From: bashley101@gmail.com   
      
   relic wrote:   
      
   > The Real Bev wrote:   
   >> relic wrote:   
   >>> The Real Bev wrote:   
   >>>> relic wrote:   
   >>>>   
   >>>>> All the "Recovery CD" sets I've seen start out doing a Format   
   >>>>> of the HDD, and restore everything back to the way it was the   
   >>>>> day it left the factory. Anything you have done since you   
   >>>>> bought the PC is gone forever. What you want is either a   
   >>>>> "Repair" installation, or a "Reinstallation." Either requires   
   >>>>> an XP CD, not any form of Recovery CDs. You can use someone   
   >>>>> elses to do it (using your 'Key' from the silver sticker   
   >>>>> attached to the bottom of your laptop), but it must match   
   >>>>> what you have installed: OEM Home, OEM Pro, or OEM Multimedia   
   >>>>> version. (A Retail version won't work.) You may also download   
   >>>>> a version from p2p or Bit Torrent that matches and use your   
   >>>>> key.   
   >>>>   
   >>>> What about the separate repair or recovery or equivalent   
   >>>> partition that came on an HP XP desktop?  No CD at all.  I did   
   >>>> an occasional repair-from-CD with 98 and 2000 with no bad   
   >>>> results, but I haven't had a problem with the XP   
   >>>> machine...yet...   
   >>>   
   >>> HP's recovery partition restores back to how it left the factory.   
   >>> Some HP's came with a real XP CD as well as the 'Restore'   
   >>> capability... not many tho.   
   >>   
   >> That's bad news.  I guess the best I could do is use cabview to   
   >> find the offending file and copy it over -- not likely to be a   
   >> pleasurable or productive activity even assuming it can be done.   
   >   
   > Most of the time, you can download single files. Google "download   
   > 'filename.ext'"   
      
   The problem, of course, is figuring out what's been smashed :-(   
      
   >> Just copying over the original files without, in effect, formatting   
   >> and reinstalling everything would seem to be a basic   
   >> universally-desired function.  Guess Gate$ didn't think so.   
   >   
   > The Repair installation does that... but you need an XP CD.   
      
   I have a non-HP XP CD.  Would that work?   
      
   --   
   Cheers,   
   Bev   
   --------------------------------------------   
   There is no such thing as a foolproof device   
   because fools are so ingenious.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)