Hello all!  Been a long time.  I just checked my profile and it looks like the last time I was on, at least regularly, was over 4 years ago.  :-[

Crazy 4 years, though.  After I got my new position at work 4 years ago, I was too busy to really come back to the boards.  About a year and a half later, I got laid off, and then a new position in a growing software company where I am a DevOps Engineer.  For those who don't already know, that basically means I am part time sysadmin, part time code deployment guru for our company. I love this new position (Well, not new anymore. I have been at it for 3 years in October).  In this position, I install, configure, and maintain hundreds of servers, push services, websites, and database scripts all over the place, and lately have even gotten heavily into automation scripting and some lighter programming.

I want to put out this shout out right here to Donation Coder as a whole, and Mouser in particular as it's founder, because it is here, where I really started learning about scripting and programming.  I learned the languages, in school, but it was here that I learned how to work through actual code issues in the Code School.  I never got very good, but it was a basis that made me able to get into automation scripting very efficiently, and for that, I can't thank this community enough.

I don't know how often I will get back to say hello and participate again - it may be another 4 years for all I know; but I just wanted to say thank you while I am here.

At least I hope the title fits what I am trying to wrap my head around. :-\

Let's start at the beginning.  I have been learning Java for quite some time, just because I wanted to be able to program something that isn't in a book, but rather in my head.  I have been generally successful at learning it, at least the code part; but now I am looking at Cloud implimentations because, among other things, I am a big fan of VMware and their purchase of Cloud Foundry puts them squarely in the cloud developer space as well as virtualization space.

This is where I am at a loss that I am looking for resource help in understanding concepts.  Cloud Foundry (at least under VMware) is based on and recommends SpringSource Tool Suite.  This is essentially just the Spring Framework built into a customized Eclipse IDE.  I have gone through some of the tutorials, using this IDE (so they match up) but they are completely task based, and since I don't understand the framework or the concept, I don't know what tasks I am looking at, when or where I would use them, or anything else.  The whole framework idea is kinda sketchy to me anyway, I mean I understand it is essentially providing the Java resources to multiple programs at the same time via a fabric architecture, but that doesn't explain why I would need to worry about it as a developer at the core of my programs, does it?  I am not really questioning why they exist as much as how do these different things interact with programs making them beneficial?  I would ask more specifically, but I feel like it is one of those things where I don't know what I don't know so I don't know what to ask.  Any help?

Does this question even make sense?  I am not sure it does even to me after rereading it...

I have tried searching on HP's website, Microsoft's website, and then again here to see if I could find a reputable download for Vista.  So far, I have failed.  I tried then on Google and Bing, and keep getting directed to the Windows 7 download site and a bunch that I don't know about their reputation and am not willing to try since it is for a client's computer.

For reference, the reason I am looking for this is I have a "client" that has an HP laptop they bought with Vista Home Premium 32 on it.  The hard drive crashed and I can't seem to get to the recovery partition to copy out files to install on a new hard drive.  Of course the user never followed the HP suggestion for making a recovery disk, so I am so far out of luck.  What I am looking for is a simple ISO or similar download of Vista.  I have the license, just not the bits.  I can get a recovery disk from HP if needed, but I thought I would ask here first as it will take several days before I get their disk.  Unfortunately, I don't have my technet plus subscription anymore, so that isn't an option either.

Any ideas or suggestions?

Thanks.