I recently attempted to re-install Windows Vista on an HP Pavillion DV6500 using the factory recovery DVD's, but encountered a strange problem. When the recovery disk attempted to reformat the hard disk, it failed at 22%. The error message provided was not very informative, just the error code "0x400110020000 1005". A google search turned up some people with a similar problem who asserted that HP has been know to ship corrupted recovery DVDs.

The recovery disk did manage to reformat the the recovery partition before failing though, so recovering from the partition is no longer an option.

It would be possible to reinstall from an off-the-shelf retail copy of Vista and then pull the drivers from HP's website, but I don't have access to a copy of Vista, and it would really be outrageous to have to purchase a new OS when I have a perfectly valid license already. Thought about biting the bullet and upgrading to Windows 7, but my understanding is that without Vista installed I'd be unable to use the upgrade version, and be forced to purchase the more expensive non-upgrade retail copy (!).

Can anyone suggest a possible solution to this Catch-22? I've run out of ideas.