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XP Restore, using different disc than original

By Goodrock7 ·
My previous Emachine P4 Celeron 2.6 ghz desktop machine died on me (bad motherboard) and I bought a used Compaq Presario Pentium P4 also 2.6 ghz but the seller did not give me a Restore disc, and it will not allow me to make another restore disc.

Can I use the restore disc that came with my Emachine in the Compaq?

I have a years worth of built up problems and I'd like to just wipe it clean and start over, but I can't afford to buy another copy of Windows.

I've installed a new DVD burner and power supply before, but am basically at beginner level in tech skills.

Thanks for your help.

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not possible

by Absolutely In reply to XP Restore, using differe ...

OEM restore disks are based on Windows, but have their proprietary drivers, and alterations that prevent them from working with competitor's hardware.

I'm afraid you'll have to buy a retail XP disk to install Windows on that computer. In the meantime this may be of interest

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did you try the hidden recovery partition?

by JPLconsultant In reply to XP Restore, using differe ...

On your HP computer, there should be a partition you can boot to that will reinstall the OS for you from scratch. When booting, during POST, look for an option to press F12 (i think) for recovery options. HP and many other OEMs no longer send disks to save money. But they ALWAYS provide some method to restore your computer. Dell allows you to create a CD/DVD. HP uses this 'hidden' partition.

As for using another OEM's CD, you can't. As noted earlier, it will have proprietary drivers and may include a check to see that the vendor named in the BIOS matches what the CD says it should be.

In addition, if you read your EULA, you'll see that it states this CD can only be used on this machine. Using it on another machine breaks the EULA, which is a violation of US copyright laws and punishable by up to a $250,000 fine AND 5 years in prison.

JPL()

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