Pavilion dv6500 preinstalled OS version

[icecreamwaffles]

Hi. I have an old HP Pavilion dv6500 laptop and I want to flash the original OS on it. The issue is that I do not have any recovery tools, because the laptop was given to me as a hand-me-down. The laptop has a product key, but I do not know if it is 32-bit or 64-bit.

• Model: HP Pavilion dv6551ea
• [Personal Information Removed]
• CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo T7300

Let me know if anything else is required

[WAWood]

Product keys are not bit-specific meaning the same key will work on 32-bit or 64-bit Windows.

To see what version you are running, press the Windows and "R".  That will open a command window where you will enter "winver" (without the quotes).  That will show the version and bit size.

You can't "flash" the drive as this is not firmware; instead, you have to reinstall Windows.

If your PC is a 2016 model or newer, you should see if you can make a bootable USB recovery drive using the HP cloud recovery tool on a working PC.

The recovery drive can then be used to install Windows and the HP drivers and utilities that originally came with your PC.

You will need a working PC and a 32GB USB stick to hold the recovery files. Here is the link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmtXOU40vxk

You use the Microsoft Store to download the actual tool:

https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9mtks9pr7r3n?rtc=1&hl=en-us&gl=us

If you use a different PC to run the tool, you will have to provide your PC's product number. Here is an HP link for finding that information:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_2039298-1862169-16

Here's a video from HP Support about using the Cloud Recovery Tool:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7AwuKNJKS4