Hard drive failure on preloaded HP laptop - how to obtain copy of os?

There is no advantage that I know about to using the complicated procedure to back up OEM-SLP key, and the Administrators here don't even want it discussed since it is quasi-legal.

When you make the decision to clean reinstall you step into the world of OEM-COA activation with the COA sticker Product Key which is protected in MS Activation Servers against any whims of your manufacturer - who may not even support Clean Reinstall or a different bit version, for example. Many OEM's tends to think that they own your machine and can tell you how to use it while at the same time offering nearly incompetent Support.

If there was a problem with the Product Key on COA sticker activating then wouldn't we have heard about it, considering that this the the top site on the web for clean reinstalling Factory OEM?

I do not know what is quasi-legal.

Since it appeared in the Microsoft's forum and Microsoft has neither removed it from the forum nor termed it as quasi-legal or illegal, I have quoted it.

The options are available. It is for the user to decide which is convenient and whiich is not convenient for him.

Jumanji, I felt badly after you put so much work into the tutorial to back up OEM-SLP activation which was taken down, since I know you feel this is a worthwhile method.

I am only trying to understand what is the advantage of using this method instead of OEM-COA. It was during inquiries about this that I learned that it is considered a grey area here by the Forums' Administrator. These Forums in some cases have stricter standards than MS's own forums.

greg, I very much appreciate your feelings.

I only feel bad when my hands are tied and I am unable to help one who really needs help.That my thread has been deleted and I recieved an infraction really does not matter.

Even recently, there have been some genuine users whose COA has been obliterated. They still had a working OEM installation but needed a clean install to correct some problems. Though you have been tirelesly helping those with Windows problems, we have practically seen only a clean install is the way out in many cases. So without a COA key what has he to do? There have been some without phone access too. Like rraod in Saudi Arabia. Many others have phonephobia.:)

Well I can write pages and pages on this. My own conviction is that a genuine user holding a valid OEM licence does nothing illegal by replicating his OEM activation. He is neither cheating Microsoft nor the OEM and he is not deriving any commercial benefits or profits. We do restore the whole system image with activation in tact. In what way backing up and restoring the OEM activation on my own machine different from it?

If the Backup and Restore software illegal, why have Microsoft or the OEMs not restrained the software authors legally as MPAA did to restrain DVD Decrypter?

I shall abide by the SevenForums policy of not quoting those software. The least I can do to help is to quote it from the official Microsoft site. (Well the software just does that in a few clicks, not the complicated way indicated in the Microsoft site which you object :) )

If the SevenForums Admin restrains me quoting from the Microsoft site, welcome. I will abide by that too. I am not the loser in anyway and come what may.:)

I thought I mention that I contacted the Microsoft Store and Hewlett Packard. HP says there system restore disk does not provide an option to restore the OS only (without bloatware).

Microsoft says the Digital River ISO are for retail copies of Microsoft software and the ISO's will NOT accept an OEM product key. So apparently unless I want to spend $314.00 and purchase a full retail download and backup DVD there's no way to recover w7 home premium without bloatware or upgrade to pro and get a dvd with an installable copy of W7 pro. Microsoft says their DVD will either attempt to upgrade or perform a full instaall based on the key I purchase.

I'm so confused and disappointed. I was all set to use the Digital River ISO on a new drive.

Only newer HP's have an option to do Minimal Factory Recovery which if available will be one of the options on the menu when you select Recovery from within Windows or use the HP F11 key: HP Recover Windows 7 Operating System Using HP Recovery - HP Customer Care (United States - English). However if you only have the Recovery Disks due to HD failure, then you may not have this option. Boot the first disk to see.

The retail Windows installer has accepted factory OEM keys since XP, so you were misinformed by whoever you spoke with at MS. Besides this forum is recognized as the top resource on the web for clean reinstalling Win7 Factory OEM - having helped countless users do so since Win7 release - so if you wanted to check on this you only need to ask here.

Until recently it is true we were restricted from linking the Digital River ISO's for clean reinstall purposes due to concerns about piracy, not incompatibility, however our forums relaxed the policy due to MS's own forums having done so months earlier.

Follow these steps to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7.