recovery cd and cd-rom drive

[littlebluhair]

I updated my compaq laptop from windows ME to windows
XP. I have an external hp cd-writer. First off XP
doesn't like my cd-writer (hp 8200 series), but it allows
me to use it.
about 6 months later...my internal cd/dvd rom will only
play dvds. I've tried re updating my computer to xp and
the internal cd/dvd-rom played dvds and cds for a limited
time and stopped playing cds again.

i thought that if used my recovery disc that came with
the computer i could restore everything to factory
settings, but my internal cd-dvd-rom won't read the cd
and my external drive reads the cd but doesn't work when
i try to reboot my computer with the cd in the external
drive. My computer never came with a windows ME disc and
i have no idea what to do.

if there's already been a
post about this direct me to it, otherwise any help would
be greatly appreciated. thanks for your time,
littlebluhair
..

 

[Nathan McNulty]

OK, when you first boot up your computer, press the Del key (or F1, or
F2, or whatever it tells you to press to enter the BIOS or Setup). You
may need to press the esc key to see which one to press as the HP logo
may cover it up.

Once in the BIOS, set to boot off the CD. Put your Windows XP CD into
the drive, boot off the Windows XP CD, choose to Install Windows XP, it
will find the existing installation, then offer to Repair by pressing R.
Press R and let it repair everything for you.

Note: Make sure to choose install and then repair, not R right off the
bat as that will give you something different.

 

[Guest]

If the other suggestion for resetting BIOS to allow bootup from external CD don't work, try copying the entire CD to a separate folder on the Hard Drive.

It would be even better if you can partition the drive and have it completely seprate.

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Actually, he should be able to use his internal CD\DVD Drive as the
problem is hopefully not at the hardware level, but at the software
level. If he can't boot off the internal DVD\CD Drive, then he needs to
order a new one

 

[littlebluhair]

out of curiousity...since my computer is on xp right
now...is there any way that i can ever set my computer
back to the way i bought it?

 

[Nathan McNulty]

Sort of. This all depends on how your computer was made. If it is an
OEM product such as a Dell or HP, then they often include a support CD
that actually extracts an image onto your drive. I have seen this a
couple of times. You can start everything fresh by booting off the XP
CD, choosing to Install, but then choosing to format the drive. WARNING:
THIS WILL DELETE ALL FILES ON YOUR HARDDRIVE. You will need to make a
backup of EVERYTHING you want to keep. This method is called a clean
install and is very effective at getting rid of viruses or unfixable OSes.