Home Premium product key and only that one version can be activated at one time.

If you wish, you can contact HP and purchase an exact copy of the recovery disks for your computer model. I've bought HPs for several years and done the same thing. They don't cost much.

I don't know when you bought your laptop, as you didn't say in your post, but most modern HP's allow you to make ONE set of recovery discs, should you need them. You click Start and type "create recovery discs", and the program that does this will appear with instructions. With HP, you will need at least three non-rewritable DVD's, and a hour to spare, as after the program burns each disc, it validates the written info to be sure that it's right. These discs return your computer to factory condition, should you need to. Also, to make it more simple, your image may be preloaded on a small recovery partition. This serves the same purpose, but without the discs. It works well, I've already done mine twice this way. Upon startup, press and hold F11, and you'll go into recovery mode. If your computer came with Windows 7, you should have the partition and the option to make these discs. Hope this helps.

Thank you all!

Yes, I did get an option to make a single backup copy on a few DVDs, but this would include all of the HP junk that came with the laptop. I ideally wanted just the installation DVD so that I can make a clean install in the future.

I didn't know about the recovery partition, so that should be a helpful backup if I need it.

Thank you for your advice!

A very wise decision on your part! You certainly don't want all the crapware that HP includes on those "recovery discs" that's for sure.

Stay away from recovery partitions, they're really not that useful in my opinion. I would use Acronis True Image and do a backup on an external hard drive. It is VERY good software for this purpose.

sunnyside wrote
And thats the best way to go mate

True, the "crapware" will be there, but you can get rid of it, if you want to. Revo Uninstaller has a junk file cleaner, and it gets rid of a lot of the junk. Also, should you want to sell it, these discs and recovery partition would be of value to the prospective buyer. Smart buyers want the computer to have all options still there, and it would be worth more. I'm glad I have mine, as I can make my PC "factory new" any time I wish. Over time, your computer gets bogged down with junk files, and this option gets rid of them.

While I agree with you on your suggestions to an extent, I strongly recommend not to delete the recovery partition. As I stated in the above post, the computer will be worth more should it's resold. I love my recovery partition because it makes it "factory new" again, at least as far as the OS goes.