Just recently installed Windows 7 Pro on a HP ProBook thing:

- looked up the Windows and Office license keys of the existing installation, using an utility

- download Windows 7 disk image from Microsoft and burn on a DVD

- take out the old disk with recovery partitions and installation with crappy bloatware

- put in a new SSD disk, boot DVD to install OS and install Office

- download and install HP specific drivers for peripherals (display adapter, fingerprint reader, wlan/3g, whatever)

- enjoy a relatively bloat-free Windows experience with improved battery life