Respawn CD Question

Hi guys, after spending about 2 months looking for a new laptop i have decided to get an m15x, but i have just one question

Since the m15x will replace my inspirion 9300 I will need a large HDD, which i will be ordering separately (m15x will be a DTR for me). Does the respawn cd include a formating tool for a new raw HDD, or will i need to format it separately, then install the os then use the respawn cd?

Sorry if this question has been asked before, the info i found about the respawn cd didn't give me a concrete answer so i figured i'd ask

 

I highly highly highly recommend Norton Ghost. Slap that baby onto a USB stick, and you're off and running.

I actually uninstalled AlienRespawn in favour of Norton Ghost images.

However, if that's not your game, then the respawn CD should contain the entire system partition. It probably will not contain the AlienRespawn partition. I am just guess here, so don't take my word for it.

I do, however, recommend Norton Ghost. Best thing that's happened to me and computers since the transistor.

 

i never understand, what is the respawn disk?
does the m15x come with an vista dvd/cd ?

 

yes it does come with a Vista Disk it only has Vista on it.

 

I am wondering the same thing myself...

I purchased the $50 alienrespawn 2.0 dvd, thinking that the system might not come w/ a full vista install disk, just one that would recover vista if it was already installed--- my reasoning for this is that I only got a 160gb hard drive and will be upgrading to a 250 soon and would like to be able to install the full vista on the drive. Does anyone know if the standard recovery disk that comes w/ the computer will work on a new, completely clean hard drive? If so I may want to return the respawn 2.0 dvd- unless anyone thinks its worth keeping for its backup utilities?--- and collect my 50 bucks back...

Anyone know?

 

The respawn kit is an image of the computer's hard drive after it was tested and had everything installed.

It will give you a clean ready to use OS installation in say about 10-15 minutes rather than the hour or so that it takes to do a normal Windows install via the recovery discs, plus driver installation and setting.

It is simply a great timesaver if you experience OS related problems and need to reformat and reinstall the OS.

And well, that's one of the purposes of having an image of your hard drive, regardless of the utility you use. In my case, I use Acronis.

All hard drive image utilities that I know of adjust to bigger sized hard drives and I've been able to restore an image onto a bigger hard drive when upgrading, all while being able to use the extra space.

 

Hi Reeaz Subhan,
Moidock pretty much covered the whole respawn question. But in regard to your question as to whether or not your computer comes with the proper cd/dvd's to reinstall everything on a new drive, yes it does. Also, if you decided to go with the respawn kit, it's a huge timesaver like Moidock mentioned. However, I'm not entirely sure it won't just create a partition that's equal to the size of your old drive and leave the rest empty. If I had known that my computer came with all the cd/dvd's, I would have never ordered the respawn kit. I think it's a common misconception that if you don't order the respawn set, there's no way to restore the computer (aside from the auto-restore on the hard drive partition). This brings me to the next question. Will alien respawn restore my recovery partition on my hard drive? The answer is yes.

Hope this helps,
Gabe

 

Just so i completely understand The respawn cd is basically an image software alternative and does not have a formatting tool?

Btw can anyone confirm that it will just create a partition equal to the older hdd. Definately going to get the m15x, just trying to figure out how i can put that larger hdd in and not loose the fx command center thingy

 

Hi,
The Respawn cd/dvd doesn't have a formatting tool. It's actually a norton ghost image that you execute on boot. I think there's a repair feature, but that's it. Also, anything that's on the Respawn cd/dvd you can replicate using the cd/dvd's it comes with. I don't own an m15x, but I'm sure the fx command center piece can be installed separately.

Gabe

 

U can use respawn on any HDD. It works as long as your HDD is enuff to container vista and it will partition another repawn on your new HDD. I have tested it and it work. But to be safe try to use at least a 40gb HDD.

Right now I am using Acronis True image. I image my whole HDD (320gb) but that does not mean I will need another 320gb. It depends on your image size. U just need a HDD that is slightly bigger than the image size. For my case is 110gb of image. That means I will need a HDD that is 110gb and above to bring back all the data (provided u dun image it on your HDD as well- if I do that I will need 110gb x 2 = 220gb minimum). For AW respawn a 40gb HDD pretty much cover everything but u will left with very little HDD space.

If u feel u wanna go more advanced. u can update your image on a daily basis automatically using ghost or Acronis. U can even create a safe zone on your HDD for that image, but it takes up alot of space, however I will use a external HDD for my image.

 

Cool thx for all the replies! I just wanted to make sure that when i bought the new larger drive i could reinstall everything on that new drive Thx for the info, looks like i will be ordering it within the next week!