If the 24GB partition does contain a rescue image it will need something to boot from to read it. If you can acquire a Windows 8 DVD you can copy the files to a USB stick and make it bootable (Google for installing Windows 7 or 8 from USB, both are the same process), then hopefully use that to boot the laptop and start the system restore.
I discovered the built-in recovery utility and tried that. First two times, it couldn't complete the operation due to some random error. The third and subsequent times its started telling me the system partition isn't what it expected so it can't continue unless I fix it. I haven't touched the partitions!
I'm now assuming that the disk is screwed for some reason and I'm out of options other than obtaining a windows 8 disk and doing a completely clean install. But there's no licence key on the computer and I'd have to buy windows 8.
I do have windows 7 ultimate that I got free when windows 7 was released. I've installed that on 2 computers using the same key so I wonder if its a key that let's me do multiple installations. If it is, she could have windows 7...
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"Bought it cheap" sounds worrying. Alarm bells were already ringing when you said it didn't have a Windows Licence on it anywhere. I'm pretty sure PC manufacturers can't sell full Windows based machines without a licence these days.
Depends what version of Windows. Windows 8 comes with the key in the BIOS now. I looked high and low for my key last night and ended up having to get a program to extract it out of the BIOS.
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