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    clarification on recovery discs

    Discussion in 'HP' started by the1, Aug 12, 2006.

  1. the1

    the1 Notebook Consultant

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    i've read from reviews that hp notebooks tend to be sold without any discs and instead with a recovery partition. i was considering the nc8430 and was wondering if it's possible to burn a recovery disc as i'm not fond of relying on a hard disk and i dont have a xp disc.
     
    the1, Aug 12, 2006
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  2. MGS2392

    MGS2392 NAND Cat!

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    Yes, you may burn recovery discs. I think it's around 18 CDs or 2 DVDs. They do, however, contain all the bloatware. Alternatively, you may ask HP for these discs. They'll either give you to them for free, or charge you $10 for them. These are just the staight up Windows CDs. No bloatware whatsoever.
     
    MGS2392, Aug 12, 2006
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  3. nferra2

    nferra2 Notebook Geek

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    Are the windows recovery CD's that come HP sends out just regular versions of Windows. The reason I ask is that I got a Windows CD when my HD crashed and I would like to use it to reformat a used Compaq Lappy I got for my Mom, which came without any disks.
     
    nferra2, Aug 12, 2006
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  4. the1

    the1 Notebook Consultant

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    check the discs, you can usually tell as recovery cd's will be branded hp whereas windows xp cd's will be microsoft branded. however it is known for xp discs to only work on the notebooks they were bought with

    can i ask for them if i didnt buy direct from hp?
     
    the1, Aug 12, 2006
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  5. nferra2

    nferra2 Notebook Geek

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    Ok, I went and looked through my XP discs. I have two from HP, one came with the computer, and one they sent with a replacement HD. Neither come with a product Key, and both have HP on them, however the one that came with my replacement HD is clearly marked as a recovery Disk, the other just says "For distribution only with a NEw HP or Compaq PC. Does this mean I could not use it to reformat another computer???? I don't see how they could limit where you can install the software you paid for.
     
    nferra2, Aug 12, 2006
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  6. the1

    the1 Notebook Consultant

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    yeah thats right, recovery discs cannot be used on other computers because of the different hardware profiles
     
    the1, Aug 13, 2006
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  7. qsimpson

    qsimpson Notebook Evangelist

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    yeah if you bought the extra genuine xp cd you could use it to install on other computers (assuming you have key) but the recovery disks are strictly made for the computer they came with.
     
    qsimpson, Aug 13, 2006
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  8. nferra2

    nferra2 Notebook Geek

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    The other computer has the little sticker with Product key on the bottom, I just don't have the cd that came with it.
     
    nferra2, Aug 13, 2006
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