Recovery CD's for the G series?

[fmillion]

I've got a Thinkpad G40 machine. The internal drive is a DVD ROM (no burner). I understand one can buy the recovery CD's for such a model. I wish to upgrade the hard disk but afterwards wish to keep the recovery partition available.

If at all possible, I'd like to instead just be able to create recovery CD's myself from the drive. I have the capability to remove the drive and attach it to any other machine, including Linux machines, to do whatever to it. I have heard vague mentions of being able to generate your own CD's from within the predesktop area but I'd assume this is not an option for me since the internal drive is not a CD burner.

What are my options for this machine?

Flint M