Compaq Recovery CD

Sorry if this is in the wrong place but my friend came round yesterday and said she had been given a Compaq laptop. As it was given, it had NO manuals and of course no cds.

That would be fine normally but whoever had it before had ME on it then only partly updated it to XP. So I need to find if there is an online version or where I can get hold of a copy

TIA

 

What exactly do you mean by
"partly updated it to XP "
Does it boot to XP, ME , or nothing?

Most compaqs do not use a recovery CD any longer. Instead they use a hidden partition with an image file and recovery software. (Partitioning tools will show this as an invalid , non DOS partition. If you could see it, it would probably have a gho or img file and an autorun file and "program" such as ghost , drive image , or carbon copy along with an operating system just like the bootable cd ).

To access this, you tap F10 on boot up just as you would tap Del or F2 to enter bios setup.
http://www.worldstart.com/tips/tips.php/1590
Read on down a bit and he covers using the recovery partition.

Also, if your compaq comes with a CDR/RW drive it usually will have a program listing in the start/ programs /Compaq to "Create a recovery disk set "

This recovery partition software usually gives you the option to either recover part or all to factory condition and to either save data or start clean (format and recover to factory condition).

I would also like to ask if there is a windows product key sticker on the laptop. Do not give out that key , or post it here; just let us know if there is a sticker with a bunch of five digit blocks.

You may also be able to order the recovery cd from compaq.com

 

Thanx for your help. I haven't actually got it yet, it's coming tomorrow.

She was a bit confusing

 

Well, when you have it in hand, check it out and let us know what you find.

 

Will do. This is why I stopped fixing PC's