I need HP to provide me with the Product Key for my laptop

[Roost31]

The hard drive crashed, I bought a new HD but I need the Product Key to down load the correct OS. The Windows product key sticker is on the bottom of the laptop and becasue it was exposed to wear and tear there are several characters that can no longer be read.

I need the HP product key and instructions on how to reinstall the OS. 

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@Roost31

Sorry, but HP keeps no records of individual Windows product keys associated with individual PCs.  So, there is no way that HP can provide you that information.

Also, any version of Win7 that you downloaded or obtained from Microsoft will NOT activate on your PC because it came preinstalled with an  HP OEM version of Win7 -- and that product key will not work with any other version, even if you did have it.

Your best bet, to restore your PC to its original condition, is using HP Recovery Media -- as that will read the product key encoded into the BIOS of your PC.

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities. In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update". If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Service:

If you live in the US or Canada, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/phone-assist.html#section1

If you live elsewhere, contact information is on this page: http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/ww-contact-us.html

NOTE: After you get through, stay on the line until you are finally able to talk to some one -- it can take a while!

If you have trouble finding a phone number, then try: 1 (800) 474-6836

If HP no longer provides Recovery Media for your model, a couple of other sites you can check are: http://www.computersurgeons.com/ and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Good Luck

[Roost31]

Thank you very much for the help! Spent hours on the live chat with MS and they couldn't help. If I take the CPU to a repair shop they will probably have these disks recovery disks I would imagine. Do you know how much they cost?

[WAWood]

@Roost31

My guess is, they would NOT -- as the Recovery Media is unique to each model HP PC and there are hundreds of those.

They would have to get the media from HP, and if HP does not carry it anymore, they would have to check those other websites I listed.

As to the cost, it varies -- between $10 and $40.

Good Luck