My laptop didn't come with Windows 7 disc for backup, incase I need to reinstall the OS. Is there any way I can get a disc? Or what would I do if my hard drive crashed after the warranty, and I need to replace it and reinstall the OS? I don't want to have to buy a new copy of the OS, that's several hundred dollars.
Everything needed is here to Clean Reinstall Windows 7.
Be sure to read the SPecial Note to HP Owners at the end as some HP's come with a Minimal Recovery onboard that is nearly the same as a Clean Reinstall.
Your laptop probably has a "recovery" partition that can be accessed by menus and commands to restore the laptop to factory state, as when purchased.
You should also be able to burn a "recovery" disk through a series of commands that would accomplish the same thing as that recovery partition.
You could also right now make an image of your hard drive and later "restore" that image to a new replacement hard drive. This would restore you to the state of the laptop as of the moment you made the image, not to a factory state.
Until the last couple of months, you could also download a legitimate Windows "ISO" file that you could burn to a disc and use to perform a clean install. Microsoft has done away with that for those with an OEM license, which I assume is what you have. You could take your chances on a Windows ISO from "unauthorized" sources, but you're on your own with that. Any such ISO may or may not have been doctored with undesirables.
It explains how to find safe media and verify that in Step 1 of Clean Reinstall Windows 7
You simply call HP now to order Recovery discs, don`t wait.
Windows 7 Professional does not cost several hundred dollars.
Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - Operating Systems - Newegg.com
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