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Thread ID: 37028 2003-08-26 09:19:00 XP Home leonidas5 (2306) Press F1
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170738 2003-08-26 09:19:00 When I purchased my new computer recently, XP came pre-installed and all I have on CD is a restore disk. Is there any way I can burn a CD which will contain a reloadable, fully working version of XP Home? If so has there been a post detailing the steps?

Thanks

Leon
leonidas5 (2306)
170739 2003-08-26 09:35:00 >Is there any way I can burn a CD which will contain a reloadable, fully >>working version of XP Home?

Would have thought you needed a Xp disc to do that,will be a bit tricky without one.
Thomas (1820)
170740 2003-08-26 09:37:00 Sorry.
More clearly, can I burn a full working version of Xp Home cd from the XP Files on the HDD?

Thanks

Leon
leonidas5 (2306)
170741 2003-08-26 11:11:00 Pretty sure you can't,what you would need is the cab files from the xp cd.

they are like archived packages storing setup data for MS products. Generally one would have CAB files which are unpacked by a small exe file.
Thomas (1820)
170742 2003-08-26 11:12:00 Depending on who put the comp together, ie what their policy is, the recovery cd could be linked (ID'd) to some aspect of the hardware (disc) or bios. In other words, it will only work for that brand and possibly only that computer. The OS is an OEM version and may have specific tweaks put in place by the manufacturer. There may be a work around using Nero or similar but Clone CD or Alcohol 120% might be your better bet but I don't think it will work just as an OS CD.

Cheers Murray P
Murray P (44)
170743 2003-08-26 11:20:00 First of all, are you sure that your Rescue CD is not also the installation disk?
Mine is.

If it is not an installation disk, go back to the shop and demand the original CD. If you ever have to reinstall XP, which you will do several times, you will need the Disk & ID: number.
In some cases dealers copy the CD to the Hard drive. This is OK so long as you don't get a crook partition, which again is going to happen one day.

In short, if you paid the full price for the computer, you are entitled to a CD.
Never buy a new Computer without the installation software, unless you get it cheap & find your own software.
Mzee (158)
170744 2003-08-26 11:25:00 Ok silly question here.

How do you know the CD is a restore CD and not the complete OS?

I purchased a system recently (semi custom made) with XP home it came with a disk etc and is still in a shrink wrapped package.

Would it be full version or a restore CD?
Phar (2152)
170745 2003-08-26 11:32:00 I think he wants like a normal XP cd with no recovery cd restrictions. Ie he doesn't want the recovery cd anymore.

You could just download XP home, burn it to cd and just use your existing product key. As long as your only using it on the computer you bought XP with theres no difference. It is just a matter of convenience.

Another way is to create a brand new XP installation on a separate partition. Remove all the hardware from the device manager, then create an image of the partition (using driveImage) compress it down and stick it on 2cds. Next time you load the image it should be a fresh installation of XP and it will detect all your hardware as you boot up.

I would be interested if anyone knew how to extract the OS out of the packing files that recovery cds use.
PoWa (203)
170746 2003-08-26 11:33:00 >Would it be full version or a restore CD?

Errr,what does it say on the label?
Thomas (1820)
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