XP Setup CD

[Thomas]

Hi!

I have a HP Pavilion 754n, which shipped with Windows XP
Home SP1 and no recovery cds. When I asked HP about that
they told me that the hard drive contains a secret
partition from which the entire system can be reverted to
its factory state (does not only include Windows, but
also various applications and demos). So when SP2 for XP
came out I wondered if there was a way to slipstream it
with this recovery partition (like it is possible with
the original Windows XP setup cds) so I wouldn't have to
install it again manually whenever I revert the pc to its
factory state. HP's response to that question was simply
put "no".
However I'd still like to have a Windows XP setup cd,
which includes SP2 and probably does not include the HP
apps and demos. So I wonder if it were possible to
perhaps order a setup cd from Microsoft (after all I
already bought the license for Windows with my HP pc) or
somehow create a setup cd from my recovery partition
(which I however think will not be possilbe since I think
that it does not contain the original setup files).

I'd really appreciate any help!

Thomas

 

[Default]

What you should have told HP was that you want to return their POS since
they didn't include recovery CD's. What happens when your system goes
out of warranty and your hard drive crashes??? No more OS and HP will
just laugh when you call for support. If you really wanted the recovery
disks, HP should offer them to you but at a price.

Microsoft won't send a setup CD because you have an OEM version of the
OS. Microsoft doesn't support these, you will need to call HP if you
have a problem with the OS since each manufacturer modifies the OS to
their likings. If you did have a standard version of the OS instead of
an OEM version, I think you would probably have to jump through hoops
before MS would send another setup CD to you.

The only real thing may be to install a second hard drive and use a
program like Ghost to try and copy the 'secret' partition to the second
hard drive then you can try to slip stream SP2. I don't know if that
will work but if you search Google for slip streaming Windows XP, you
will find more than enough sites with info about this.

 

[DL]

Yr licence is for an OEM version of win*, for yr 'specific system' and no
others.
So no you cannot, other than purchase a retail version of winxp, obtain any
setup cd.
You can download the complete sp, or anyother, and burn to cd.

 

[Rick \Nutcase\ Rogers]

Hi Thomas,

Your license qualifies you to own the preinstalled version of WinXP that HP
supplied, nothing more (unfortunately). Microsoft will not supply you with a
retail disk. HP does offer system disks, usually at a nominal cost and you
must specifically ask for them. You cannot slipstream SP2 (as far as I know)
into the hidden restore partition, and generally it cannot be slipstreamed
into restore disks, only regular XP retail or generic OEM disks. Some HP
systems also have an option to create recovery disks, you may want to check
your user manual.

--
Best of Luck,

Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP

Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone

Windows help - www.rickrogers.org

 

[Thomas]

Thank you very much for your really fast responses all of
you!
Like Nutcase suggested I do have a set of HP recovery cds
(a total of 8 cds! so you can imagine how much ballast
they contain), which I burned with the supplied 'recovery
cd creator', but they're basically just a copy of the
recovery partition. Still what I want is a simple Windows
XP installation cd, which I can slipstream with SP2 and
which does not contain all the other proggys and demos
supplied by HP. In fact I only use a very small quantity
of these programs, most of them I simply don't need.
Now I understand that Microsoft will not issue me a setup
cd, due to the fact that I only own the OEM version of
Windows and I seriously doubt that HP will give anything
away but their eight 'copy of the recovery partition' cds.

Recently I took a closer look at the structure of the
recovery partition, which I think consists of three parts:
1. the bootable recovery environment, created by a
company named SoftThinks
2. the Windows XP SP1 files, which are I think allocated
the same way they are on a setup cd
3. programs and demos supplied by HP in various archives,
which are extracted after or during the recovery of
Windows

So, due to my opinion, the only things I am missing in
order to create a setup cd are the setup files (which run
the setup) located on every XP setup cd. Isn't there some
way I can get these files?

Thanks once again for your help!

Thomas

 

[gotcha]

You may be able to get a original restore cd from
http://www.ambry.com. They usually carry all of them. All you need
is the correct part number from hp.