Messed up an HP computer

[drfsupercenter]

Sigh, I tried to prevent the problem from happening but something went wrong.

A year or two ago, my mom's HP Pavilion computer got a bunch of malware on it - so to reformat I did what I've always done for my Dell - delete all partitions and recreate one, and then install XP. But the fatal mistake I made was I wiped out the HP Recovery partition in the process - leaving me stranded with a non-activated XP (as I just used my serial - for formatting only) without any drivers. The solution was I had to mail-order a set of recovery CDs and wait for them to arrive.

Well, my uncle just gave me an HP computer that had all sorts of bad stuff on it... saying if I could fix it I could have it. I was trying to reformat it for my sisters (as they're currently on a stone-age Windows ME-turned-XP machine that's sluggish as heck)... so I figured, I'll leave the HP Recovery partition and just delete the big one with Windows. But after it had formatted... I pressed F10 on booting, and it prompty just continued to XP installation. What went wrong? The recovery partition is still there - isn't all the needed data on it? The idea was I'd reformat the big partition by hand, then use the Recovery partition to put back its OEM XP with drivers.

--EDIT--

Oh, hmm.

I checked in the Drive Manager... seems the newly made partition is set to Boot, the HP Recovery is just on System. Maybe that needs to be changed?

I really don't want to have to pay for a set of recovery discs if I don't have to... does anyone know any other solution? What I'm gonna try is to get the GRUB bootloader on a floppy disc, and see if I can't manually force that partition to boot using it. If that works I should be set, right?

[PurpleDemon]

As far as my experience with Hp's the recovery partition just gives instructions of how the recovery CD's (or DVD's) should proceed. Also the recovery disks are not interchangeable usually unless you have the same series of models. No drivers on the two HP's recovery partitions in my house.

Did I understand correctly, you have already installed XP with out the needed drivers?

If so what model is the PC?

You can get drivers HERE

[copyless]

When you erased the C drive you erased the recovery manager, which is needed to transfer the factory image to the drive, without it, I believe you will need the discs.

All the original drivers, programs and OS is on the factory image drive, the discs that everyone should create when they first get the computer, has the recovery manager on them, these are for booting purposes, in case you can not get to the C drive. If you had not erased C and just started the recovery manager from it, then you could have ran the factory image and it would have done everything, now I believe you will need the discs.

[drfsupercenter]

You know, I figured it out... but thanks guys!

Here's what I did, though.

I used my Windows XP Pro CD to erase the bigger partition (Operating system), format it, and install XP Pro. The 5GB FAT32 "HP Recovery" partition was still there. The problem is I think it needs to run from C: in order to work, and since I wiped that it wouldn't run.

So I used my mom's HP Pavilion, copied the folder of "Recovery CD writing wizard" to my flash drive, and ran it from the other one. And guess what, it saw the partition and let me burn a set of CDs

I know it worked as hers had 8 discs and this one only needs 7... However, her set of discs (which I had to BUY from HP so they aren't burned) just says "HP Pavilion Desktop PC"... not model-specific... so I'm curious if maybe they ARE universal.

[gonwk]

But the probelm with HP and all other laptop manufacturers ... they are running a new trend ... only restore drive letter D: and don't give you the Original Discs ... bascially do it to you ... even though you have paid the money for the darn laptop ... software and all ...

I loved the day that they gave you the OEM CD or DVD! Just for days like this!

G!

[MilesAhead]

What kind of hardware does the HP have? If you have a GB of ram you might be just as well off to put W7 RC on. It ran on my P4 HP machine with 1 GB ram just fine. Only thing is you don't get the Aero glass stuff.. just basic themes.

[gonwk]

... If you have a GB of ram you might be just as well off to put W7 RC on. ...

Miles,

Is Windows 7 better than Vista (W6)?

Thanks,

G!

[MilesAhead]

Miles,

Is Windows 7 better than Vista (W6)?

Thanks,

G!

I don't know if it's better than Vista Ultimate since I'm running Home Premium. But the RC is the Ultimate edition. Only thing I'd say is if you have a USB Printer that only has Vista hotplug drivers, then W7 may not be for you if you have a network. If you have only one machine, the printer will probably work. It just doesn't like propagating over the Lan(at least for Epson C88 anyway.)

[drfsupercenter]

Heh, EVERYTHING is better than Vista.

And no, it's only 512MB of RAM. Plus, it's a hand-me-down for my younger sisters... why would they need cutting-edge beta OSes?

Anyway... I also hate how they do the recovery partition crap... my Dell (bought in 2003) came with a full set of recovery CDs - including the XP Home OEM disc. I later upgraded it to a store-bought (sorta - I got it for free from a Microsoft-sponsored camp) XP Pro.

So I now have a working set of CDs for that HP... At least with HP, they all come with a pre-installed recovery CD writer program (though for copyright reasons you're only allowed to make one set - which sucks) so you can burn your own recovery discs... it's just not as cool as having them come with the computer... plus it eats up a decent amount of hard drive space...

[doctorhardware]

The computer companies are saving a few pennies by not including any restore disks. All of the computers now do not come with the disks any more. This where geek squad makes a ton of money. They make it sound so hard to the customer and confusing that in the end the customer ends up paying to have it done. Where in reality it is so simple.

[MilesAhead]

Heh, EVERYTHING is better than Vista.

And no, it's only 512MB of RAM. Plus, it's a hand-me-down for my younger sisters... why would they need cutting-edge beta OSes?

Um, because it's free and you didn't want to wait for the discs?
Or I misunderstood the whole thing, which happens.

[drfsupercenter]

No, I mean, why would they need Windows 7 if it already has XP Home.

As easily as I can burn myself recovery discs from the built-in software, I hate how it eats up a large chunk of your hard drive...

But my goal is to get a Dell XPS laptop for college, then just put XP on it so it'll run better, and avoid the whole recovery partition. I can easily get XP drivers and such (my friend has them) and that way I can use the full drive space.

[doctorhardware]

The colleges will also dictate what OS you need to use. The colleges will also have a list of what is the minimum requirements that a laptop will have.

[drfsupercenter]

I'm pretty sure the University of Michigan does not require Vista.

And even if they do recommend Office 2007, I'm sticking with Office 2000 (the last non-bloated one out there)... I can just install Office 2007 to show them and then never use it...

[Budreaux]

Funny, everyone seems to complaain about Vista, in fact, I once did. The I took the time to stream my OS and remove the stuff that was a hassle and it runs just as wel, if not better than my XP rigs. It's jsut the learning curve that folks dread to take that is swaying them from Vista, imo.