Copy HD bit by bit

[Gunter]

So, with the criteria of FAST FORMAT and RAW COPY, what's the thing to use, and how to use it?

[Drugwash]

For the very first thing, which is creating a perfect bit-by-bit copy of the original, my opinion would be safecopy - as mentioned in the beginning. The link should contain enough information on how to use it; most likely the use of the --sync parameter would be necessary.
For restoring the previous file system maybe TestDisk would do, or one of the disk utilities on aforementioned Hiren's Boot CD.
Personally I haven't used any of these tools directly so can't provide any in-depth advice on their usage.

[all41]

If I knew for certain it was Win7 on that disk I would try the Windows
boot repair (install disk) on the clone

[Gunter]

Drugwash: I downloaded safecopy and read part of the README - methinks this is a little above my abilities. Will need to read the options again to see if I can find the appropriate ones. I'm NOT a programmer
all41: I like the idea. I think there's a way to find out which Windows version it was.

[Drugwash]

I downloaded safecopy and read part of the README

Try to read further down where it provides direct examples for various use cases. Do read carefully, without haste.

Windows has a nasty habit of writing to a drive in certain situations so I would advise against using a Windows environment for the recovery attempt. But that's just me. Either way good luck!