No restore Disk

[fcgiii]

My laptop XP crashed. Due to bad spots on the disk the system restore did
not work. My vendor will not give me a system restore disk, citing license
agreements. I have a copy of XP for a desktop computer and tried to use it
to correct the laptop XP, but it ended up installing over the old version. I
tried entering my XP license code but it is not accepted. I need to somehow
reinstall XP.

I have an identical laptop bought at the same time. Is there any way I can
copy Windows XP from this one to the other one and then use the correct
license code?

I paid for two licenses. Seems to me there ought to be a way to reinstall
XP on the damaged machine.

TIA, Fred

 

[Shenan Stanley]

My laptop XP crashed. Due to bad spots on the disk the system
restore did not work. My vendor will not give me a system restore
disk, citing license agreements. I have a copy of XP for a desktop
computer and tried to use it to correct the laptop XP, but it ended
up installing over the old version. I tried entering my XP license
code but it is not accepted. I need to somehow reinstall XP.

I have an identical laptop bought at the same time. Is there any
way I can copy Windows XP from this one to the other one and then
use the correct license code?

I paid for two licenses. Seems to me there ought to be a way to
reinstall XP on the damaged machine.

The license came with the laptop and is permanently tied to the laptop. The
original equipment manufacturer that installed the OS should be able to
provide you with a CD/DVD - but it may COST you something.

You might be able to get a generic OEM type of Windows XP (of the same
version) and use it to install with the CD key on the laptop sticker. You
might be able to change the product key on the laptop to the correct one
*if* you have an installation you wish to keep:

The Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool is only valid for
users attempting to change their current non-genuine Product Key
to a genuine COA sticker or genuine Product Key - all without a
reinstall!
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

Also - what is the make/model of this laptop?

(BTW - you may have paid for two licenses - but you paid for OEM licenses
and now have discovered at least one of the reasons it is less expensive and
usually comes like that with a new computer without increasing the price too
much.)

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

My laptop XP crashed. Due to bad spots on the disk the system
restore did not work. My vendor will not give me a system restore
disk, citing license agreements. I have a copy of XP for a desktop
computer and tried to use it to correct the laptop XP, but it ended
up installing over the old version. I tried entering my XP license
code but it is not accepted. I need to somehow reinstall XP.

I have an identical laptop bought at the same time. Is there any way
I can copy Windows XP from this one to the other one and then use the
correct license code?

I paid for two licenses. Seems to me there ought to be a way to
reinstall XP on the damaged machine.

TIA, Fred

What do you mean by "Bad spots"? If you mean bad sectors the the disk is
probably on the way out and you should consider replacing it.

What make of laptop?

Do you have the ability to create a recovery cd/dvd as HP machine usually
do?

If the two laptops are identical investigate Acronis True Image, once you
have re-imaged the faulty laptop you could then change the product key to
that one which goes with the broken laptop.

The magical Jellybean key finder
http://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder.shtml

I need to change my XP Product Key
http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/xpfaq.html#018

Windows XP Product Key Modifier
http://www.majorgeeks.com/download2745.html

Microsoft have released a Product Key Update Tool
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=50346&clcid=0x409

 

[LVTravel]

Since both of these laptops are "identical" one of these two methods will
possibly work without having to repurchase Windows.

In the documentation that came with the computer, did it tell you that you
have the ability to create a restore CD or DVD? If so and you haven't run
it on the 2nd laptop do so immediately. You can then possibly use this
restore CD to redo the 1st laptop using the license key on the bottom of the
first laptop. If it won't restore on the 1st laptop, at least you will have
it to rebuild the second if it fails.

If the 2nd computer has a hidden partition that won't create a restore
CD/DVD you can try this. Purchase a new hard drive and clone (using some
version of a cloning program that will clone an entire hard drive) the 2nd
computer's entire drive image to the new hard drive. Place the cloned hard
drive into the 1st laptop and attempt a restore to the hard drive using the
activation code on the bottom of the 1st laptop.

Hope one of these methods work, let us know.

 

[fcgiii]

Shehan,

Thanks for the quick response.

The laptops are Winbook V415s. I talked to the Micro Center customer rep
(Micro Center bought out Winbook) and they are no longer providing system
restore disks.

I tried entering my license key from the bottom of the laptop during the
install but it claimed it was invalid. I suspect the XP version was not
quite the same update level.

I will try the Genuine Advantage Product Key Update Tool. But I really
need to reformat the disk and start over, as it is still acting flaky. I
might have to replace the hard drive.

Again, can I copy over Windows from the good laptop (or maybe just the i386
directory) and then enter the proper license?

The fact that I paid for an OEM license which is less than a regular license
is news to me and probably news to 90% of the buyers of computers.

Thank,

Fred

 

[fcgiii]

Thanks

I made a restore disk for my (good) laptop but not for the wife's (bad)
laptop. (Clarification, laptop is bad, wife is mad). When the first crash
came up I tried the system restore and it failed. I tried the restore disk
and it failed too. I did a low level diskchk and "repaired" the bad sectors
then installed XP from another machines master disk. Clearly this is only a
short term colution.

I have Norton Ghost. I will use it to make a backup of the good laptop and
then try that to restore the bad one. Probably after rep;acing the hard
drive.

Thanks.

 

[GreenieLeBrun]

Thanks

I made a restore disk for my (good) laptop but not for the wife's
(bad) laptop. (Clarification, laptop is bad, wife is mad). When the
first crash came up I tried the system restore and it failed. I
tried the restore disk and it failed too. I did a low level diskchk
and "repaired" the bad sectors then installed XP from another
machines master disk. Clearly this is only a short term colution.

I have Norton Ghost. I will use it to make a backup of the good
laptop and then try that to restore the bad one. Probably after
rep;acing the hard drive.

Thanks.

If the disk is showing bad sectors it is on its way out, replace it.

 

[LVTravel]

Purchase a new hard drive. I should have specified that in my original 1st
paragraph like I did in the second paragraph. When you start having bad
sectors, it is time to replace the drive asap.

Make the image of the restore partition on the good laptop and using that
clone it to the new hard drive for the bad laptop. Don't worry too much
about the data or working OS image on the good laptop. You won't be able to
use this on the bad laptop and it should be deleted from the "bad" laptop
after the image is created on the new hard drive before you run the restore
using the key on the bottom of the bad laptop..

 

[HeyBub]

The fact that I paid for an OEM license which is less than a regular
license is news to me and probably news to 90% of the buyers of
computers.

To the manufacturer, each OEM license is in the neighborhood of $30.00 vs
$300 at retail to you.

You should also be aware that - especially with laptops - there may be
drivers unique to the hardware. After installation of a generic XP, you may
find that the mouse, sound, video, or even the whole damn computer will not
work because you lack the specific drivers for the hardware.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

The fact that I paid for an OEM license which is less than a regular license
is news to me and probably news to 90% of the buyers of computers.

True--maybe even more than 90%. Most people don't even realize that
there are two different kinds of licenses--retail and OEM--or that
there are severe restrictions on the OEM licenses. The retailers
certainly don't find it in their interests to tell you about your
restrictive OEM license.

I hate OEM licenses, and the way they confuse people. If I had my
druthers, there would be only one kind of license, and the EULA would
be the same for everyone.