I though I was the only one

[Deborah]

I sent the exceprt of an email to Compaq about 0300PST
this morning. After numberous phone calls and email,
they recommended that I restore from the CDs supplied
with the laptop. Problem is that I will lose all my
personal information. I really want to preent that. Do
you have any recommendations?

===========================excerpt
below======================

Can some one please help me? I bought this Compaq
Presario
2500 Notebook last year. I have had no problems until
now when
installing the Windows XP SP2. I really need this laptop
to work.

If I have to take it someplace for it to be looked at
please let me
know. Right now I am using a Sony Desktop to write to
you while I am
still on hold via the Compaq Presario help line.

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

Deborah;

Yu have learned a valuable lesson. One should never make major changes to
the OS unless one has backed up important and critical data. There is no
excuse for not backing up, other than indifference or laziness. Even if you
did not plan on installing SP2, you should have been backing up on a regular
basis anyway. Hard Drives fail. You could have lost your data for other
reasons. The fact that you did not back up your data is not Microsoft's
fault. It is your fault.

Bobby

 

[Guest]

Hmmmm. I gues that part where I created a System
recorvery point was of no avail. Since, I cannot get to
the log on window to go to thoe restore point that I
created before downloading the WinXP SP2 pack. Ah c'est
le vie. Now that I have learned the lesson of using
the "Back Up' Utility in Win XP Pro versus creating a
systems recovery point though, the question still
remains. Any recommendations for getting to the log on
screen without having to do the full system restore?

Appreciate an answer addressing this.

Thanks in advance

 

[anonymous]

-----Original Message-----
I sent the exceprt of an email to Compaq about 0300PST
this morning. After numberous phone calls and email,
they recommended that I restore from the CDs supplied
with the laptop. Problem is that I will lose all my
personal information. I really want to preent that. Do
you have any recommendations?

===========================excerpt
below======================

Can some one please help me? I bought this Compaq
Presario
2500 Notebook last year. I have had no problems until
now when
installing the Windows XP SP2. I really need this laptop
to work.

If I have to take it someplace for it to be looked at
please let me
know. Right now I am using a Sony Desktop to write to
you while I am
still on hold via the Compaq Presario help line.

.

Have you tried a FIXMBR maybe this will get you through
the endless loop!!!!!

 

[NoNoBadDog!]

System Recovery is not a backup. System restore only backs up windows
critical OS files and certain other files. It does not for instance back up
photos, or music files, or word documents created by the user. System
Restore is a system state restore utility, not a backup.

You did not back up. System Restore will not recover all your files.

You need to educate yourself about the limitations of System Restore and
about having a backup regimen.

To answer your question;

This may or may not work...

Boot from a Retail version of the Windows CD and try a Repair
installation...However, it may tell you that you have a "newer" version of
windows and not let you do even this.

Bobby

 

[D.Currie]

I sent the exceprt of an email to Compaq about 0300PST
this morning. After numberous phone calls and email,
they recommended that I restore from the CDs supplied
with the laptop. Problem is that I will lose all my
personal information. I really want to preent that. Do
you have any recommendations?

Feeling brave? Really need those files?

You can take the hard drive out of the laptop (tiny screws; don't lose them)
then get an adapter that will allow you to connect your laptop drive to a
desktop computer. Copy the files you need.

Then put the laptop drive back, and you can use the restore CDs without
worrying about losing everything.

If you don't want to try taking the laptop apart and don't want to pay for
an adapter that you may never use again, a competent shop should be able to
it for you.

If you're really lucky, you might find that your restore CDs will also offer
you the option of doing a repair of the operating system. Some do, some
don't. In that case, you can try the repair, and if it works, you're back
where you started from. If it doesn't work, you can still do the full
install, and all you've lost is some time.

 

[tim]

Wouldn't WinPE work? Can't you use that to create a pre-install
environment to access the drive?