Source CD's needed

[Owkmann]

I picked up an old HP 510n without any source CD's. I need to wipe the HD
and reinstall XP. The XP Product Key is on a sticker on the side of the
machine. How do I obtain source CD's? I called HP and they couldn't help me
due to its age.

Thanks for any help,

Owkmann

 

[Owkmann]

Can I use my own copy of Windows XP for this - using the Product Key on the
old HP?

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I picked up an old HP 510n without any source CD's. I need to wipe the HD
and reinstall XP. The XP Product Key is on a sticker on the side of the
machine. How do I obtain source CD's? I called HP and they couldn't help me
due to its age.

Thanks for any help,

Owkmann

Try www.restoredisks.com . Never used it, but it looks possible

HTH
-pk

 

[Patrick Keenan]

Can I use my own copy of Windows XP for this - using the Product Key on
the old HP?

No, this will not work, as the install types and keys won't match, and
install will halt. You will get as far with your other CD as wiping the
drive, however.

HTH
-pk

 

[Owkmann]

Okay. I checked the link, they want $35. Maybe I'll try Ebay.

 

[David B.]

If the copy you have is an actual Microsoft OEM CD, and not a retail CD or a
recover disk for another computer it will work.

 

[Daave]

I picked up an old HP 510n without any source CD's. I need to wipe the
HD and reinstall XP. The XP Product Key is on a sticker on the side of
the machine. How do I obtain source CD's? I called HP and they couldn't
help me due to its age.

Before you wipe the hard drive, you should create a set of recovery
discs. See:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...dlc=en&product=71002&lang=en&docname=bph07143

Once you have your recovery discs, you should be able to start fresh.

Otherwise, you will need to obtain a generic OEM XP installation disk.
But I would try the other method first.

 

[Owkmann]

I have an OEM reinstallation copy for a Dell laptop. Will that work?

 

[Ghostrider]

I have an OEM reinstallation copy for a Dell laptop. Will that work?

Probabaly not, depending on the age of the Dell laptop. It is most
likely that the Dell OEM re-installation disc is a "recovery" disc
or one that is bios-locked for the Dell.

 

[Owkmann]

Thanks for that. Unfortunately this machine doesn't have the software tool
necessary to create a set of recovery discs.

 

[David B.]

No, as I said, a MICROSOFT oem disk, what you have is a DELL oem disk.

 

[RalfG]

Does the computer not have a recovery partition? Most HPs with XP came that
way. The partitions were hidden on older models. If Windows is running you
could access the System Recovery software via a Start menu item like one of
these:

a.. HP Tools, and then HP PC System Recovery.
b.. Hewlett-Packard, hp pavilion pc tools, and hp pc system recovery.
c.. PC Help & Tools, and then HP PC System Recovery.

Otherwise start the recovery during the computer bootup using the keyboard:

Just after the first screen appears (the logo screen), press the F10 key
repeatedly until a recovery menu appears.


Full instructions are at the page link below. If the recovery partion is
still functional it will reinstall all the software and drivers that
originally came on the computer.


http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...ule=6916&lang=en&docname=bph07145#bph07145_xp

If the previous owner never used the recovery CD maker you could possibly
burn a set of recovery discs as well. It was a use once utility, so if the
discs were already burned once the utility won't work.

There are also still driver and software updates available for this model at
HP, though they aren't recent.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareList?os=228&lc=en&cc=ca&dlc=en&product=71002&lang=en

 

[Daave]

Thanks for that. Unfortunately this machine doesn't have the software
tool necessary to create a set of recovery discs.

Are you sure?

Do you have an HP Pavilion? Have you tried the methods listed at:

http://www.pctechbytes.com/hp-recovery-cd.htm

<quote>
To begin, click Start, then All Programs. If you have an HP Pavilion
click Hewlett-Packard and then HP PC Recovery CD Creator. If not, try
clicking PC Help & Tools, then HP CD Recovery CD-DVD Creator to start
the program.
</quote>

Or maybe you could just use the recovery process by accesing the hidden
partition. From http://www.pctechbytes.com/hp-recovery.htm :

<quote>
There are a couple of ways to reach the recovery screen. The easiest
will be to tap the F10 key repeatedly when booting the PC. This will
take you to a screen to begin the process. Or, once in Windows, you can
go to Start>All Programs>HP Tools>HP PC System Recovery.

Follow the onscreen instructions. The process may take an hour or two
depending on the size of the hard drive. Once complete, your HP computer
should be reverted to the original factory condition.
</quote>

If you can do this, then all you need to do is use a program like
Acronis True Image and make an image of your hard drive. Then if you
ever deide you need to start "fresh," just load the image.

You might also want to consult http://www.pctechbytes.com/hp.htm and/or
http://www.pctechbytes.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=e7e7b60118d4cc3f199b11216debf127&f=30

 

[Owkmann]

Okay.

Tried HP Tools, then HP PC System Recovery.

Got to the Recovery menu, selected Advanced, and then selected "destructive
recovery" so it would re-format the HD.

It completely crashed! I don't even get HP's boot screen now - just a
blinking cursor.

Lol. Any ideas appreciated.

Owkmann

 

[Owkmann]

Tried pressing the F10 key repeatedly. That got me back to the Recovery
program.

The menu says "Formatting hard disk partition in NTFS file system... Please
wait."

After about a minute the screen goes blank, then the HP logo appears for a
few seconds, then nothing but "Disk Boot Failure. Insert system disk and
press enter" on the screen.

I can power down and on power up, re-enter the Recovery program with F10.
Each time I try the Recovery program, the same problem occurs. I cannot boot
into Windows at all.

It looks like the Recovery program got just far enough to mess up my MBR,
then crash.

Ideas?

 

[Daave]

Tried pressing the F10 key repeatedly. That got me back to the
Recovery
program.

The menu says "Formatting hard disk partition in NTFS file system...
Please
wait."

After about a minute the screen goes blank, then the HP logo appears
for a
few seconds, then nothing but "Disk Boot Failure. Insert system disk
and
press enter" on the screen.

I can power down and on power up, re-enter the Recovery program with
F10.
Each time I try the Recovery program, the same problem occurs. I
cannot boot
into Windows at all.

It looks like the Recovery program got just far enough to mess up my
MBR,
then crash.

Ideas?

Yikes!

Take a look at:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/genericDocument?lc=en&cc=us&docname=c00608578

(I'm just taking a stab because it's for notebooks.)

<quote>
(7.) ...press and hold down ctrl, then press Backspace to bring up the
Tools Menu.

8. Select option 6, "wipe all sectors of drive."

9. An Erasing Hard Drive progress bar will appear. This process may take
longer than one hour to complete, depending on the size of the hard
drive. When the hard drive is completely erased, the following message
is displayed:
No Operating System Installed or Partition Corrupted Press "R" to
perform a full system recovery.

10. Press R to begin the automatic System Recovery process.
</quote>

I wonder if your hard drive is toast. What is the history of this PC?

Another idea:

http://www.gripe2ed.com/scoop/story/2004/1/18/113551/618

<quote>
You CAN get the Recovery Partition to work...(#172)
by Anonymous User on Sun Sep 25, 2005 at 12:07:45 AM PDT


OK, here's my HP Pavilion story...

I'm a tech, I fix computers for a living. I'm the guy the other techs
call when they can't fix something. I'm the guy MS, Sony, and Comcast
call when their own techs can't figure out a problem, because I can
usually hack my way around problems.

So, got a HP Pavilion a430n with a polymorphic virus and no System
Recovery CDs, only the System Recovery partition. The machine wouldn't
even boot into Safe Mode, and F10 didn't work. Booting to a floppy
wouldn't allow access to the System Recovery partition. It seemed
hopeless... even HP said that the Recovery CDs would need to be ordered
to put the system right again.

But, I burned a BartPE WinXP boot CD, booted from that, used that to do
a quick format of the C: drive and a chkdsk of the Recovery Partition,
and ran:
h:\MiniNT\system32\start.exe /run
to start System Recovery.

System Recovery worked like a charm, and the machine was back up and
running shortly thereafter. I spent the next two hours removing all the
spyware / adware crap from the restore, locking down the machine so it
would be harder to infect it next time, and updating it.

I then cleaned up unnecessary files on the C: drive, backed up the C:
drive to an external drive, wiped the Recovery Partition, and cloned the
main drive back to the Recovery Partition.

The Recovery Partition is bootable, and will automatically run a batch
file that starts System Recovery. So, the machine runs better than when
it was new, is more secure, is more easily recovered in the event of
problems, and no more HP-supplied spyware / adware. And just in case
things go really wrong, I've got a backup of the fresh install on that
external drive which can be used to recover the system.

So, if you're having problems with your HP and can't access the Recovery
Partition (and don't have Recovery CDs), try using a BartPE WinXP boot
CD. You can download the BartPE Builder for free, and you'll need a
full-fledged copy of WinXP to build your boot CD.
</quote>

 

[M.I.5¾]

Does the computer not have a recovery partition? Most HPs with XP came
that way. The partitions were hidden on older models. If Windows is
running you could access the System Recovery software via a Start menu
item like one of these:

a.. HP Tools, and then HP PC System Recovery.
b.. Hewlett-Packard, hp pavilion pc tools, and hp pc system recovery.
c.. PC Help & Tools, and then HP PC System Recovery.

Otherwise start the recovery during the computer bootup using the
keyboard:

Just after the first screen appears (the logo screen), press the F10 key
repeatedly until a recovery menu appears.


Full instructions are at the page link below. If the recovery partion is
still functional it will reinstall all the software and drivers that
originally came on the computer.

On some HP computers, it is the F12 key when the first screen appears in the
boot up process (and sometimes they tell you this on the screen). And on
some machines, the recovery process starts without any further menu or
confirmation. AFAIAC, this was a ludicrous move by HP because it means that
you can totally wipe everything off your hard disk, by merely pressing one
key at the wrong time during the boot process.

 

[RalfG]

On some HP computers, it is the F12 key when the first screen appears in
the boot up process (and sometimes they tell you this on the screen). And
on some machines, the recovery process starts without any further menu or
confirmation. AFAIAC, this was a ludicrous move by HP because it means
that you can totally wipe everything off your hard disk, by merely
pressing one key at the wrong time during the boot process.

Luckily never got one of those. The default recovery mode on my HPs is
non-destructive, so at least if a mistake is made the user files are left
alone.

 

[RalfG]

The recovery process, after formatting, copies a disk image of the full OS
and all the software that HP provides with the machine onto the harddrive.
What you described happening made me wonder about the motherboard. The first
thing to do is check that the motherboard is the original one that came with
that HP model. Should be this one IINM:

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/...=ca&lc=en&dlc=en&product=71002&dlc=en&lang=en

If it isn't there's no way recovery will work. Next, return the PC to as
close to original configuration as you can. The motherboard should have
on-board video. If there is an add in video card in one of the PCI slots
remove that, and any other added-in PCI cards. It might be a good idea to
fully disconnect any extra drives (HD, CD/DVD) that might have been added at
this point as well. They change the relative drive lettering and can affect
the System Recovery. HP typically uses the Cable Select jumper position
rather than master-slave. The computer came with 1 -40Gig harddrive, one
CD-RW drive, a Floppy DD, on-board audio, on-board video, on-board network
adapter and an HP modem in a slot. Reset the BIOS to defaults before
continuing. After all that try booting normally. I don't give it much of a
chance that it will continue the recovery process from where it left off but
you never know.

Anyway, did you already try starting a Standard Recovery? Assuming that the
recovery process did not pick up where it left off on the previous attempts
try a Standard Recovery. If the C: partition was formatted or still has the
original format, in theory at least the Standard recovery should copy over
the OS and files onto the partition. If it works, Windows should boot. If
that doesn't work you can try the destructive recovery once more. Failing
all that you will need a recovery disc set for that PC, or another copy of
XP.

HP might still make the recovery discs available if they know that the
recovery partion failed and the computer cannot boot. If there really aren't
any more of these available from HP it might still be possible to get
recovery discs, or even a disk image for that model, from a private source.
I don't know anything about this company but apparently they have them for
your model:

http://www.computersurgeons.com/shoppingcart/5.htm

Asking in the HP forums has also worked for people in the past.

http://forums1.itrc.hp.com/service/forums/bizsupport/home.do?forumId=2

Registration is required to post. The forum to pick would be "Home PCs,
pavilion, presario",

 

[Owkmann]

Don't know why, but the magical keystroke "ctrl + Backspace" got me past the
HD format. Was able to wipe the drive and reinstall.

Thanks to everyone for all your help and advice!

Owkmann