XP Recovery CD

[Dave]

When I purchased my PC it came only with a XP Recovery CD. In the
unlikely event my hard drive goes belly up, and I have to replace it
with a new hard drive, I assume I wouldn't be able to install XP onto
it with the Recovery CD. Would I have to purchase my own copy of XP?

Tks Dave

 

[Jupiter Jones [MVP]]

Dave;
The recovery will most likely work fine with a replacement hard drive.
check your manual and/or contact the manufacturer for details since
all manufacturers do it differently.

 

[Shenan Stanley]

When I purchased my PC it came only with a XP Recovery CD. In the
unlikely event my hard drive goes belly up, and I have to replace it
with a new hard drive, I assume I wouldn't be able to install XP onto
it with the Recovery CD. Would I have to purchase my own copy of XP?

Depends on the recovery CD in question, but more on if all you replace is
the hard drive. If all you replace is the hard drive, chances are the
recovery CD (which is either an image of the machine cleanly installed or
Windows XP install files..) will work fine.

 

[Davee]

A few days ago a friend had an 'Authentication Failure' when he booted
his PC. He put in his recovery CD and restarted the PC. Without warning
or options it started a reformat of his C: drive and a reload of
Windows. He lost everything on the C: drive, but fortunately had backed
up his data.
His supplier (who had preloaded and registerd XP), said this was normal,
and the recovery CD was only intended for use in cases of new HDDs or
other major failures.
Does anybody know more about this? I'm on the verge of getting a new PC
and this bothers me. I'm tempted to get a 'bare' machine and stay with
my retail version of ME if preloaded XP is really this drastic.

David

 

[BitzChick]

A few days ago a friend had an 'Authentication Failure' when he booted
his PC. He put in his recovery CD and restarted the PC. Without
warning or options it started a reformat of his C: drive

That almost happened to me with my recovery disks supplied with my
e-machines, pre-installed with XP. I made the error of inserting disk 1 in
the drive and a menu came up asking whether I wanted to format. There was no
option to say no! I literally pulled the plug out of the pc and removed the
disk

If you avoid disk 1 you can browse disk 2 and 3 for drivers et al

Regards
Sheri

 

[Dave]

OK folks, thanks for the replies.

Dave

Depends on the recovery CD in question, but more on if all you replace is
the hard drive. If all you replace is the hard drive, chances are the
recovery CD (which is either an image of the machine cleanly installed or
Windows XP install files..) will work fine.

 

[Davee]

I wonder if this happens with the full retail version or with an ME upgrade?
Or what about creating a boot diskette or CD and looking for setup.exe
on the XP CD?
I'm looking for a solution in case I'm 'propelled' into XP...

Any help much appreciated...

David

 

[Bruce Chambers]

Greetings --

This is one of the hazards of purchasing a computer with the OS
and software pre-installed.

Legally, the OEM has met it's contractual obligation to Microsoft
by providing a means of returning the PC to its ex-factory state,
whether it's a Recovery CD or a Recovery Partition. They are not
legally obliged to provide a true installation CD as part of the sale.

Reputable, customer-service aware OEMs, like Dell and Gateway, do
provide a BIOS-locked, full OEM installation CD, that does permit
custom installations and repairs. Small, privately owned shops that
sell custom-built systems with OEM licenses also provide generic OEM
installation CDs that are capable of making repairs without first
wiping out everything on the hard drive.

Many uncaring OEMs, such as Compaq, HP, and Sony, however, in an
effort to save pennies and reduce their support costs by having to
hire support people that can only say "Boot from the Recovery CD to
return your PC to its original condition," provide only a CD bearing a
disk image of the hard drive as it left the factory. These
Recovery/Restore CDs, as your friend discovered, cannot perform normal
installations, nor can they be used to do any sort of repairs or
customizations. They can only wipe out the hard drive and store it to
its original, pre-purchase condition.

If you are contemplating the purchase of a PC with the software
pre-installed, be careful to ensure exactly what type of CDs come with
it, and what your repair/recovery options are before buying. If a
sales clerk tries to tell you that the Recovery CD method is better or
easier, run - don't walk - to another store where the sales personnel
can at least spell "PC."


Bruce Chambers
--
Help us help you:



You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on
having both at once. -- RAH

 

[Davee]

Thank you so much for explaining.
Now all I have to do is find a PC supplier with a spec I like, who won't
force me to buy a monitor I don't need, and who understands the
questions :-(
I'm currently considering SSC-Carrera in the UK

David

 

[Shenan Stanley]

A few days ago a friend had an 'Authentication Failure' when he
booted his PC. He put in his recovery CD and restarted the PC.
Without warning or options it started a reformat of his C: drive and
a reload of Windows. He lost everything on the C: drive, but
fortunately had backed up his data.
His supplier (who had preloaded and registered XP), said this was
normal, and the recovery CD was only intended for use in cases of
new HDDs or other major failures.
Does anybody know more about this? I'm on the verge of getting a new
PC and this bothers me. I'm tempted to get a 'bare' machine and stay
with my retail version of ME if preloaded XP is really this drastic.

This is one of the hazards of purchasing a computer with the OS
and software pre-installed.

Legally, the OEM has met it's contractual obligation to Microsoft
by providing a means of returning the PC to its ex-factory state,
whether it's a Recovery CD or a Recovery Partition. They are not
legally obliged to provide a true installation CD as part of the
sale.

Reputable, customer-service aware OEMs, like Dell and Gateway, do
provide a BIOS-locked, full OEM installation CD, that does permit
custom installations and repairs. Small, privately owned shops that
sell custom-built systems with OEM licenses also provide generic OEM
installation CDs that are capable of making repairs without first
wiping out everything on the hard drive.

Many uncaring OEMs, such as Compaq, HP, and Sony, however, in an
effort to save pennies and reduce their support costs by having to
hire support people that can only say "Boot from the Recovery CD to
return your PC to its original condition," provide only a CD bearing
a disk image of the hard drive as it left the factory. These
Recovery/Restore CDs, as your friend discovered, cannot perform
normal installations, nor can they be used to do any sort of repairs
or customizations. They can only wipe out the hard drive and store
it to its original, pre-purchase condition.

If you are contemplating the purchase of a PC with the software
pre-installed, be careful to ensure exactly what type of CDs come
with it, and what your repair/recovery options are before buying.
If a sales clerk tries to tell you that the Recovery CD method is
better or easier, run - don't walk - to another store where the
sales personnel can at least spell "PC."

Thank you so much for explaining.
Now all I have to do is find a PC supplier with a spec I like, who
won't force me to buy a monitor I don't need, and who understands the
questions :-(
I'm currently considering SSC-Carrera in the UK

Purchase the components individually from the Internet and build the PC
yourself. You end up with exactly what you want.