Clean Windows Install from Powerspec "Restore" Disk?

Hi all ...

Yes, I know I made a wicked big mistake not checking to see if this box
I just bought had a true "Windows XP" disk. Turns out that it has a
"Restore" disk.

Actually I have used the disk something like four times as I was
changing around partitions and the like.

Problems:

There doesn't seem to be any way to get into fdisk to do partitions
right from the start as would be possible with a straight OEM Windows
XP disk.

I've also swapped out the video card already and am wondering precisely
how the thing will react the next time I need to reload Windows.

The restore disk also has Norton Anti-Virus on it which I really don't
need as, despite the abuse I have suffered from them, I still go with
McAfee.

Question ... I understand that there actually is a Windows OEM disk
embedded in the restore disk somewhere that one can run if one can get
to the file structure, but of course one would not be able to get to
the file structure unless one had already loaded Windows.

Is there any way to do a clean Windows install and is there any way to
get into fdisk from that disc?

Thanks!

Ax

wrote:

Hi all ...

Yes, I know I made a wicked big mistake not checking to see if this box
I just bought had a true "Windows XP" disk. Turns out that it has a
"Restore" disk.

Actually I have used the disk something like four times as I was
changing around partitions and the like.

Problems:

There doesn't seem to be any way to get into fdisk to do partitions
right from the start as would be possible with a straight OEM Windows
XP disk.

I've also swapped out the video card already and am wondering precisely
how the thing will react the next time I need to reload Windows.

The restore disk also has Norton Anti-Virus on it which I really don't
need as, despite the abuse I have suffered from them, I still go with
McAfee.

Question ... I understand that there actually is a Windows OEM disk
embedded in the restore disk somewhere that one can run if one can get
to the file structure, but of course one would not be able to get to
the file structure unless one had already loaded Windows.

If there was actually a Windows 'OEM' disk on the CD you could read it with
anything that can read the CD. Like a Win98 startup disk.


Is there any way to do a clean Windows install and is there any way to
get into fdisk from that disc?

Depends on what's actually on the CD. I've seen manufacturer 'restore' CDs
that were nothing more than a bootable CD to change XP restore points,
which means XP must be installed and also operational.

Others have an image of the original hard drive and do not do an 'install',
per see, but merely put that image back on.


Thanks!

Ax

I used to develop these restore CDs for a couple of very large PC
manufacturers.
Rest assured there is no real XP CD embedded in these. What is done is a
complete
XP install along with partitioning, partition formatting, driver and
application installation, etc
then the PC is "rolled back" to a state that removes registration key and
other info. Then
the hard drive is imaged with a tool like Ghost or Drive Image and a script
built around it.
A bootable CD is made which runs the front end to restore the hard drive
image. There
are various permutations of this that will allow these things to only
restore to a machine
of the same model (ie, a BIOS locked image using what Microsoft calls SLP
anti-piracy
technology).

If you just changed your video card, the machine will come up with the
standard VGA
driver instead of the preloaded driver and you can then just install the
appropriate new
driver. You probably won't be able to use this CD if you ever swap out the
motherboard.
If you want to control your own install, you'll need to buy a real XP CD.


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oups.com...
Hi all ...

Yes, I know I made a wicked big mistake not checking to see if this box
I just bought had a true "Windows XP" disk. Turns out that it has a
"Restore" disk.

Actually I have used the disk something like four times as I was
changing around partitions and the like.

Problems:

There doesn't seem to be any way to get into fdisk to do partitions
right from the start as would be possible with a straight OEM Windows
XP disk.

I've also swapped out the video card already and am wondering precisely
how the thing will react the next time I need to reload Windows.

The restore disk also has Norton Anti-Virus on it which I really don't
need as, despite the abuse I have suffered from them, I still go with
McAfee.

Question ... I understand that there actually is a Windows OEM disk
embedded in the restore disk somewhere that one can run if one can get
to the file structure, but of course one would not be able to get to
the file structure unless one had already loaded Windows.

Is there any way to do a clean Windows install and is there any way to
get into fdisk from that disc?

Thanks!

Ax