Lenovo came with Win7 installed. How do I do a clean re-install?

[Bultaco]

My 2 year old laptop is starting to get sluggish so I'm wondering if I should try to do a clean install of my Home Premium Windows.

Problem is, the computer came with no disks. Also, I'm assuming that the Backup and Restore function that's built in would only give me a copy of my crap-filled hard drive contents if I "made" the backup (to an external disk, presumably) then "restored" it to my freshly formatted internal drive.......right?

So, can I make my OWN clean disks with some utility on the machine? Or do I have to BUY another copy of Win7 Home Premium? Or will Best Buy provide me with one if I take my machine in? Or will Lenovo provide one?

Sorry if some of these questions sound idiotic.....but haven't done much in the way of installations, backups OR restorations.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

As I said, the primary reason I'm considering this is because the old baby is starting to chug a bit, and it's my understanding that getting off the data, wiping the drive, then reinstalling Windows is the best way to get my computer cleaned up and fast again. If that's a bad premise.....I'm all ears.

Thanks,
Michael

 

[UsernameIssues]

The tutorial for a clean install can be found here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

You can download a W7 DVD from here:
Windows 7 Direct Download Links

You can activate it using your certificate of authenticity.

 

[Bultaco]

The tutorial for a clean install can be found here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

You can download a W7 DVD from here:
Windows 7 Direct Download Links

You can activate it using your certificate of authenticity.

WOW! That was impressive! Thanks, whoever you are.

One final dumb question: what's the best way to get all my personal files (docs, photos, music, etc) off the drive before I do the big wipe job? (I see posts about a program called Teracopy...although the posts seem old-ish. Is that still a good one? Or are there better?)

Thanks, again!

 

[UsernameIssues]

I just use the built in Windows (file) Explorer to copy the to a USB flash drive and then compare the folders after the copy. Maybe other forum members have a better idea.