could inserting a MAC printer installation disk on a MS-Windows based computer damage the hard-drive or....???

Question

i bought an HP Pavillion dv 6000 laptop with windows xp media center edition 2005. the catch to the good price was the fact that that it didn't work!!! when i turn it on it goes to the "blue screen of death" with the error message-UNMOUNTABLE BOOT VOLUME...i do not have the original start-up boot-disks and it does not have a floppy drive or i would've downloaded them from microsoft. oh yeah...when i got it home i found the MAC printer installation disk in the drive..soooo, can that disk do the damage that has been done??? THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP & INFO

Answer 1

doubtful. you need to get Windows system disk and reformat the hard drive to reload windows. its possible the hard disk is damaged and will need to be replaced. but i'd get the windows disk first and load the system.

That inexpensive laptop is going to wind up costing you more than you thought. I'd suggest Windows XP Home edition if you want to keep costs low.

Answer 2

If the disk not compatible it just not work and really should not hurt anything. As mentioned you probably need a Full Install Disk of Windows. If, you know someone with a Laptop similar their software may work. But, for example a Dell not work as the OS CD will be loaded for divers specific for Dell.
If, you want to try Linux you can get it free;
http://www.ubuntulinux.org/
You look up top right for Support > Community and you can ask about it working on your Laptop. You may need someone with Fast Inet connection to Download the ISO file and then burn to a CD as a Bootable Disk.
This link will explain how to Check the download and burn the ISO file;
https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BurningIsoHowto
The only other thing is buy Windows. Be sure of your Processor and RAM to know what will work. There are some places to still buy Windows XP.
This is Newegg for an example. You need to understand how OEM Software can be sold.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116400
Here another place and there are others. These are for example;
http://www.directron.com/systems-operating-systems.html

Answer 3

No. Mac formatted disks could not damage a PC. That's the silliest thing I've ever heard.

Answer 4

nope. If, after removing the CD, it still won't boot. Try going into the BIOS and "reset factory defaults" , "save and exit".
If this doesn't help, buy a new hard drive for it and install win XP.