Sys Recovery or Disk?

[Guest]

I have an HP Pavilion, XP Home, 2 years old, did regular mainenance. Several problems, incl. system resore won't work. HP recommended Non-Destructive System Recovery. Want to do complete overhaul - total, destructive System Recovery. Also, ordered installation/recovery disks from HP so I could have that option, also to have access to XP Backup utility which doesn't come installed by default on Home edition. Hoping the oems CDs include this.
I've read horror stories about Sys. Recovery and I need advice - which method is more reliable and trouble-free: System Recovery or using HP's recovery disks? Also, the oem's disks are NOT the same as Microsoft Win XP Installation disks, correct? How are they are different? Thanks for any help...

P.S. I know, I know... next time I wont by an HP, I didn't know better at the time, and I would read the manual but they didn't supply one. I've read everything everywhere else I could find, and used my free support phone calls.

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Different OEMs do recovery procedures differently.
You may be better off checking out HPs website and/or a forum for HP
users for details.

Generally System Recovery is nearly identical to the CD installation.
The main difference is the recovery can be performed from a hidden
partition on the hard drive.
The CDs of course have all the data on the CD.

Since you are starting over, you really do not have much to worry
about.
If something goes wrong, start over before you have anything installed
on the computer.

Most OEMs do not include NTBACKUP with their windows XP Home systems
or CDs.
From What I understand HP is one of these.

--
Jupiter Jones [MVP]
http://www3.telus.net/dandemar/

I have an HP Pavilion, XP Home, 2 years old, did regular mainenance.

Several problems, incl. system resore won't work. HP recommended
Non-Destructive System Recovery. Want to do complete overhaul -
total, destructive System Recovery. Also, ordered
installation/recovery disks from HP so I could have that option, also
to have access to XP Backup utility which doesn't come installed by
default on Home edition. Hoping the oems CDs include this.

I've read horror stories about Sys. Recovery and I need advice -

which method is more reliable and trouble-free: System Recovery or
using HP's recovery disks? Also, the oem's disks are NOT the same as
Microsoft Win XP Installation disks, correct? How are they are
different? Thanks for any help...

P.S. I know, I know... next time I wont by an HP, I didn't know

better at the time, and I would read the manual but they didn't supply
one. I've read everything everywhere else I could find, and used my
free support phone calls.