A direct disk image probably isn't going to help you anyway since it would likely restore any software issues. Is this laptop old enough to need a new hard drive since you're starting over anyway? I'm just going off info in your post so maybe not.

It take one more pass to make sure you got all your data just in case. Go get your latest drivers for the laptop (network, wireless, touchpad, etc.) and keep those handy.

After you do a complete format and reinstall Windows and your drivers IMMEDIATLY start doing Windows Updates and don't stop until they're all done. Don't surf the web. Don't install anything else. This is the most time consuming part but they're there for a good reason. You may want to just install the basic programs and give it a couple days and recheck for bad hard drive sectors. That may be a sign of the drive going bad.

If you're comfortable with this suggestion I wouldn't put Norton back on. I replaced intrusive anti-virus programs by staying on top of my software updates and not doing anything remotely sketchy on the internet and it's worked great for 3 years if not more. Browsing with Chrome makes it even easier. My 2 cents.

Uh...I think that's the basics...