I have a HP 6720s laptop which has decided to crash today and says it needs the instalation disc unfortunately when I got the laptop the one off copy you can make was unsuccessfull, dont suppose any of you guys have a copy at all. Its Vista Basic my other optionis to use my XP disc

I've got a DV7-3101 HP, it is windows 7 so im not sure if it is the same but the disc you make is a 'recovery disc' which does not allow you to install the OS, but just allows you to restore back ups which I thought was a bit misleading!

i think there's usually a little message (only appears for like 2 secs, so be quick!) when you first press the power button to start the computer, and its something like press F4, F5 or F8 (one of those anyway!) to go to the recovery program.

i think its very rare for any computer to come with a windows CD now. all that gubbins is usually stored on a seperate hidden partition on the disc.
as to why it says it needs the installation disc seems to suggest there is one though...
restart it and look for any messages that flash up at the very start though

I recall that when I first got the laptop it gave you a one time chance to make a tartup / recovery disc unfortunately mine faield part way through.

Wne the laptop first starts it start to boot then goes to a bur screen asking for the disk. It didn't come with a windows CD

Some HP/Compaq computers have a built in recovery partition.

When you first turn the machine on, and see the HP/Compaq logo, begin rapidly tapping the F11 key until you see a white bar with the words Loading Files.

This should launch you into the recovery partition where you can restore the system back to factory settings.

Hope this helps

Cheers

Rich