Solve : need to fix pc but no xp or start up disk?

1.	Solve : need to fix pc but no xp or start up disk?
Answer» Help, My roomie decided to try and istall his vista on my pc which was USING xp home, it is now asking for the key but i do not have it as he is no longer living near me. I hate vista and want to go back to my original xp but to reformat or do a clean sweep i have no system restore or xp start up disk, am I doomed or is there some file lurking in my pc which I can boot from???/ Much THANK in advanceWelcome to the CH forums. When the attempt was made to install Vista was it as a dual boot or was your hard drive formatted prior to the Vista install? Can you boot your pc into any operating system? Lots more info needed - please read this.. Hi, My original operating system was xp home edition. I have a HP desktop, not sure of model exactly. When my roomate installed the vista it was off his upgrade anytime cd that came with his laptop. He put it in my cd drive and installed vista home basic. It put all my xp stuff into a file called "old xp", I am now getting a message to "activate windows" when i click on this it asks for a key which as i said i dont have, it is also saying i have 10 days to activate or windows will not work correctly. I am noticing when I start up my pc i see a F10 system restore, can i click on this and restore my system without either start up or system restore cd? ThanksWithout a restore disk I think you're fried. HP might help but MS never made it easy to do a retro reinstall of an older operating system without at least deleting the EXISTING Windows folder. Even if you had the product key for your friend's cd I doubt if you'd last long as MS would pick up that one cd had been used to install Vista on two pc's which is a big no-no. But wait, someone with more knowledge than I have on this subject MAY come along soon with a solution for you. Bonne chance. Thanks, Me thinks Im just going to have to go and buy another copy of XP home edition, easier that way Thanks Y'all1. Quote from: mouse62 on December 07, 2007, 03:55:22 PM I am noticing when I start up my pc i see a F10 system restore, can i click on this and restore my system without either start up or system restore cd? I think so, as long as your system came with "recovery partition" that is still on your hard drive. If successful, it will restore your hard drive to state it was in when you bought the system. All programs and data installed since you bought it will be gone unless you back them up first. You say the HP desktop computer had Windows XP Home Edition, but no System Restore or XP setup CD. Computers sold in this state usually come with a "Recovery CD" or a "Recovery Partition". Normally an installation of Windows (Vista?) would not disturb this partition. Have you looked at the partition structure of the hard drive to see if there is a "hidden" recovery partition on it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_partition http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_CD You may use the "Disk Management" tool that comes with Vista to do this. If present, the recovery partition is usually the first partition on Disk 0, perhaps about 6 GB in size. To access, go to Run (Windows key + R) and type diskmgmt.msc. This command will open the Disk Management tool directly. Dig for more info in the following link: http://www.vista4beginners.com/How-to-manage-your-disks-using-only-Windows-Vista-Disk-Management-tool I believe you may hit a function key (F10 or F11?) at system startup for a menu with access to recovery partition. You'll have to go to HP web site for user documentation identifying correct function key if not shown on monitor during startup. If recovery partition is still present, recovery will revert your file system to state it was in when machine was sold. (You'll lose all your programs and data installed since then). 2. Original Configuration. Take a closer look at the case of your HP desktop to determine the Model Number of the machine, e.g. Pavilion 6736. Also look on the back of the box for a Hewlett-Packard sticker. Model Number might be top of sticker (right side). With model number you may be able to access support and downloads section of HP web site for user documentation pertaining to your computer. 3. Perhaps you can call HP and order (buy) a Restore CD for your Model Number and Operating System. If still available it would be cheaper than buying a new operating system license. 4. Uninstall Vista (and revert to Windows XP). Microsoft does not PROVIDE user interface to simply revert back to Windows XP (the previous operating system) by uninstalling Vista. At least that's what they say in the following link: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933170

Answer»

Help,
My roomie decided to try and istall his vista on my pc which was USING xp home, it is now asking for the key but i do not have it as he is no longer living near me. I hate vista and want to go back to my original xp but to reformat or do a clean sweep i have no system restore or xp start up disk, am I doomed or is there some file lurking in my pc which I can boot from???/
Much THANK in advanceWelcome to the CH forums.

When the attempt was made to install Vista was it as a dual boot or was your hard drive formatted prior to the Vista install?

Can you boot your pc into any operating system?

Lots more info needed - please read this..

Hi,
My original operating system was xp home edition. I have a HP desktop, not sure of model exactly.
When my roomate installed the vista it was off his upgrade anytime cd that came with his laptop. He put it in my cd drive and installed vista home basic. It put all my xp stuff into a file called "old xp", I am now getting a message to "activate windows"
when i click on this it asks for a key which as i said i dont have, it is also saying i have 10 days to activate or windows will not work correctly.
I am noticing when I start up my pc i see a F10 system restore, can i click on this and restore my system without either start up or system restore cd?
ThanksWithout a restore disk I think you're fried. HP might help but MS never made it easy to do a retro reinstall of an older operating system without at least deleting the EXISTING Windows folder. Even if you had the product key for your friend's cd I doubt if you'd last long as MS would pick up that one cd had been used to install Vista on two pc's which is a big no-no.

But wait, someone with more knowledge than I have on this subject MAY come along soon with a solution for you.

Bonne chance.

Thanks,

Me thinks Im just going to have to go and buy another copy of XP home edition, easier that way
Thanks Y'all1.
Quote from: mouse62 on December 07, 2007, 03:55:22 PM

I am noticing when I start up my pc i see a F10 system restore, can i click on this and restore my system without either start up or system restore cd?

I think so, as long as your system came with "recovery partition" that is still on your hard drive. If successful, it will restore your hard drive to state it was in when you bought the system. All programs and data installed since you bought it will be gone unless you back them up first.

You say the HP desktop computer had Windows XP Home Edition, but no System Restore or XP setup CD. Computers sold in this state usually come with a "Recovery CD" or a "Recovery Partition". Normally an installation of Windows (Vista?) would not disturb this partition. Have you looked at the partition structure of the hard drive to see if there is a "hidden" recovery partition on it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_partition

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recovery_CD

You may use the "Disk Management" tool that comes with Vista to do this. If present, the recovery partition is usually the first partition on Disk 0, perhaps about 6 GB in size.

To access, go to Run (Windows key + R) and type diskmgmt.msc. This command will open the Disk Management tool directly. Dig for more info in the following link:

http://www.vista4beginners.com/How-to-manage-your-disks-using-only-Windows-Vista-Disk-Management-tool

I believe you may hit a function key (F10 or F11?) at system startup for a menu with access to recovery partition. You'll have to go to HP web site for user documentation identifying correct function key if not shown on monitor during startup. If recovery partition is still present, recovery will revert your file system to state it was in when machine was sold. (You'll lose all your programs and data installed since then).

2. Original Configuration. Take a closer look at the case of your HP desktop to determine the Model Number of the machine, e.g. Pavilion 6736. Also look on the back of the box for a Hewlett-Packard sticker. Model Number might be top of sticker (right side).

With model number you may be able to access support and downloads section of HP web site for user documentation pertaining to your computer.

3. Perhaps you can call HP and order (buy) a Restore CD for your Model Number and Operating System. If still available it would be cheaper than buying a new operating system license.

4. Uninstall Vista (and revert to Windows XP). Microsoft does not PROVIDE user interface to simply revert back to Windows XP (the previous operating system) by uninstalling Vista. At least that's what they say in the following link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/933170

Solve : need to fix pc but no xp or start up disk?

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