I have a hp Pavillion desktop - 1210 I think. I bought it with the operating system installed as typical package.

I have use Windows XP (updated to service pack 3)), 2 MB ram and two internal drives. The second drive (160 GB), D, was installed from an older computer and is used for backups. The original drive (200 GB) contains my programs and current files. When looking at the "local drives " , on C, I see about 134 MB used plus another local drive listed as "HP Recovery" that shows 8GB with 898 MB free space. I also have an external 1 TB drive available with 95% available.

I have several problems with booting up ( have to boot from the D drive apparently) and I also have some problems with a fragmented or damaged bios and have some annoying messages periodically ( booting from the C drive and inability to get Adobe and Adobe Flash installed), but the box works well enough, but not always correct. It seems like I should have to clean things up and do a restore, but do not know what is on the "Recovery" partition that could be of benefit. - Does it contain Windows XP, which could be updated?

I do not want to go to Vista because I have the original program disks of some programs (Microsoft Office, Quicken, Turbo Tax, Corel Paint Shop Pro, Family Tree Maker, etc.) that I use frequently, but may or may not be compatible with Vista. I have some programs that I cannot find the disks and may have to be sacraficed if I do a reformat.

I do have access to a reasonable local "Computer Gal" and her partner that have been a big help in upgrading and seems to be capable. - About 1/2 or 1/3 of the Geek Squad and are more flexible time-wise and not trying sell a bunch of new boxes that may not be needed.

Any suggestions???

Thanx, - Dick

 

I don't have any suggestions but that partition on the C drive has all the information (mostly crap) that was originally installed on your machine. If you do the "recover" from that drive section it will wipe out the rest of the drive (I think) and re-install everything that was available to you when you first bought the machine. You would need to do ALL of the XP updates and re-load all of the programs that you have installed since purchasing the computer. It is possible that you cannot even do the recovery directly but will need to first burn several CDs from that recovery portion. I know that my Compaq SR1610NX needed about a dozen CDs for the recovery and once I had tried installing XP pro in the computer it wouldn't even recognize the recovery discs.

I did once do a complete recovery on an old laptop that was running WIN98SE and that worked fine. I still had to delete all the crap and re-install all the additional programs but I had a fatal error on the drive and that is what it took. I got another two years usage out of that unit before it died completely and I was still able to access the hard drive from my new computer.

 

My major problem is that the box came from the store with Windows XP installed. Does the recovery file/partition usually come with Windows XP included or do I have to find a sticker on the box(hopefully) and get a reinstall from the box seller or Microsoft?

I am trying to avoid buying another version of XP and not to try to repair/purchase the bios. The good thing is that I could avoid a lot of the garbage that might be on the recovery.

I can easily copy the partitioned portion of the C drive to my external 1 TB drive to save it and then go through making a bunch of CDs if it worth all the trouble. I don't know if I will be able to access the remote external once I start the process of reformating the C drive.

I do have an XP copy, but I have no idea whether it is legal or something I made when i bought the box a cople of years ago. I gues I could try to figure out a little if I looked at the file dates, but that would not be reliable.

My "Computer Gal" feels the same way I do about Vista and trying to use some of my programs because of compatibility. She just does not want to deal with "second hand software". She can do it right and a lot faster and easier than I can and her rates are reasonable. I just do not waste her time or mine.

Thanx for the information and guidance.

Dick

 

Yes, the recovery partition has the complete (for your particular machine) XP operating system as was sold to the original manufacturer. You should have a sticker on your computer that has the identification number for your particular version of XP.

Most likely your BIOS does not allow for booting from an external drive. Somewhere I have a link (I think) to a method of putting XP on a flash drive and setting the computer to boot from the flash drive. I've never done that but I'll look and see if I still have the link.

You should also have your computer manuals in that recovery partition and it might be a good idea to access them (assuming they're in there) and read about recovery.

 

You should be able to get a recovery cd from Microsoft. I think it will be the same as the files on your "recovery' partition.

 

I don't think so, Wirepuller. When you purchase a computer with pre-installed software, including the operating system, Microsoft almost always sends you back to the original manufacturer for any support.

You CAN purchase recovery discs from H-P. They detail the needed information and cost on their website. I think it was about $15 for one of my computers when I did a preliminary check.

 

Right now I cannot boot from my C drive, so I have to quickly hit escape to get a boot menu and boot up from my D drive (it is an internal drive) that still has the old set-up from my previous computer (the D drive was moved from my old computer that had a fried mother board). It is doable, but a pain in the neck and limits using all resources.

I also have problems (a common problem, I guess) with my computer looking from an Adobe installation file to download Adobe Flash even though I cannot manually load Adobe flash and has since be deleted along with all other Adobe programs. I have reloaded the Adobe Reader, but cannot load the Flash, but keeps looking for it all day. I get tired of going to my laptop when I need to see something that uses Adobe Flash.

It seems like doing a proper set-up is in order and I just want to do it right.

Thanx, Dick

 

geting rid of the adobe loadup errors can be done from the registry if your program was not completely uninstalled. Rather than do that, I suggest you re-install the program from adobe's website (its free), then uninstalling it.

What error message are you getting from your C: drive that says you cannot boot from it? And, once you boot up, are you able to see the original C: drive from the hard drive that is booting up?

When did these errors start? I am curious if it started at the same time that you installed this second hard drive inside the case or if its a relatively new thing.



If you do resort to the recovery software that came with this packaged system you might have to temporarily remove the second hard drive that you put in there if it doesnt work. A lot of the manufacturers wont let their restore programs work if you changed any of the insides of the pc. Its their little way to make sure you have to pay them money to do anything or make any changes.

As was mentioned, if you use the recovery software everything you have on there such as pictures, website favorites, etc, will be gone.

Its possible this hard drive is dying.