Vista - Basically setting up a new computer...

Hey,

So I have a Toshiba Satellite A215-S7428. I had the ram replaced in it a while ago and it was a faulty stick not too mention it was mis-installed. Originally there were two 1GB DDR2 RAM Cards and they swapped one of the 1GB DDR2 RAM Cards for a 2GB DDR2 RAM Card and mis-installed it which basically corrupted my Operating System and lead to a hard-drive failure, according to Toshiba and Office Depot. Toshiba wouldn't deal with it as it was out of warranty in a week from the time I called, therefor I called Office Depot as I have 3-Year Extended Warranty to get this notebook serviced, it's my main computer and runs nearly all day for multiple reasons: IM, Music, Movies, Photos, Gaming, Blogging, Forums, Socializing and downloads on a 56K Modem. It also had random screen shut off issues which was apparently fixed in a BiOS, after Toshiba directed me to update the BiOS to see if it fixed that issue (Which it did!) and fix the issue with the hard-drive my computer wouldn't even boot up past the green loading bar, it'd hang on a black screen with a white cursor as it wasn't loading my Windows.

Office Depot just sent back my notebook, right now I'm away on vacation in Florida and will be heading home in about two weeks to my notebook with a new hard-drive and recovery discs, whether or not it's a vista disc or just recovery discs I'm not sure. I want to assure that I get the most out of my system and it's safely up to date. I also need to re-install the new 2GB DDR2 RAM, I'm looking for anything I have to do before/after the installation to make sure that it's properly installed and problem free. So, below are some questions about what's going on.

1) Is there anyway of imaging, cloning or burning a new set of Recovery Discs just in-case the originals fail?

2) Is there anyway of downloading the service pack, updates, bios etc on the computer I'm on now and burn to disc for install on my notebook when I get home? (I'm on dial-up and it makes it virtually impossible to download updates)

3) What's the best free anti-virus suite out there?

4) What do I have to do to assure that the ram is properly installed, not faulty and problem free?

5) Should I download and install all my updates before I download and install the progams I use?

6) Would it be a good idea to make a system restore point or a back-up before I download/install the updates and install the ram?

That's all my questions for now, honestly. I just want to assure that I get the most performance, reliability and safety out of this notebook as it's my best computer, I have a crappy desktop and don't have anymore money to spend on computers!

Thanks,

You're help is greatly appreciated!