[ScizzMoney]

I used to work for Stream which was hired by HP to do customer support over the telephone. I did desktop and notebook support and the answers the tech gave you are (or at least used to be) the only answer they are allowed to give you. What I would do, is call back and tell them you found your recovery discs but they did not install windows properly and request a set of discs from them for the hassle. If the notebook you have came with Vista, it did not come with recovery discs (none of them do now, you have to burn them yourself from within windows). More often then not, they'll gladly send you out some discs.

Another option, is to go back to where you bought the computer from and ask them if they have a spare set of recovery discs for your model. If not, ask them if they can burn some for you. Generally stores don't mind because it is good service and will likely keep you coming back to them.

Option 1 is kind of shady, but really if most people don't mind downloading movies or music for free, they shouldn't mind lying to get some free recovery discs. Option 2 is legit and won't make you feel like you are cheating anyone.