recovery console

[Charlie Bress]

I have an XP home PC that has a number of problems including failing to shut
off.

The original XP CDROM is lost. I have an XP Home CD from a different system.

Can the recovery console be run using the wrong CD?

If it asks for the product key will the old one ( that is available) work or
would the one on the available one work or are we simply SOL?

The old key was an OEM one and the available CD is not an OEM one.

 

[db ´¯`·.. >]

the recovery console
can be used from any
windows cd on any
pc with winxp installed.

it will not ask you for
a product key.

for more information
on "how to use the
recovery console" and
the commands you can
query www.microsoft.com

you can also type help
at the disk prompt after
logging in via the console.

 

[Bob Harris]

No product key is required, but it will probably ask for a password. That
is the pasword of the original administrator, the one who installed XP. It
is often blank, meaning just hit the return key. But, if XP came
pre-installed (e.g., Dell, Gateway), it might be something else, and only
the PC maker will know for sure.

But, be aware that the recovery console is limited in what it can do for
you. Here are some links about using the recovery console:

http://www.wown.com/j_helmig/wxprcons.htm

http://www.xxcopy.com/xxcopy33.htm (near bottom)

http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/win_xp_rec.htm

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058