i have a compaq computer with xp on it and the hard drive is shot, can i buy a hard drive and use the restore disk that came with the computer to get it going again or do i need a windows xp disk which i dont have it did not come with the computer only restore disks
2006-08-23 00:01:10 · 5 answers · asked by j4mover 1 in Computers & Internet ➔ Hardware ➔ Desktops
New PC's that come with restore disks have the XP operating system on the restore disk. Installing on a new hard drive should not be a problem, although reformatting a failing hard drive will re-map the new bad sectors and you can squeeze a little more life out of them.
Have a phone nearby to call the 800 number to get the 15 inch long installation key number to allow you to restore the drive. New dells with XP Pro require you to call an automated phone system to get the key code.
2006-08-27 09:17:06 · answer #1 · answered by gwhatch2001 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The response that you received from gwhatch2001 is basically correct. However, some companies' restore CDs only work with given hardware. You need to check this out with the supplier to see whether it would work if you replaced the hard drive.
2006-08-27 15:39:27 · answer #2 · answered by micksmixxx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Ok, here's a better idea. Get your hands on a Knoppix bootable linux cd. Stick that in your drive and boot up. When you get to a console, if there is nothing valueable on the disk, type "dd if=/dev/zero /dev/hda". This will overwrite every byte on your harddisk with zeros. It can take a while on larger harddisks but it's saved me before.
2006-08-23 00:04:32 · answer #3 · answered by cc c 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Your restore disk has XP on it.
2006-08-23 02:41:39 · answer #4 · answered by Nania 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
call the ontrack service .they are specialist in curing the hard drives
2006-08-23 00:03:50 · answer #5 · answered by oh_yeah 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋