Dead HDD Problem

evangough99

Honorable
Jan 7, 2014
21
0
10,510
So today I found out that my HDD has been blown and is completely dead, they said that they couldn't get any info off of my dead hard drive. How do I get my Windows 8 back now? I don't want to have to pay more money than what I have to and buying Windows 8 again is something I really don't want to buy again. Any help will be very appreciated.
 
Solution
They don't send out recovery disk anymore, so unless you created one when the computer ask you to, contact HP to buy/get one for your model
Buy a new HDD, install the new drive in your PC, install your copy of win8, use the product key provided to re-register it, and then install all of your software. Sadly there is no 'easy' way to do this, you are essentially starting from scratch.

If you do not own a copy of win8 (ie, you purchased a Dell or some other pre-manufactured box) then you will need to contact your device manufacturer for a set of restore discs. If you bought restore discs when you originally purchased your computer then they typically cost $20, but ordering them after the fact will typically cost you somewhere from $40-100. Still cheaper than buying your own retail or OEM copy of Windows 8... but not exactly cheap either.
 

Tiago Arlan

Distinguished
Feb 1, 2014
67
0
18,640
Changing Hard Drive doesn't mean buying Windows 8 again,just reinstall Windows 8 on your new Disk,input your Product Key and reactivate..there's no total hardware change,just the HDD..
 

evangough99

Honorable
Jan 7, 2014
21
0
10,510

I bought a pre-made HP computer and I don't even know where the box is. How would I get this copy of Windows 8?