How can I factory restore Windows Xp without using the recovery CD?

Question

Read the question lol.

Well I have the Cd but it says "Contact Compaq technical support" and I don't think they will help because my computer is 7 years old

I realized something When i put the recovery cd in at the top it says windows 98 and this white text on black comes then it goes to the error screen

Answer 1

On a 7-year-old Compaq, the only way to do it is with the CD.

Instructions for the Windows 98 Presario:

1. Insert the Quick Restore/Recovery CD in the top CDROM drive
2.Hold down the power button for 5 seconds until the computer shuts off
3.From a powered off state turn on the computer by pressing the power button
4.When you see the red Compaq Logo repeatedly tap on the F8 key on the top row of the keyboard to bring up the
"Microsoft Windows 98 Startup Menu"
5.Use the arrow keys to scroll to "6. Safe Mode Command Prompt only" and press Enter. This should bring you to an
A:\ prompt
6.At the A:\ prompt type PATH=C:\WINDOWS\COMMAND and press Enter on the keyboard
7.At the A:\ prompt type FDISK and press Enter
8.Press Enter to confirm that the disk is larger that 512MB
9.Press 3 (Delete partition or logical DOS drive) then press Enter
10.Press 3 (Delete Logical DOS Drives(s) in Extended DOS Partition) then press Enter
11.Press D then press Enter
12.Type SYSTEM_SAV and press Enter
13.Press Y to confirm the partition removal
14.Press ESC two times to get back to fdisk options
15.Press 3 (Delete partition or logical DOS drive) and press Enter
16.Press 2 (Delete Extended DOS Partition) and press Enter
17.Press Y for yes the partition removal
18.Press ESC two times to get back to fdisk options
19.Press 3 (Delete partition or logical DOS drive) and press Enter
20.Press 1 (Delete Primary DOS Partition) and press Enter
21.Press Enter when prompted for a Volume Label
22.Press Y to continue
23.Press ESC 3 times to return to the A:\ Prompt
2.Running the Quick Restore
1.With the Quick Restore/Recovery CD in the top CD-ROM drive and hold down the power button for 5 seconds until
the computer shuts off
2.Turn on the computer by pressing the power button
3.When the Compaq Logo appears, press the Caps Lock key
4.When the Quick Restore menu stops flashing, press the Num Lock key
5.Press Enter when prompted to "Select this line for English"
6."Welcome to Compaq Quick Restore" will appear, press ENTER
7."Compaq Quick Restore" will appear, press Enter
8.The computer will restart and an "Important Message" will appear, press Enter
9."Insert Recovery Diskette or Disk" will appear, press Enter 3 times
10.Use the arrow keys on the computer to select the model, then press Enter
11."WARNING Quick restore will destroy all data..." will appear, press Enter
12.During this part of the Quick Restore the following screens will appear, "Current process...checking current integrity,
"copying data", "aligning data", "changing structures", will appear,
No User intervention is required. The computer will restart then pause at a screen displaying "English 50% Insert the
Second CD"
13.Remove Quick Restore disk #1, insert Disk #2 and press Enter
14.After the "Working" process, insert Quick Restore disk #1 back into the drive when prompted and press Enter
15."Reading CD Information" will appear, when prompted, remove the CD and press Enter
16.The computer will restart and display "Rebooting..Please wait."
17.The system will display "COMPAQ QUICK RESTORE" (This may take a while, it is not frozen)
18.A Compaq Quick Restore box will appear in top right hand corner unzipping and installing drivers and software
19.The computer will restart again then display "Preparing drive" then "System Save, current process...copying data "
20.The computer will restart again then boot to Windows while installing plug and play hardware
21.To complete the Quick Restore, enter the time and personal information needed to continue

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Answer 2

Ok,I'm slightly confused here,you ask how to "factory restore Windows Xp" without a recovery cd,yet your system is 7 years old and you have a recovery disk for Win 98!
Do you have XP installed? If you do have XP then the Win98 recovery disk will not work and if XP was installed after removing Win98 then there will not be a recovery partition on the hard disk.You could try contacting HP/Compaq to see if a
recovery program is available for your model but the only other option is to try repairing the windows xp installation by inserting the XP disk(if you have it) and selecting repair at the first screen.

Answer 3

Alot of name brand pcs these days don't come with recovery disks but instead provide a wayto burn off one set. If that's never been done on your pc you still can.

Someone else mentioned the recovery paritition. Alot of brand pcs have that as well.

Look in your "All Programs" menu for a link to the pc manufacturer's manual to check on both of those. If you can't find it there go to the manufacturer's website > drivers & downloads to find it.
_

Answer 4

The best way is to use the original software disc. or you can use the System restore feature to put your computer back to an earlier date when it was good. I suggest you find a cd and do a erase and install and save yourself more headaches then you have.
Don

Answer 5

You can't, unless you have an image of windowsXp on a partition of your hard drive and have access to it by pressing F10 on the black boot screen.

Answer 6

You can't. You can only do it with the cd provided with your computer (recovery CD).

Answer 7

You need a genuine copy of XP to be able to reinstall it, after you format your hard drive, of course.

Answer 8

Send it back to the factory lol.

Answer 9

you could make an new account and delete the old one