how to make a recovery disk?

[Guest]

I have just bought a second hand comp. with XP installed, there were no
recovery disks with it and no product code label on the case. the OS is an
OEM edition which microsoft said was legit (downloaded sp1 and2 and all
updates ok).
I had only just mastered ME when my last machine died, is there a way of
making my own recovery disk and start up disk? just in case XP is like ME and
keeps dying.

 

[Carey Frisch [MVP]]

If you purchased a used computer, and the seller did not
provide you with the computer's original Windows XP
CD or Recovery CD, Certificate of Authenticity, and
original documentation, then an improper license transfer
has occurred. In that case, contact the seller for the required
materials. Failing that, you'll have to purchase a new
"Full Version" of Windows XP and perform a repair install.

How to Perform a Windows XP Repair Install
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows - Shell/User
Microsoft Community Newsgroups
news://msnews.microsoft.com/

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:

| I have just bought a second hand comp. with XP installed, there were no
| recovery disks with it and no product code label on the case. the OS is an
| OEM edition which microsoft said was legit (downloaded sp1 and2 and all
| updates ok).
| I had only just mastered ME when my last machine died, is there a way of
| making my own recovery disk and start up disk? just in case XP is like ME and
| keeps dying.

 

[Nepatsfan]

I have just bought a second hand comp. with XP installed,
there were no recovery disks with it and no product code
label on the case. the OS is an OEM edition which microsoft
said was legit (downloaded sp1 and2 and all updates ok).
I had only just mastered ME when my last machine died, is
there a way of making my own recovery disk and start up
disk? just in case XP is like ME and keeps dying.

First off, you need to go back to the seller of this system and
obtain the COA with the 25 digit product key along with an
installation CD. As it is, all you now own is the hardware.

Even if you were to use one of the many utilities designed to
retrieve the product key off the hard drive, I think you'd find
that it is a volume license key. Without the correct OEM CD,
this key would fail to activate should you need to reinstall
Windows XP.

That said, depending on the brand of computer you purchased,
the installation files may be stored on a hidden partition on
the hard drive. Some manufacturers provide a means to create a
recovery CD. You'd have to check with the manufacturer of your
system.

Bottom line is that this is really an issue that needs to be
resolved between you and the seller. I hope you got a good deal
on the computer because they left out something that may end up
costing you several hundred dollars to replace.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Guest]

First off, you need to go back to the seller of this system and
obtain the COA with the 25 digit product key along with an
installation CD. As it is, all you now own is the hardware.

Even if you were to use one of the many utilities designed to
retrieve the product key off the hard drive, I think you'd find
that it is a volume license key. Without the correct OEM CD,
this key would fail to activate should you need to reinstall
Windows XP.

That said, depending on the brand of computer you purchased,
the installation files may be stored on a hidden partition on
the hard drive. Some manufacturers provide a means to create a
recovery CD. You'd have to check with the manufacturer of your
system.

Bottom line is that this is really an issue that needs to be
resolved between you and the seller. I hope you got a good deal
on the computer because they left out something that may end up
costing you several hundred dollars to replace.

Good luck

Nepatsfan


Thanks for the advice, it looks as if i'm out of luck and out of pocket

 

[Nepatsfan]

Where did you get this second hand computer? Is there no way to
get the seller to hand over the license? Cancel credit card
payment? Stop check?

To lessen the financial pain, you may be able to get by with
the Upgrade version of Windows XP. You mention how your
previous computer had Windows ME installed on it. If you still
have the Windows ME installation CD you could use it as
"qualifying media" when installing XP with an XP Upgrade CD.

Hopefully, your new computer will run smoothly. Odds are though
that sooner or later, you're going to need to purchase a new
license and CD.

Good luck

Nepatsfan

 

[Edward W. Thompson]

I have just bought a second hand comp. with XP installed, there were no
recovery disks with it and no product code label on the case. the OS is an
OEM edition which microsoft said was legit (downloaded sp1 and2 and all
updates ok).
I had only just mastered ME when my last machine died, is there a way of
making my own recovery disk and start up disk? just in case XP is like ME
and
keeps dying.

Other than buying a fresh copy of WINXP, which seems to me to be
unnecessary I suggest you obtain a copy of an imaging program, Acronis True
Image for example. You can use this program to create a bootable CD. Now
use the program and burn an image of your C: drive (I assume your C; drive
is the bootable drive) to a CD or to a DVD. You now have a 'recovery' set.
In the event you need to recover, boot with the True Image disk and simply
restore from the System Image disk.

 

[sharlperoh]

Other than buying a fresh copy of WINXP, which seems to me to be

unnecessary I suggest you obtain a copy of an imaging program, Acronis True
Image for example. You can use this program to create a bootable CD. Now
use the program and burn an image of your C: drive (I assume your C; drive
is the bootable drive) to a CD or to a DVD. You now have a 'recovery' set.
In the event you need to recover, boot with the True Image disk and simply
restore from the System Image disk.

Absolutely agree. Moreover thus you will not require installing all
your programs and settings again on the blank just installed OS. I use
True Image for backing up my data too. It's quite simple and definitely
cheaper than the new full version of Windows.

 

[Bob Harris]

Quickly get a good backup and recovery program, like Acronis True Image
version 8. Make an image to an external USB disk. Make a new image once a
month or after a major software (or hardware) upgrade. Keep several images.
Occassionally, burn an image to CD(s) or DVD(s). I suggest first saving the
image on disk, then copying to optial media. That seems more reliable.

Next, look for an I386 folder under C:\WINDOWS. If you have one, make a
Bart's bootable CD, which is better than the XP recovery console in a number
of ways:

http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/

Also, download a copy of XP setup diskettes. This multi-floppy set can run
the XP recovery console, without an XP CD:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;Q310994

Finally, think about downloading KNOPPIX, a LINUX-distribution that runs
from a CD (or DVD). Although by default KNOPPIX does not write to the hard
drive, you can change that to make some types of repairs. KNOPPIX is a big
download and comes in ISO format. You must have software with an option
like "burn from image" to make it into a CD/DVD. Nero and ast CD Creator
can both do this:

http://www.knopper.net/knoppix/index-en.html