Install CD?

[Olórin]

My mother's just bought a Packard Bell laptop from PC World with XP Home on,
which I'm configuring for her. I've got everything it came from the shop
with and I'm surprised to find there's no XP CD (in fact, there were *no*
CDs!). Is this usual? It's ages since I've bought a PC...

There's some proprietary Packard Bell feature that lets you roll back and
reinstall stuff, but what if worse comes to worse and for some reason or
other I need to reformat & reinstall the OS? Is it worth trying to approach
PC World and ask for a CD, or would I be on a hiding to nothing?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

[Alias]

My mother's just bought a Packard Bell laptop from PC World with XP Home on,
which I'm configuring for her. I've got everything it came from the shop
with and I'm surprised to find there's no XP CD (in fact, there were *no*
CDs!). Is this usual? It's ages since I've bought a PC...

There's some proprietary Packard Bell feature that lets you roll back and
reinstall stuff, but what if worse comes to worse and for some reason or
other I need to reformat & reinstall the OS? Is it worth trying to approach
PC World and ask for a CD, or would I be on a hiding to nothing?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

It's on a hidden partition. Call Packard Bell and ask them how to access it.

Alias

 

[Rock]

My mother's just bought a Packard Bell laptop from PC World with XP Home on,
which I'm configuring for her. I've got everything it came from the shop
with and I'm surprised to find there's no XP CD (in fact, there were *no*
CDs!). Is this usual? It's ages since I've bought a PC...

There's some proprietary Packard Bell feature that lets you roll back and
reinstall stuff, but what if worse comes to worse and for some reason or
other I need to reformat & reinstall the OS? Is it worth trying to approach
PC World and ask for a CD, or would I be on a hiding to nothing?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

The manufacturer has to provide some method of restoring the system.
They have three choices:

1. Windows installation CD
2. Recovery CD
3. Hidden partition on the hard drive with an image of the drive as
received from the factory.

Since you don't have 1 or 2, it probably has #3. Some systems allow you
to make a recovery CD from this hidden partition. Check the Packard
Bell documentation or call their tech support.

 

[DanS]

It's on a hidden partition. Call Packard Bell and ask them how to
access it.

Alias

And while your at it, find out how to create a CD of it, so when that
hidden partition becomes inaccesible, you will still be able to restore.

 

[Guest]

I think that you have a big problem because this its not usually. I never
heard about this... did you bought the laptop legaly ?

 

[Guest]

I think that all Packard Bell computers do not come with a XP CD, which we
only re-alised when we had to format and re-install Windows becasue of a
Norton Go-back error.

 

[Guest]

We had this problem, no CD, ended up deleting complete OP and have just
bought a new OP to install. Now we seem to have a problem getting the second
half of the installation to activate. Sorry about coming in on your query
but can anyone tell me how to get past this part.
Message reads installation successful, your system will reboot and continue
to the next part of the installation, then
BOOT FROM CD
BOOT FROM CD
A disc error press
Ctrl-Alt-Del to reboot.

 

[Gordon]

I think that you have a big problem because this its not usually. I
never heard about this... did you bought the laptop legaly ?

An illegal purchase from PC World? Hardly!

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I think that you have a big problem because this its not usually. I
never heard about this... did you bought the laptop legaly ?

On, the contrary, it's very common. Very few of the big OEMs provoide
installation CDs.

OEM vendors are required by their agreement with Microsoft to give you a
means of reinstalling, should it be necessary. They can do this in one of
three ways:

1. An OEM copy of Windows
2. A restore CD
3. A hidden partition on your drive, with restore information.

If you don't have 1 or 2, you should have 3, but you should contact your
vendor to find out.

Personally, I find both 2 and 3 unacceptable (especially 3; a hard drive
crash can leave you with nothing), and would never choose to buy a computer
that came with an operating system unless I got a complete generic
installation CD for that operating system.

 

[t.cruise]

After an infamous class action law suit, Packard Bell is no longer able to market systems
in the U.S. as part of the settlement. That makes me wonder, with so many other companies
to choose from, why someone would ever purchase a Packard Bell. They were the nadir of
name brand PC makers in the U.S., when their product was allowed to be sold here. Packard
Bell getting nailed for putting used parts in new systems was like Al Capone going to
prison for income tax evasion. Packard Bell systems make HP systems seem like the crème
de la crème. If you can return it, do so. That is the best advice. If you are stuck
with it, see if there is a feature to burn your own Windows XP disk. Dell used to include
that utility, but it could be used only once and then auto-deleted. If that feature does
not exist, get with Packard Bell and ask the cost of a Windows XP CD for your new lap top.
Dell charges $30 U.S. for a Windows XP CD to be included with a new system now. You
really do want that CD, especially if the system recovery files are located on a hidden
partition. Many clients of mine have had problems which did not allow them access to the
recovery files on hidden partitions. If they were out of the warranty period, they had a
choice of being stuck with an expensive paper weight, or had to purchase Windows XP
retail. It can be a worse situation with a lap top. Because of the proprietary nature of
the hardware of lap tops, an OEM Windows XP CD from the maker of that lap top can
sometimes be the ONLY solution for problems. Again, you REALLY want to have a Windows XP
CD.

T.C.
t__cruise@[NoSpam]hotmail.com
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