Can you install additional Windows components if you only have "restore" CD?

[Peabody]

I'm going to be buying a new computer to replace my 98SE system, and
am trying to decide if a pre-installed Windows XP with a restore CD
will be good enough, or if I need a genuine Windows XP retail
or OEM CD-ROM.

I assume that in XP, like 98, if you go into add/remove programs,
there's a tab for Windows Components which shows you what is
currently installed, and from which, by checking or unchecking
boxes, you can install additional components or remove them.

When I add new components in 98, it sometimes asks me to mount my
Windows CD-ROM from which it extracts the new components.

But if you only have a restore CD, is it possible to install Windows
components not originally pre-installed on your computer? If so,
where do they come from?

I understand that with a restore CD, you can't to a "repair"
install, and don't have the Recovery Console. But since I plan to
do weekly partition-image backups anyway, this component question
may end up being the deciding issue.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

I'm going to be buying a new computer to replace my 98SE system, and
am trying to decide if a pre-installed Windows XP with a restore CD
will be good enough, or if I need a genuine Windows XP retail
or OEM CD-ROM.

I assume that in XP, like 98, if you go into add/remove programs,
there's a tab for Windows Components which shows you what is
currently installed, and from which, by checking or unchecking
boxes, you can install additional components or remove them.

When I add new components in 98, it sometimes asks me to mount my
Windows CD-ROM from which it extracts the new components.

But if you only have a restore CD, is it possible to install Windows
components not originally pre-installed on your computer? If so,
where do they come from?

I understand that with a restore CD, you can't to a "repair"
install, and don't have the Recovery Console. But since I plan to
do weekly partition-image backups anyway, this component question
may end up being the deciding issue.

Get a genuine CD.
Get a genuine CD.
Get a genuine CD.

No matter what your backup regime is, you will be better off with the
original Windows XP CD - OEM or Retail.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I'm going to be buying a new computer to replace my 98SE system, and
am trying to decide if a pre-installed Windows XP with a restore CD
will be good enough, or if I need a genuine Windows XP retail
or OEM CD-ROM.

Personally, I would never choose to be without a WIndows installation CD,
either retail or generic OEM.

 

[Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE]

Most such installations have an i386 folder somewhere, often C"\Windows\i386
This folder contains the files necessary to install other Windows
components,

--
Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE
Please respond in Newsgroup only. Do not send email
http://www.fjsmjs.com
Protect your PC
http://www.microsoft.com./athome/security/protect/default.aspx
http://defendingyourmachine.blogspot.com/

 

[Peabody]

Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE says...

Most such installations have an i386 folder somewhere,
often C"\Windows\i386 This folder contains the files
necessary to install other Windows components,

Thanks very much for answering my question.

As others have suggested, I would prefer to have a retail or OEM
"real" XP, but I would also prefer to have better versions of all
the components in the computer, so I have to try to make good
decisions about where to spend money.

If Windows Components work ok with a pre-installed XP, is there
anything else I should consider on this question, other than the
loss of repair installs and the recovery console?

 

[Shenan Stanley]

As others have suggested, I would prefer to have a retail or OEM
"real" XP, but I would also prefer to have better versions of all
the components in the computer, so I have to try to make good
decisions about where to spend money.

If Windows Components work ok with a pre-installed XP, is there
anything else I should consider on this question, other than the
loss of repair installs and the recovery console?

An OEM version of an actual installation CD should not cost you any more
than having just a restore CD/image/i386 directory on the drive provided.
If it does, someone is taking you for a ride.

 

[Guest]

Frank Saunders, MS-MVP OE says...


Thanks very much for answering my question.

As others have suggested, I would prefer to have a retail or OEM
"real" XP, but I would also prefer to have better versions of all
the components in the computer, so I have to try to make good
decisions about where to spend money.

If Windows Components work ok with a pre-installed XP, is there
anything else I should consider on this question, other than the
loss of repair installs and the recovery console?

Several Issues come up without having a Geniun Install CD.
First, is that Windows XP needs to be authenticated when it's first
installed. The code goes to MS's authenication servers. If you use a known
pirated code number, your system will not authenicate. The same applies to
using a number beyond its license. There are work-arounds, but then you'll be
left with trouble everytime you need to use windows update. There also could
be problems with Windows XP restore points. And using your partition mirror
back-up program, you'll have to be certain it can restore the hidden
partition that Windows XP uses for it's file system; Otherwise, the restored
XP partition could potentially be just junk (I've encounter this problem only
one time in my entire life). The good decision with your money will be to buy
an upgrade CD from your current OS, or to buy an install CD.

Search other related articles to these.
Article ID : 883254
Q326904
http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/d...y/en-us/dnwxp/html/windowsxpsystemrestore.asp
Article ID : 316751

 

[Peabody]

Shenan Stanley says...

An OEM version of an actual installation CD should not
cost you any more than having just a restore
CD/image/i386 directory on the drive provided. If it
does, someone is taking you for a ride.

If you go to Best Buy or a similar store, and look at a
Compaq, HP, eMachines, Gateway, or similar machine, you
will find that XP and all the crap free software are
pre-installed on the computer, and at most all you get is
what they call a "restore CD". The restore CD simply
restores the computer to it's original state when you bought
it - XP and all the crap software included - and destroys
all of your data and files.

In the case of eMachines, and possibly others, if the new
system includes a CD or DVD burner, you will not even get
the restore CD, but instead get instructions for burning
your own.

Nowhere in this package is there anything like a CD that
says "Microsoft Windows XP", OEM or otherwise, nor is there
any way to obtain such a CD free from the manufacturer, nor is
there any way to create one yourself (the i386 directory is
NOT an image of an OEM install CD). You have nothing from
which to do a repair install of XP, and no recovery console.

This is based on information I've obtained from the stores
and from MVP types in other newsgroups. If all that is
wrong, then I would appreciate it if you would set me
straight, and point me to an explanation that will make it
clear to me.

 

[Sharon F]

If you go to Best Buy or a similar store, and look at a
Compaq, HP, eMachines, Gateway, or similar machine, you
will find that XP and all the crap free software are
pre-installed on the computer, and at most all you get is
what they call a "restore CD". The restore CD simply
restores the computer to it's original state when you bought
it - XP and all the crap software included - and destroys
all of your data and files.

Basically that's the lowdown. However, from what I've been reading in the
newsgroups at least some of the HP/Compaq's have a repair function that can
be implemented by pressing a Function key during startup (F10 or F11, I
think). It brings up a menu where you can elect a repair attempt or restore
to factory conditions. Nice to have "repair" as an additional option but
it's still tied in to their "hidden partition" deal.

I can see where you're going with your plan. Imaging should protect *your*
setup and hopefully provide easy recovery if things fall apart. Only holes
in that plan that I see is if the recovery files are on a hard drive only
(usually a hidden partition). Or if the system uses one of those
restore/recovery programs that works in tandem with files on hard drive.
That means the "provided disk" could potentially become worthless if those
hard drive files are damaged or not present.

I've run into a few Compaq's that are very stubborn and want to restore
only with the OEM recovery program. I've watched the hard drives format,
run setup from a retail CD only to have the old operating system boot at
the end of it all. (Finally worked around that but these sure were "wild
rides" and certainly not the expected results!)

There are so many variations of restore and recovery software. Sometimes
the variations are from the same manufacturer or even from one production
run of a particular model to the next. Bottom line is that it's very
important that you know exactly what is and what is not provided with the
system you choose.

From there, you can decide if your imaging plan is going to cover you or
not.

Or if you should scrap this approach and go for generic OEM or retail
installation media instead. At the very least, this is the simplest path
because then you'll know exactly what the variables are instead of having
to go on a case by case basis.