Reformat

Hey, so I bought my computer with Vista in early November. It was then I got the free Windows 7 upgrade from HP. But when I was having problems when my computer was Vista I could completely reformat it back to factory defaults with something like System Recovery or something, not system restore because all that does is put it to an earlier point. And if I am correct Vista should still be on the recovery disk, like I have my main HD and then I have that one with like 14 gigs.
Now if you read this thread it explains I've been having major problems with my PC.
2.80 GHz Processor w/ 8GB RAM - Need Help

Now I have been using the Windows 7 disk to reformat my computer to Windows 7. But I just realized it was an upgrade disk meaning it was only upgrading the system, even though it got rid of the programs and loooked like a clean install it still had all the same problems. So that's why my problem is still consisting, it's because I actually haven't completely reformatted my computer. So maybe there is a MAJOR hidden virus or something is wrong with it, so I'm sure reformatting it will fix it.

So I think if I can find out how to do it with System Recovery or what ever it's called and it turns it back to Vista then it's a clean system, my problem is fixed and I can just upgrade it to Windows 7 from there.

So could someone tell me if I can still use System Recovery, and it's not the exact name I think, but it's somewhere a long there. I haven't been able to find it or use, if I did I'd be able to fix my PC.

Thanks guys, I think I finally have found my problem

How to use HP Recovery:

Using HP Backup and Recovery Manager in Vista HP Pavilion Notebook PCs - HP Customer Care (United States - English)

It is unlikely your Recovery Partition will run after upgrade to Win7, and if it does it will only recover it to factory condition Vista - with all of the corrupting bloatware a clean install is chosen to overcome.

While the Upgrade Kit DVD is indeed Upgrade version, it is able to do a clean install just like full version. You need to boot from the DVD. It will scan the HD to see the existing OS which alone passes a flag to allow use of Upgrade version key - even if you then use Custom>Drive Options to delete all partitions, create new one(s) as you wish, then format before installing to first partition.

As you fear you might have an infection on the HD, you might want to first boot into the DVD Command line (via Repair My Computer>Recovery Tools list) to use DISKPART "Clean All" command to wipe the HD with zeros, or use free Partition Wizard bootable CD to wipe the HD. If you do this, you may need to use one of the workarounds in severedsolo's link above to get it to accept Upgrade version key.

Any drivers not provided by installer or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates, along with some apps can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model HP or an apps/drivers disk which should have been provided in Upgrade kit.

I have a tutorial on how to extract favorite apps from HP Recovery disks if you made those previously. If not, I doubt they can be made now since the Recov partition is most likely disabled, but you can try.

gregrocker said:

It is unlikely your Recovery Partition will run after upgrade to Win7, and if it does it will only recover it to factory condition Vista - with all of the corrupting bloatware a clean install is chosen to overcome.

While the Upgrade Kit DVD is indeed Upgrade version, it is able to do a clean install just like full version. You need to boot from the DVD. It will scan the HD to see the existing OS which alone passes a flag to allow use of Upgrade version key - even if you then use Custom>Drive Options to delete all partitions, create new one(s) as you wish, then format before installing to first partition.

As you fear you might have an infection on the HD, you might want to first boot into the DVD Command line (via Repair My Computer>Recovery Tools list) to use DISKPART "Clean All" command to wipe the HD with zeros, or use free Partition Wizard bootable CD to wipe the HD. If you do this, you may need to use one of the workarounds in severedsolo's link above to get it to accept Upgrade version key.

Any drivers not provided by installer or quickly updated via optional Windows Updates, along with some apps can be found on the Support Downloads webpage for your model HP or an apps/drivers disk which should have been provided in Upgrade kit.

I have a tutorial on how to extract favorite apps from HP Recovery disks if you made those previously. If not, I doubt they can be made now since the Recov partition is most likely disabled, but you can try.

I don't think I've ever been so confused in my life.

Too confused to ask questions?