Accidently wiped XP from hard drive - please help

[Raveboy]

I had problems with my laptop software operating sytem and thought the best way to sort out problem would be too reformat hard drive and reinstall operating system. Unfortuantley the laptop I brought didn't come with a recovery disk or drivers disk and now I am stuck with unusable laptop (no o/s or drivers).


I consulted the shop I brought it from about the matter and they said I should have done a recovery disk when I first used the computer. I was not aware of this situation.

I tried to install a Ubunty freeware operating system but too no such luck. Also I think the laptop needs XP installed in order to get drivesr off website and use them as the info for driver says its for the laptop with Xp.

I am not keen on buying another oem XP as why should I have too pay twice for an 0/S when I have alreeady paid for one.

I was under impression that by law the computer should have a disk version of XP with computer.

What should I do?

 

[Tommy Boy]

Look on the computer somewhere and see if it has a sticker with an XP OEM number on it. If it does, all you need to do is use any XP installation disc and just put in the OEM on the sticker and you'll be good. it'll get you up and running and then you can update the drivers from there.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

Do you even have an XP installation disk?

 

[Raveboy]

is an installation disk different to a opertaing system disk?
if not where can I get a xp install disk from?

 

[cavemangrinder]

Eh, I guess they could be the same thing. What you need is a disk explicitly labeled "Windows XP". If you have a disk like that, then you are in business as long as you have a OEM number on the bottom of your laptop like Tommy Boy said.

 

[Atomic Rooster]

is an installation disk different to a opertaing system disk?

Should be the same.

To install XP, you will need to enter the BIOS and set the boot order to CDROM first. Another way to try is to have the OS CD in the drive and while booting up, press the F12 key. That should get you into a menu to select the CDROM as the first boot device.

 

[Raveboy]

I have another laptop with a XP O/S AND it came with a Easy Install XP disc (software, drivers a recovery boot cd) although the disk is for that laptop with a different make and model number. I have am now in process of installing XP o/s and will try and use the product acitavation number for the computer I was going to install it on. Although I thought the disk knows that it is for the other computer and will have activation issues when it finds out the activation key is different.

have gone through install XP stages and about 60% of the way through a message has come up that there was a Fatal Error (signature invalid - error code 800b0100). i tried too reinstall o/s but have encountered same problems. what do I do now?

i real feel like cooking my laptop in a micorwave because none of the xp install disks are working and neither does the other disk (no recovery data found)!!!!! ARGGHHH!!!!!

How set in stone is the requirement for needing Xp to install drivers..... actually I think I know because i have already tried to do that with Win 2000 installled to free up some system resources but I did not successfully complete the tasks.

I think it was down to the fact that the laptop had XP preinstalled on it when purchased and the drivers were built around that o/s.

does anyone have any better ideas?

 

[Tommy Boy]

Yeah, you can't use one of those recovery discs that are meant for another computer, it will work on that computer only. You need an actual XP install disc, any one will work as long as you have an OEM number for the pc you are installing it on. If you don't have a disc, you could borrow one from a friend or even download (cough cough....it's legal) windows xp without an oem number.

You never said whether you have an oem number for that pc or not.

 

[setishock]

Also there is no law that says they have to supply a disc with the computer.
A lot of the laptop makers in recent years have turned to having the end user, that's you, burn your own recovery disc's. Saves them money. HP is that way. As a matter of fact I cloned my recovery partition off to another hard drive, then made the recovery disc set.
In essence you're dead in the water unless you can either get a OEM copy of xp or get the laptop maker to send you a recovery disc set. Which will not be a freebie.

@ Tommy Boy. It's on a sticker on the bottom of the laptop. Genuine Microsoft Product.

 

[Jk]

What exactly happened with Ubuntu? Maybe we could help you with that.