Recovery disc and OS upgrade related questions

Hi all,

Just got a new dv6tqe and am a bit confused reading through the 'The HP Laptop Out-Of-The-Box Guide 2.0 for Windows 7' thread, hence the direct question here:

I have a Win 7 Ultimate 'Replacement Disc' given to me by Microsoft (along with its product key). I'd like to do a in-place upgrade of the OS from Win 7 Home Premium.

1. Do I need to first create recovery discs?
2. I have (i) a few blank DVD-RWs and (ii) two 8GB USB flash drives available. Is it true that I won't be able to use them to create the recovery discs using the 'HP Recovery Media Creation' utility(only DVD-R or a single USB flash drive >14GB is usable?)? If so, is there any other utility provided by Win 7 Home Premium instead so I don't have to go out and buy a pack of DVD-Rs (cheap but inconvenient if I have other storage devices lying around)?
3. I see that there is a D: drive (seems like a recovery-related partition). Can I delete this if I create recovery discs?
4. In addition to creating recovery discs, do I also need to copy the c:\SWSetup folder to DVD and then paste it back after the OS upgrade?

If I want to go the clean-install route instead, is there a guide on what to do prior to and after the clean-install, specifically:
A. Which HP programs or apps should I save prior to clean install and retrieve after clean install?
B. How do I save the relevant drivers and retrieve them later?
C. How do I get rid of the recovery partition (D:/) to recover some space (or is this not recommended)?


Thanks in advance for your help

 

1. Creating recovery discs at least enables you to get the machine back to "Out of the Box, new" condition. You can always do the in place upgrade again later. From what I remember...you will upgrade to Professional by simply changing your product key. The features are there in Home Premium...just locked.

2. It will take at LEAST one 16 GB flash drive. You can burn DVD-R or DVD+R, for I have burned both types...just make sure that the discs you choose are all the same type. Don't mix + and - R for one recovery set. Only -R or only +R.

3. If you choose to delete recovery partition...First uninstall the Recovery Manager. Then in Control panel...Administrative tools...then Computer management...Disk Management...simply delete the Recovery partition...you can then resize C:

4. The SWSETUP folder contains all of your drivers and HP programs like Coolsense, Support Assistant, Wireless assistant and the like. You will also find your wireless drivers...drivers for your USB 3.0 and all of your hardware there. If you do the inplace upgrade...you may not have to replace it...BUT...copy the entire folder to a DVD Dual Layer disk..it's pretty large...and keep it locked away with your recovery disks.

A. Support Assistant, HP Software Framework, On Screen display, Coolsense at least.

B. If you burned a copy of your SWSETUP folder to a dual layer disk or at least an 8 GB flash drive...you will have all you need.

C. Explained in #3. Make sure you uninstall HP Recovery Manager first...then remove the partition in Control panel...Administrative tools as I specified earlier. Question for you...if you have a 640 + GB HDD...it only takes up 15-20 GB...why not keep it. Once you have your recovery disks...you are good. When you burn them...they are verified and double checked for accuracy. Make sure you DON'T use Memorex DVD's...HP burners hate them. Use Verbatim if you want solid reliability and long archival life...Oh, and if you do delete the partition. Then in Disk Management...look at your DVD Burner, which is E: You can right click on it and change the drive letter to D: This way, it standardizes your lettering...

Pretty much sums it all up for you

 

Thanks for the detailed reply!

 

Glad to help! Good luck with the machine