(Re)installing HP-furnished software after doing a "clean install" of Windows 7 (to replace Vista)

[Songbill]

I've had an HP Pavilion Desktop PC for the past 8 years, still running on Windows Vista. Been very happy with it. However, I just learned that Microsoft will no longer be supporting Vista after March 2017. So, I've purchased a new Microsoft Windows 7 disc (with authentication key) for doing a clean OS install on my HP desktop. The disc allows me to select the "Upgrade" option, which will only replace the Vista OS, or the "Custom" option which will completely wipe the entire HP hard drive of everything and install only the Windows 7 Home Premium OS. If I choose the later, I will lose the pre-installed software that initially came with the HP computer. I have backed up all my files elsewhere and also I have "Recovery Discs" that I made years ago for this HP, which contain all the HP pre-installed software. I have read that doing the "Upgrade" option frequently begets post-installation problems and that it is better to do a "Custom" clean install of the Windows 7 to prevent that. MY QUESTION: If I do the full clean "Custom" install of Windows 7, can I then retrieve some of the HP pre-installed software (e.g., Cyberlink DVD burner software tools, PC-Doctor Hardware Diagnostic Tool, and a few others I want to keep) from the "Recovery Discs" and (re)install them on the HP Pavilion? If so, how do I do that? Can I call up "System Recovery" from the Recovery Discs while in Safe or BOOT mode and install on the hardrive ONLY those few HP-furnished software programs I want to keep?

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@Songbill

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

I don't know if the recovery disks actually contain the HP-provided software, especially in the case of third-party stuff like Cyberlink DVD burner.

You could try out a Recovery using the disks to see what gets reinstalled -- but BEFORE you do that, you would need to do a full image backup of your PC to an external drive, or DVDs, so that you have something to restore FROM after trying that out.

I personally prefer to use third-party Recovery solutions as they tend to be both more flexible and more reliable than any built-in solutions.

Macrium Reflect (MR) provides a FREE version that can be used to image and restore partitions or entire drives: http://www.macrium.com/reflectfree.aspx

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR)
2) Run MR and choose the option: "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows" to write a full backup to an external drive or USB stick
3) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

My experience is that MR, when using the High Compression option, typically can compress the saved image file to about 50% of the USED space in the OS partition. This means if you have an 80GB OS partition, and 40GB is used, MR only needs about 20GB to store the image file.

I use this all the time and it typically takes less than 10 minutes to do the image backup and about the same time or less to do a restore.

NOW, you have the means to restore a full working system from the external drive in only a few minutes.

If you do a clean-install then no, you would not be able to retrieve the third-party apps from the recovery disks because they are designed to reformat you drive and recreate the original partitions, not to be mounted to retrieve the apps for reinstallation.

And no, you can not selectively install apps from the recovery disks, as they are designed to restore the entire original condition of the PC (but, I'm not sure about the third-party apps).

Good Luck

[Songbill]

WAWood,

Thanks. Very helpful. Glad to have found out about MR. I backed up everything first.

I tried doing a Windows 7 "Upgrade" install, which the HP Pavilion would not accept. When I did the the full "clean" (Custom) install, I saw and kept the HP Pavilion's original factory-installed small Vista Recovery drive partition (Drive D) on the hard drive, as it only took up 10 Gb. (This model Pavilion also came with a seccond back-up hard drive.) Thought I'd at least give it a try and attempt to access and reload those few HP apps that I had wanted to retain. However, you certainly were correct about not being able to recover them. Even though the new Windows 7 does in fact let me see that original Vista recovery partion (Drive D) and its recovery files sitting there, when I try to bring up Recovery Manager with Windows 7 nothing happens. Perhaps our posts here will be helpful and save some time for others with HP computers who will be trying to migrate away from Vista, which -- like Windows XP  -- Microsoft now considers obsolete and will no longer be supporting after March 2017.