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| Thread ID: 52783 | 2004-12-29 22:54:00 | formatting | kaliyuga (6711) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 308720 | 2004-12-29 22:54:00 | I have a computer i bought second hand ( a home built job )which has recently accumulated a number of problems and i wanted to reinstall windows and reformat but it doesnt seem to work like other computers I have had. when i used the reinstall disk for xp it didnt format the drive but only installed another instance of xp. looking at the drives with partition magic there doesnt appear to be a hidden drive with xp inside so if I wipe c:/ will i be able to successfully reinstall xp with the recovery disc only? | kaliyuga (6711) | ||
| 308721 | 2004-12-29 23:29:00 | Probally, I would stick the disc in first to see it is a bootable windows disc first. | Rob99 (151) | ||
| 308722 | 2004-12-30 02:02:00 | yes it is bootable but doesn't ask any options just starts installing xp and doesnt format first | kaliyuga (6711) | ||
| 308723 | 2004-12-30 02:21:00 | I'm not exactly sure how a home-built PC could come with a recovery disk instead of the full OS, and it might be that you have been ripped off in the OS department. Maybe some more details might help clarify the situation. Cheers Billy 8-{) |
Billy T (70) | ||
| 308724 | 2004-12-30 03:16:00 | Sorry, I think the previous owner chose parts and had them assembled by someone like BIG BYTE in Christchurch, there is a proper microsoft xp sticker with serial number on the case, the recovery disc is DIGITEK brand Product Recovery CD Microsoft windows xp home and says it is for backup and recovery of digitek system only [Richfield innovations ltd.] My Question really is if I format the c drive (using say... partition magic ?) will I be able to reinstall xp afterward with this disc so it will work? After using the recovery disc once it installed all the windows files without formatting first and now i have to choose between two instances of xp before it can boot up |
kaliyuga (6711) | ||
| 308725 | 2004-12-30 20:28:00 | I have just discovered that richfield innovations who made the part of the pc that included the operating system has gone bust so no help available there. it's called an xtreme multimedia computer system on the front of the case so I may have put you way wrong on the custom bit but its not an all in one unit such as the dell i'm used to, if you know what I mean. Any idea? I don't want to wipe it if I won't be able to ressurect it, but it has problems locking up quite frequently and I usually do that to start with a clean slate |
kaliyuga (6711) | ||
| 308726 | 2004-12-31 04:20:00 | now i have to choose between two instances of xp before it can boot upBefore considering wiping the hard drive with a reformat, why not try out the duplicate XP you have now got installed and see whether the computer still locks up with that fresh install? If it does, you might be looking at a hardware fault such as bad RAM or a over-heating issue rather than a corrupt OS. I don't know how helpful it will be, but have you viewed the Restore disc with explorer and see just what files are on it? You might be able to tell if it is merely a bootloader which accesses files on a hidden partition, or if it looks like a OS install disc. Another idea is to see what the physical size of the hard drive is and then compare that with the reported size of C, indicating perhaps a hidden partition? |
Jen (38) | ||
| 308727 | 2005-01-01 01:33:00 | thanks Jen I discovered that the disk had installled windows(II) onto small D: partition so figured it must be able to install itself ok, formatted c (it asked this time) and voila! all clean |
kaliyuga (6711) | ||
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