What's the best way to reformat my Vista laptop with no CD?

[nitz]

I just got a good deal on a laptop running Windows Vista Business. But there's some bloat on it, plus who knows what else, so I'd like to do a reformat and get this thing back to how it was when it came out of the factory.

BITD I reformatted Windows 98 systems a couple times, and did it a ton of times with XP, but I always had the installation disc. Seems that since Vista, you don't get the disc anymore when Windows is preinstalled.

Normally I just google stuff like this, but there is a lot of conflicting information out there. Sounds like I probably need to reformat from a backup partition that (hopefully) exists on my machine.

Rather than take a stab in the dark with some random internet poster's advice, figured I'd ask here since I'm sure someone here knows the best way to handle this.

[Slippyblade]

Vista?  My advice would include a hammer and some det-cord.

In all seriousness though, most laptops these days have a hidden partition on the HD that has the reinstall image.  I'd go to the manufacturers website and find the docs for your model, those will usually tell you how to re-image the machine.  Toss us the *exact* make and model on we might be able to help better.

[ark_ader]

Also you might want to be careful as your "license to reinstall" might be on the main partition.  Look on your laptop for a backup utility or reinstall utility.  It might look like bloat ware but it could also be important.  Better to image the entire disc to another partition.

Look at also booting to puppy linux and use the Gparted utility to reformat and partition your laptop drive.  Puppy is tiny and can run from USB or CD.

Vista is not so bad but I would see about upgrading to Windows 7 or 8, especially if your processor is weak.

[SlammedNiss]

I guess I don't understand everybody's hatred for Vista. I've built a few machines with Vista and have had zero issues.

If you have a Vista COA, simply go online and download the install disk. I realize some may consider this piracy. However, when you pay for a copy of Windows, what you're paying for is the unique COA code that allows you to finalize the install of the software.

In all seriousness though, most laptops these days have a hidden partition on the HD that has the reinstall image.  I'd go to the manufacturers website and find the docs for your model, those will usually tell you how to re-image the machine.  Toss us the *exact* make and model on we might be able to help better.

Also you might want to be careful as your "license to reinstall" might be on the main partition.  Look on your laptop for a backup utility or reinstall utility.  It might look like bloat ware but it could also be important.  Better to image the entire disc to another partition.

That's good advice, except that most recovery partitions will include every piece of bloatware that came on it originally, which is what he sounds like he wants to avoid.

[JDFan]

Does the laptop still have the activation COA on the case ?? -- If it does then you can download the original iso image from Digital River (MS's approved digital download source ) Just get the version that matches the one on the laptop ( Edit : Forgot Vista will install the correct version based on the Key you input so pretty much any install files will work unlike 7 which requires version matches ie. Home , Professional, etc.)  and install and use the key from the COA sticker (originally they use a SLP key that is OEM specific but also include a sticker with a valid key in case you need to reinstall without using the SLP key (since it is preactivated on the original media and will not pass online activation as it is the same key for all of that companies systems and thus if you use anything but factory made restore disks you need to use the COA label key instead in order to activate)

Vista installation files download links can be found here : http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.com/2012/08/microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso.html

links go to the Digital River Downloads so are direct from MS unaltered !! - And the site also includes instructions for creating the install media - so download the files and use your COA key and it should install and activate fine !

[Slippyblade]

I guess I don't understand everybody's hatred for Vista. I've built a few machines with Vista and have had zero issues.

The problem with Vista was that it wasn't an actual upgrade from XP.  It was bloatier, slower, and more prone to Blue Screen and yet had no discernible benefits above XP.  I ran Vista for over a year (1)(2) and hated every moment of it.  Win7 came out and I was very happy again.  Now we are back to hating Windows with Win8...

(1) Got a free copy as a door prize at a Microsoft dev conference 
(2) Installed it over my pirate XP copy so that I had a legit version 

[CoryBee]

Get a copy of windows 7 and use this

http://images2.store.microsoft.com/prod/clustera/framework/w7udt/1.0/en-us/Windows7-USB-DVD-tool.exe

Vista blows when it comes to resources. It hogs like crazy...... You will definitely get more power from your system if the OS isn't hogging your RAM.

I always go with "GARRRRR" but to each his own.

[nitz]

Thanks guys, I knew I'd get some responses here. 

Yeah, that was my one reservation about getting this...it seemed perfect except that it was Vista and not 7. I'd heard about Vista's issues, though never used it myself until now. I got a good enough price on it that I figured I could just upgrade to 7 if Vista drives me nuts...but the only things I plan on doing with this are Mame and surfing the web and I spent about two hours doing just that...and honestly, it seems silky smooth to me. I know that's not a terribly scientific or thorough assessment, but until I see Vista negtively affect something that I actually want to do, I can't justify ponying up the ~$120 to upgrade to 7.

Does the laptop still have the activation COA on the case ?? -- If it does then you can download the original iso image from Digital River (MS's approved digital download source ) Just get the version that matches the one on the laptop ( Edit : Forgot Vista will install the correct version based on the Key you input so pretty much any install files will work unlike 7 which requires version matches ie. Home , Professional, etc.)  and install and use the key from the COA sticker (originally they use a SLP key that is OEM specific but also include a sticker with a valid key in case you need to reinstall without using the SLP key (since it is preactivated on the original media and will not pass online activation as it is the same key for all of that companies systems and thus if you use anything but factory made restore disks you need to use the COA label key instead in order to activate)

Vista installation files download links can be found here : http://downloadsnfix.blogspot.com/2012/08/microsoft-windows-vista-official-iso.html

links go to the Digital River Downloads so are direct from MS unaltered !! - And the site also includes instructions for creating the install media - so download the files and use your COA key and it should install and activate fine !

Yes! Thank you! I can make my own install disc then. I'll get my ducks in a row first - backing up drivers and checking documentation and such to be sure I'm not shooting myself in the foot, but this sounds perfect. Read up a bit on digital river and it looks like people are using these downloads to do exactly what I want to do.

Thanks guys!

[knave]

Don't discount the windows 7 reccomendation. I'm typing on vista right now...but 7 is better. I'm just too lazy to re-image my laptop. I'm not a vista hater...it's fine. but 7 is better. Find a 7 liscense for cheap and go that way.

Just saying...

[ark_ader]

Don't discount the windows 7 reccomendation. I'm typing on vista right now...but 7 is better. I'm just too lazy to re-image my laptop. I'm not a vista hater...it's fine. but 7 is better. Find a 7 liscense for cheap and go that way.

Just saying...

Vista with the latest Service Pack is essentially Windows 7.

[Howard_Casto]

Agreed, the difference between vista and 7 is the difference between 95 and 98se..... technically they are about the same, but the amount of extra performance and better compatibility is well worth it. 

That being said, your laptop will be outdated  6 months ago anyway and I'm pretty sure when you upgrade to a new laptop it'll come with the latest version of windows.  I don't really upgrade anymore because the hardware doesn't outlast the software by that much anyway. 

I think all the guys have covered the bases on this one, but I just wanted to make something clear..... downloading a disc for any version of windows is NOT illegal.  Using an illegal license key is.  On the admin end of things us IT guys have been buying merely the license keys for years, using a server side install package to deploy upgrades instead of using a physical disc.  That's why keeping that big ugly windows sticker on the back of your pc is so important... you'll have the right to a copy of windows for the life of the machine and usually beyond. 

[nitz]

Shoot, I guess I don't have the COA, just the license key so downloading the iso isn't gonna work for me. Thought I'd give recovering from the backup partition a shot, but it doesn't appear to be there - this thing must have been monekyed with which is all the more reason to do a fresh install. So I guess my options are to either see if I can still get recovery discs from the manufacturer (HP) or just upgrade to Windows 7.

Thanks again guys.

[garwil]

I realise that this doesn't directly help with the issue at hand, but have you considered running a Linux distro on it? Free, legal and you might get a performance increase over Windows on an older machine.

Obviously this depends on what you're gonna be using the laptop for but I'd guess that if you mainly use your laptop for web browsing, watching videos, listening to music, typing the odd letter or email then something like Ubuntu or Mint would probably suit your needs. Just be aware that formatting the hard drive will probably (possibly) wipe out your recovery data so you'd need to have a Windows disc if you decide to go back.

Just an idea (and definitely not looking to start a Linux Vs Windows flamewar!)