bad hard drive

[tdee]

I have a desktop that the hard drive is bad.  The bad one is 1.5 gigs.  I don't have the recovery disks and was wondering do I have to order another 1.5 gig drive if I do indeed get the recovery DVD's or can I go with a 1 gig ?  

I have a windows 7 home DVD and can load windows with it using the product id numbers on the case if I had to.  It would probably be better if I did have the recovery disks because of drivers I would have to load.  I plan on never upgrading to windows 10 as I like 7 much better. 

   I did upgrade to windows 10 a few months ago but now all that is gone with the drive gone south.   I found a 1 gig for $50 with free shipping and that is the one I would like to buy but not sure the recovery DVD's would work if I use a hard drive smaller than the original. Thanks for any help on this . Tom

[old_geekster]

@tdee, welcome to the forum.

You can install a hard drive that is the same size or larger.  This will assure that the Recovery media will work.  If you want to boost system performance considerably, you should take a look at a SSD.  Here are the SSD's recommended by Crucial Memory.  If they recommend a product it is guaranteed to work.  I believe you would have to buy a SSD with at least 250 GB for the Recovery media to work.

Here is a guide to help you order the Recovery Discs.  Also, here is a guide to help your replace the drive.

Please click the Thumbs up + button if I have helped you and click Accept as Solution if your problem is solved.

[tdee]

HP Pavilion Elite HPE-390t CTO Desktop PC is what I have.  When I click on software and drivers and enter my operating system which is windows 7 I get this.

No software or drivers are available for this product with the selected operating system. Please make a different selection, or visit the product homepage.

I cannot afford the SSD right now so I will have to go with the SATA drive.   I just need to get the recovery disks but get lost when trying to order.  I will try once more and see where I get.  I will post back what I find.  Tom

[old_geekster]

Thank you for the additional information, @tdee.

Here are the Software and Driver Downloads for your computer.  You can also run HP Support Assistant and Windows Updates. 

[tdee]

I cannot find the option to  Order Recovery Media - CD/DVD/USB so does that mean they are no longer available ?  See what you find if you would when you check entering the model I have ?  HPE-390 t       I know in the past when working on someones computer I have ordered these DVD's.  This computer is a friend of mine and I can do all the work as I am a computer tech and he knows nothing.   Like I mentioned I have a windows 7 home dvd I can load and use his product key.  I can then download the drivers from hp.com support page if the recovery option is no longer available.  He is age 73 and in bad health so I need to help him if I can.  This computer will work for what he does on a PC.  He didn't like windows 10 but I think he got confused.   I have worked on computers for 17 years so I know my way around them but it would be much better if I could get the recovery DVD's but no big deal if I cannot longer get them.  I know he paid around 2 grand for this computer and explaing to him that is now out of date is not going to work 🙂  thanks again and let me know if you get where the disks can still be ordered.  I hate calling HP to find out. Tom

[old_geekster · Accepted solution]

Here is a company that several members have used to buy the Recovery media.  Give them a try to see what happens.  They have had it for computers much older than the one you are working on.

[tdee]

Thanks for the great help.  Ordered recovery DVD's today and new 2 terabyte hard drive.  THANKS again. Tom

[old_geekster]

You are very welcom, @tdee.  I am always glad to help, Tom.