freitasm: You go to Dick Smith and buy a USB memory key of 16GB.
The penny drops. I know them as USB sticks or USB drives. The term "key" was confusing me as I was linking the term to a product key or unlock code.
So the process is pretty much as I expected it was using the software like Recover Manager.
Technofreak: Also I'm assuming that when you create the backup USB not only are you able to reecoved the OS but also any OEM supplied software like MS Office?
freitasm:If the software is part of the PC when you bought it then it should be in the recovery image created. HOWEVER, most of the PCs I've seen come with Office Starter. If you are not running Office Starter I'd suspect it installed after by someone.
What I was referring to here was the likes of Office Starter. However it is my understanding that the full Office suite is preloaded and the level of functionality unlocked depends on the product unlock key that is used.