Re: DEAD LAPTOP XP HOME SP1A OEM

Okay, I'm slightly less confused. :-)

I need a bit more clarification, though.

You wrote:

THERE ARE ABOUT 213-215 FILES ON THE CD. MOST
ARE UNDER "i386" AND 2 ARE
UNDER "SYSTEM32". TITLE FOR E:\ VRMHFPP_EN .

That sounds like you have a copy of a generic OEM installation disk of
Windows XP Home w/ SP2. That is good (assuming it's genuine). You have a
license to run this OS (because it was part of the PC purchase). The
Product Key can be found on the Certificate of Authenticity (COA)
sticker which should be on the bottom of your laptop. So it you ever
need to perform a clean install, you should be good to go.

I GET THREE CHOICES AS MENTIONED ABOVE. UNABLE
TO DO ANY EXCEPT F3 = EXIT.

And in your other post:

I am able to get to a screen that offers choices: "R" for repair....
Enter to install Windows SP2 (which I don't have on CD, only
have SP1a on my Recovery disks that don't work.. or hit F3
to exit. Cannot get any further.
(Repair doesn't work, either.)

It sounds like you didn't use the disk above (TITLE FOR E:\
VRMHFPP_EN). Assuming I am correct, which disk did you use?

I HAVE ALL THE ORIGINAL RECOVERY DISKS. THEY
DO NOT RECOVER ANYTHING FOR ME. DON'T INSTALL
NOR RECOVER.

How many recovery disks do you have? Please describe them in detail.

What was the method HP gave you to restore your PC to its original
state? A
recovery disk? Or perhaps instructions to use a hidden recovery
partition on
the hard drive?

HAVE NOT CHKD WITH HP TO ANY EXTENT BECAUSE
MICROSOFT IS THE MAIN COMPANY THAT I DEAL WITH
FOR MOST TECH STUFF BECAUSE IT'S THEIRS ANYWAY.
GEEKS ON FORUMS ARE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE.

What I meant was when you purchased your PC, what method of recovery did
it come with? It sounds like you didn't get a full installation disk.
But maybe you received a genuine HP Windows XP recovery disk, correct?
If so, that is one way you can start from scratch if you ever need to.

And you are mistaken. Microsoft (as a company) does not support XP in
this case. That is the responsibility of the OEM (HP). That being said,
I agree that there are many in this Microsoft newsgroup (by the way,
these people are not employed by Microsoft; they're just volunteers) who
can offer quality help.

This PC originally had XP Home, correct?

YES... XP HOME SP1A .

How did you wind up with XP Pro?

I PURCHASED THE UPGRADE AND THEN THE FULL
VERSION (THANKS. GATEWAY... useless company).

I assume that your Gateway recovery disk contains XP Home SP1A, correct?

That is a shame you purchased *two* additional copies of XP. It wasn't
necessary, and I'm sure it cost quite a bit. :-( Is it correct that both
the Upgrade and Full versions are of XP Pro? If so, what Service Pack
level are they at? SP2, maybe?

I really think your best bet (like I said earlier) is a clean install.
You might as well do this with the Full version of XP Pro (assuming that
I am correct in understanding this is one of the disks you have). And if
you never had purchase the Upgrade and Full disks, the disk you
described above (TITLE FOR E:\ VRMHFPP_EN) would probably work, too.
But if you have a genuine Full version of XP Pro, that's the way to go.

Here are good instructions:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/cleanxpinstall.html

Make sure you are booting off your CD-ROM drive! Also, see:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/bios_manufacturer.htm

Hopefully, all your important data has been backed up already. If not,
performing a clean install will destroy it all. So, it is advised to
physically remove the hard drive and put it in a USB enclosure. The you
can copy the data to your other laptop.

One final word: Don't lose the COA sticker to your XP Pro! It contains
your Product Key.

Good luck!


.

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