Problems keeping me from installing sp2.

Hi everyone. Long time no see. Hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas this year.


I had this computer built for me about eight months ago and all is well. I ordered and recieved the sp2 update disk shortly after microsoft had them available. But I haven't tried to install sp2 simply because I have no xp disk to recover from if things go really wrong. I have no way to image or ghost the hard drive because all the software has to be bought on line and I simply refuse to put my cc # on the internet. I've asked several people to make or let me make a copy of their xp disk but for some reason these people (hillbillies) seem to think it to be an illegal move no matter how much I try to explain to them that it really isn't.

Is there any simple solution to backing up my hard drive with the limited options I seem to be left with? Thanks so much.

John

 

dopey

Go back to the people who built your box. Did you pay for a bare box or did it include software? You know what us hillbillies always say---you get what you pay for.

 

dopey--

You do not tell us whether you are running XP Home or Pro. In Pro you should have NTbackup.msi and can use that to backup files. In Home, you install NTbackup from the XP CD.
But you say you have no XP CD. You should ask the provider who installed your version of XP to give you a proper XP disk or at least a recovery disk. Forget about the issue of installing SP2, what are going to do if your PC crashes for some other reason?
And it would be illegal to use a copied XP CD. Not sure it would even work without the Product Key, in which case two PC's would be running on one license. But I think it would be OK to copy the file NTbackup.msi from a friend's disk and transfer it to yours.
http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=302894
(NTBackup will not burn to CD-RW, but you can transfer to a CD-R.)

 

Hi Bill.
Seems to me these hillbillies jipped me. I bought the computer and software including xp home. no disks. Time to pay these folks a visit. Thanks.


Jim, Jim, Jim.... I have purchased two xp home versions and have the disks to neither unless you want to count the oem recovery disks. But I dont. My kids use the oem for their non internet use. Using a friends xp home cd and MY bought product key to restore My xp home should not be illegal. It would be the same as me owning the disks myself. ( I think )

What am I going to do if my computer crashes in the meantime??? It already has thank you. Fortunately for me I've learned enough from this board to overcome minor issues such as a system crash. But, since I have no immediate way to image the hd I do like to do a complete reinstall once a year to keep things smoothe. For this I need the install disks. So I have to go see the cheating hillbillies. I just hope they didn't sell me an illegal copy of xp home. Could be why I recieved no disks. Unless they are just plain cheap. (Most are imho). No offence Bill.

Thanks Jim...always a pleasure hearing from you.

John

 

dopey, It sounds to me like you been dealin' with the same city slickers that skinned me. I didn't get an install CD or a restore one either.

This is a HP OEM box and that's the way they do business. There are other that do that too, like Dell which is now their half-brother. I hear tell that if you raise enough of a ruckus, they'll send you a CD but I wouldn't bet on that. I tried that and they finally agreed to sell me a restore set of 7 cd's for $10.

I told them to put those CD's in that place where the sunshine won't warp them. Then I put that 10 bucks toward an imaging software. I consider it money well spent since it'll protect me next time I get skinned whereas the other method is only a one-shot deal from people of suspect.

It all boils down to the three versions of Windows XP:

1. XP Pro
2. XP Home
3. XP Homeless (That's what we have)

Best regards.
ps... I don't think they'll find a judge or jury that'll convict you of piracy but if they try, send me an invite to the trial. I'd like to sit in on that.

 

Hi dopey, welcome back!


Hi 'dude,


There are other that do that too, like Dell which is now their half-brother.

Not the last time I checked which was a few weeks ago. Setup a Dell system for my Brother and beleive me I checked for an install disc.

It is the OS and only the OS - the pre-installed stuff comes on seperate discs.

Regards - Charles

 

I've seen Norton Ghost for sale at Hastings and Wal Mart so you don't have to be online to buy imaging software.

It is not illegal to use somebody's else's XP CD so long as you use your own product key. If you don't know the product key, Magic Jelly Bean's Key Finder will retrieve it for you. It will fit on a floppy so you can download it onto another machine, put it on a floppy and run it on your computer.

Windows disks are not specific to one product key. They use an algorithm sort of thing so that any valid product key will work on a Windows disk of the same type...XP Home OEM key works on all XP Home OEM disks, XP Home Retail key works on all XP Home Retail disks, etc.

As far as installing SP2...I've installed it on several systems without any problems. I scan for and remove all spyware first...SP2 does not do well when spyware is present...and if I'm not sure the system is clean, run a complete system scan with an up-to-date antivirus program. Then I shut down all running programs, especially any antivirus software that is configured to run full time in the background. I haven't bothered to run Disk Cleanup or Disk Defrag before the install although I'm sure that wouldn't hurt.

 

Hi Charles!
I just bought a Dell 3000 for a Christmas gift to my grown daughter - it comes with a Restore disk. They call it a Reinstallation CD. I shudder to think what that may mean. It cautions that it is to be used on a Dell computer only. I'd not count on using it on some other make if this Dell box fails.

I do have to complement them for the excellent service. I ordered it on-line and directly from Dell. I received it 4 days later at my front door with no charge for shipping.

Being a natural born skeptic, I immediately installed a secondary drive in it and did a disk image to it. I noticed that there is a hidden Restore Partition on it as well. I'll nuke that after the warranty expires, always do.

Best regards.
ps. The "Reinstallation" disk says it includes SP2.
pps. I bought a Compaq two months ago, another gift - same thing except not even a Reinstallation disk this time. Just the hidden partition restore concept. Of course we know Compaq is a full brother to HP so I expected as much.

 

Hi 'dude,

They call it a Reinstallation CD. It cautions that it is to be used on a Dell computer only. I'd not count on using it on some other make if this Dell box fails.

All true, but as far installing it on another brand - not too different from a retail copy in the sense you can't use that disc another system once installed. Dell adds the brand limitation. That Brand limitation applies to any disc they supply - I couldn't for instance install one of their add on apps on a non-Dell system. One example is McAfee AV that they now pre-install on a trial basis - used to be Norton.

The "reinstallation" label pretty well describes what is, doesn't it?

I used one of those "reinstallation" dics and installed XP on a new drive - ended up with the standard OS, I had to add everything else. This was an "upgrade" version no less.

What caught my attention was putting HP and Dell in the same category. Dell has it's faults, but HP is beyond the pale IMO.

Regards - Charles

 

Yeah, that sounds reasonable. That's why I let them get by with a half-brother relationship. There may be some hope for Dell. The other two are full blown litter mates.

The market place will sort all that out in due time.

 

Hi Miz

Been checking. Walmart, Circuit City, Kmart, Staples, and Target have yet to have any copy of any imaging software. May be out of stock due to the holidays tho but I'll keep checking. Thanks. I'm just wanting to be prepared for the worse before installing sp2, although I may try it out on the oem to see how it reacts. I may go ahead and try it here. If the worse happens i can always kick myself for being to impatient.

I sort of figured the xp disks were sorta generic or else each disk would probably have an installed product key and the user wouldn't have to enter it during setup. I use Belarc for general information and Aida for more detailed info but thanks for the tip.

 

dopey--Ghost is part of Norton SystemWorks 2005 Premier and comes by itself for close to the same price. (The latest version is much improved.) I am sure the former is available at Staples, etc. (I bought it there a month ago.) But if, not look at www.newegg.com or amazon.
And there still is NTBackup.

 

Miz--Finally decided to try Magic Jelly Bean. Under the heading "CD Key" it gave me a totally different alphanumeric (though still in the five groups of five) than the label on my Dell XP CD says is the Product Key. (This of course is not the Product ID from MyComputer|Properties.)
Wonder what would happen if I used Magic Jelly Bean's number if I ever I have to reenter my Product Key?

 

Arie--Thanks. I suspected that.

 

Thanks Jim.

I wasn't looking for it to be bundled, just looked for the stand alone version. What's included with SystemWorks?

 

dopey--See
http://www.symantec.com/sabu/sysworks/pro/
Ghost is not on SystemWorks 2005, only the Premier version.

 

Thanks Jim.

 

dopey--You are welcome!
Happy New Year.
P.S. Here is a site that may help you get a good price at your local stores
http://www.salescircular.com/