Compaq QuickRestore Trick/Solution

All QuickRestore haters...

Read the whole post if you like, otherwise here is a shortcut I've
found for getting the QuickRestore process to run without a hitch.

1. Boot using Win98 boot disk (or any system disk with FDISK)
2. Run Fdisk and delete all partitions
3. Reboot and run Fdisk again: create one primary DOS partition using
max space
4. Reboot and format the drive
5. 'Sys' the drive
6. Reboot and allow computer to boot to "C:" prompt
7. Insert the first QuickRestore CD and reboot - program should prep
the drive and then proceed with the restore.

I know these 7 little steps seem like a no brainer in hindsight, but
for the countless hours and occasions I've spent trying to get the
QuickRestore to work properly (I will never own another store-bought
computer, especially a Compaq) it works well and I hope it solves
others' restore problems.

I'm sure many of you, like myself, have run into problems getting your
QuickRestore cd's to function properly. I ran into errors the hard
way and did a lot of research on the 'net - I found that I was not
alone. I used to get an error that was something like "180:XX" and
told me that QuickRestore can't continue; contact an authorized
service center. One way around this (supposedly) is to hit the Caps
Lock key during the startup screen which will "reset" the system
somehow.

However, I found another trick tonight that worked flawlessly. It
seems in the past that whether or not the HDD had been formatted and
partitioned greatly affected the restore process - many times the
screen would say that the drive is being prepared, only to hang a
short time later.

What I did tonight was to fdisk the hard drive and delete ALL previous
partitions. After rebooting, I created one Primary DOS partition
using the full amount of disk space. Then I restarted again and
formatted the drive - after formatting I 'sys' ed the drive. I booted
the computer and allowed it start up to the C prompt. I placed
QuickRestore Disc 1 into the cd drive and rebooted - the restore
process worked flawlessly. As I recall, this is how I got it to work
one previous time as well, I just didn't think to try it twice and
verify because I was so happy that it worked I didn't want to touch
it. Hopefully this will help others having problems - I know how
frustrating it is but hopefully this works for others as well (mine is
a Presario 7360 by the way).

Mark