We value your feedback.
Take our survey and automatically be enter to win anyone of the following:
Yeti Cooler, Amazon eGift Card, and Movie eGift Card!
Course Of The Month
7 days, 1 hour left to enrollBecome a Premium Member and unlock a new, free course in leading technologies each month.
Solved
Windows 7 recovery
Posted on 2011-02-24
I have a HP Pavilion Elite m9515y. It came with Vista 32-bit. I upgraded to Windows 7 32-bit. I no longer have the upgrade cd nor can i find the disks that came with my computer. I am getting ready to do a totaly system restore to the factory settings. How do i go about doing this recovery with the disks?
My goal is to do the system restore back to Vista..then purchase the Windows7 upgrade again and then add 8G of RAM to speed up performance on my computer. I am in the process of backing all my data up now but I cant figure out how to the restore to factory settings without the disks.
My goal is to do the system restore back to Vista..then purchase the Windows7 upgrade again and then add 8G of RAM to speed up performance on my computer. I am in the process of backing all my data up now but I cant figure out how to the restore to factory settings without the disks.
[X]
Welcome to Experts Exchange
Add your voice to the tech community where 5M+ people just like you are talking about what matters.
- Help others & share knowledge
- Earn cash & points
- Learn & ask questions
4
2-
2
- +1
9 Comments
wouldnt it be easier to purchase windows 7 CD not an upgrade and install fresh rather than an upgrade, and then once installed goto the hp support website and find the drivers etc that would be missing...
also make sure if you are upgrading to win7 you get 64 if you would like to support 8gb ram.
also make sure if you are upgrading to win7 you get 64 if you would like to support 8gb ram.
definitly going to do the 64-bit..one of the reason for doing this..the reason for doing the upgrade is because it was cheaper..
Active today
I went to the HP support site and found this page, which you might find useful if your upgrade of Vista to Windows 7 left the Pc Help and Tools and Recovery Disk Creation items on your Start Menu:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00882383&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3867599
Creating the Recovery Disc Set in Windows Vista
Otherwise, you could order recovery disks from HP, as described on this page:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07143&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3867599
HP and Compaq Desktop PCs: Looking for Recovery Discs?
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00882383&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&product=3867599
Creating the Recovery Disc Set in Windows Vista
Otherwise, you could order recovery disks from HP, as described on this page:
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=bph07143&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=3867599
HP and Compaq Desktop PCs: Looking for Recovery Discs?
LeeTutor:
I tried looking for the PC Help and Tools and i must have uninstalled it along with the Recovery Manager which i was looking for as well. I really dont remember doing that.
Is there a way to download that software. i have looked and cant seem to find it anywhere
I tried looking for the PC Help and Tools and i must have uninstalled it along with the Recovery Manager which i was looking for as well. I really dont remember doing that.
Is there a way to download that software. i have looked and cant seem to find it anywhere
Active today
I really doubt that it is available for download anywhere; I was just hoping that the upgrade to Windows 7 didn't destroy it on your Start Menu, but it probably did. Have you looked at the page for ordering recovery disks that was my second link?
in the long run it works out to be cheaper as you are not spending hours of your time rebuilding only to have to upgrade after that.
imo i would get a fresh install. thats all i will say :)
imo i would get a fresh install. thats all i will say :)
Your machine came with 32bit Vista.
You want to end up with a 64bit OS to use your 8GB.
There is no upgrade path from a 32bit OS to a 64bit one.
Therefore you can't do any form of restore and upgrade, only a clean install of Windows 7 64bit.
Whether you can buy an upgrade licence for a 64bit OS based on your 32bit original and then do a clean install, just showing it the old CD at some point, I don't know.
You want to end up with a 64bit OS to use your 8GB.
There is no upgrade path from a 32bit OS to a 64bit one.
Therefore you can't do any form of restore and upgrade, only a clean install of Windows 7 64bit.
Whether you can buy an upgrade licence for a 64bit OS based on your 32bit original and then do a clean install, just showing it the old CD at some point, I don't know.
Active today
Hmmm, good point, cantoris. I somehow overlooked the fact that the questioner was going from 32bit to 64bit, which does require a clean install. However, it is possible to do a clean install with an upgrade CD/DVD, as detailed on this page:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/10/27/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-and-product-key-on-formatted-or-empty-blank-hard-drive/
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/10/27/clean-install-windows-7-with-upgrade-media-and-product-key-on-formatted-or-empty-blank-hard-drive/
Featured Post
Improve and reinforce salesforce training & adoption using WalkMe's digital adoption platform. Start saving on costly employee training by creating fast intuitive Walk-Thrus for Salesforce. Claim your Free Account Now
Question has a verified solution.
If you are experiencing a similar issue, please ask a related question
Suggested Solutions
Windows 7 Ultimate and Enterprise (and 2008 R2) introduced a new feature you may not be aware of - Boot from VHD.
Boot from VHD (or what Microsoft refers to asNative Boot allows you to install Windows to a VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) file that is t…
There are many software programs on offer that will claim to magically speed up your computer. The best advice I can give you is to avoid them like the plague, because they will often cause far more problems than they solve. Try some of these "do it…
This Micro Tutorial will give you a introduction in two parts how to utilize Windows Live Movie Maker to its maximum capability.
This will be demonstrated using Windows Live Movie Maker on Windows 7 operating system.
The Task Scheduler is a powerful tool that is built into Windows. It allows you to schedule tasks (actions) on a recurring basis, such as hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, at log on, at startup, on idle, etc. This video Micro Tutorial is a brief intro…
- Windows 10
- Windows Vista
- Windows 8
- Windows OS
- Windows 7
- *Scripts, Microsoft Legacy OS, *task scheduler, Windows XP
Suggested Courses
Course of the Month7 days, 1 hour left to enroll
734 members asked questions and received personalized solutions in the past 7 days.
Join the community of 500,000 technology professionals and ask your questions.