hardware change/ factory reset

[Glenda P]

I have a 5 year old Compaq with OEM Win XP Home. The screen had an error
message that Windows couldn't load because of a missing or corrupt file. I
did a factory reset with the Recovery CD but it won't get past a
"non-system disk error". I believe this is because I changed out the
original CDRW for a new one. I don't have the old one, am I just plain
s.o.l. ? lol or is there a way to change the boot sequence, disconnect the
new CDRW or some other work around to get the OS loaded?
I just want to use it to store some stuff as I have a new laptop, and
everything important on the old desktop was backed-up so it's not a crisis
but I would like to continue using it for minor stuff if I can.
Thanks,
Glenda

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Recovery CDs are designed to erase your hard drive and reinstall the
software that was on your computer when it left the factory. If you have
since changed the hardware the HAL (Hardware Abstraction Layer) won't
match the installed hardware and you are up the creek.

This is a fixable problem with a Windows CD, but recovery CDs are
different. Each vendor uses their own method for recovery. In your case,
you need to contact Compaq technical support.

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Glad to help. In future, please include all previous messages in the
thread, so we can remember what you're talking about.