to test the hard drive run the makers diognostic utility
http://www.tacktech.com/display.cfm?ttid=287
what test are you refering to
a number of the laptops these days offer
a full recovery install that takes the laptop back to the day you bought it
but may also offer a non destructive option that does the recovery and leaves your files intact
at this stage we just need you to get back into windows,so we can do some repairing and the security section can do some cleaning
i don't suppose you have the full dvd of vista