Ehm Windows ME back-up problem. Help apreciated!

[Angrist]

Our laptop was shipped with Windows ME, but no cd. So all the stuff is installed on the laptop (2GB:eek: ) and you can't format the HD (well you don't want to do it).

There came a 'recovery CD' with it. It says it is to bring the laptop into it's original state.

Do you think that's the way to clean up our laptop and have a 'clean' HD with only Windows and the neccesairy files? On the paper that comes with the disk it says it has Windows 98 on it...

Oh wait, why not try the CD and see what the readme says...

In the meanwhile, is anyone of you familiar with this?? Thanks.

[Angrist]

Hmm... I'm going to restore it now... I copied the important files to a portable HD. I guess itt will take a few hours to get all the internet settings done...

Anyway, in case it doesn't work and I'll never see you again: nice knowing you.

;)

[Happydude]

you better be back...cause if your not...me and some other people will kill you!:D

[Bond]

Your laptop isn't a Compaq by any chance is it Angrist?

[Angrist]

Yes it is. Compaq presario 1400 to be precise.

Anyway I did it, and everything works perfectly. Now let's hope it's fast enough for some games.

We're using an external extra HD to store some MP3's from Kazaa. So that saves some space on the main HD :) Perhaps I can install some games on it.

Did you miss me? ;)

[Bond]

Originally posted by Angrist
Yes it is. Compaq presario 1400 to be precise.

Anyway I did it, and everything works perfectly. Now let's hope it's fast enough for some games.

We're using an external extra HD to store some MP3's from Kazaa. So that saves some space on the main HD :) Perhaps I can install some games on it.

Did you miss me? ;)
Yeah, I had to use the factory recovery CD on my Compaq desktop Presario also. It worked great, except I shouldn't of had to use it in the first place.

[Angrist]

It sucks that they didn't ship a Windows ME CD with it. :(

Anyway everythings works great, he's a bit faster (not as fast as I hoped for but I guess it never was faster).

Now let's install StarCraft on the externel HD. :)

[Revival]

<Compaq sucks rant>

Ok.. my dad's a semi-Compaq tech support.. and in thr 2 years that he's been, I've learned one thing:

Compaq's suck ass.

I've had so many problems with mine.. I've had to use the recovery CD (which NEVER has the original OS, it's always a step or two down), I've had to re-install with a brand new OS, and I've had to re-format JUST to put Windows XP on.

Compaq's suck ass.

Angrist, save up your money and buy a new PC, or better yet -- a Mac :D

</Compaq sucks rant>

[sdtPikachu]

Yep, Compaq's suck ass. In fact, so does every copmputer that doesn't come with an OS CD, just a crappy "recovery disc". All these things do is copy a disc image from a hidden partition in your hard drive back to the C partition (whether you use a recovery floppy or CD-ROM, it does the same thing. The only thing on these discs is a few tiny executables to start copying the image over).

In case you haven't guessed, this whole shebang was invented to avoid giving out CD's that people could theoretically install on other machines (which, as we all know, is illegal with Windows). They're even doing it with XP (which can't be run on more than one machine).

Of course, if your hard drive goes belly up, you're fscked. My friend Rachel, despite my protests, insisted on running LookOut Express, and one day caught a hard drive destroying virus. One new HDD later, and they're sans OS, so I had to go along and reinstall and partition the hard drive up. It's just got ME in there at the moment, but it's going to get 2000 in there once I get my hands on my CD.

Shooter, I'm afraid even if he does save and buy a better PC he's probably not going to get his CD's with it. Shipping the OS CD's with windows machines just isn't done any more. Yet another excuse for building your own computer.

Angrist, you may want to read the links about craputers I put in Joeiss' "Advice on Buying a Computer" thread.

[The_Dunadan]

my dell came with an os cd:D but its xp so theoratically i could only install it once if i had a problem with it.

[Null]

Originally posted by The_Dunadan
my dell came with an os cd:D but its xp so theoratically i could only install it once if i had a problem with it.


not so. dells come with the code for xp. so as long as its the same machine you can delete it and install it as many times as you want. My brother has already done it a couple times on his dell.

And if you have XP Pro, you can actually install it on any number of computers over because it doesnt have the same restrictions as normal XP... but i doubt dell gave you xp pro. hehe

[Angrist]

We have a box with Windows XP here, but we're not using it because not all the drivers that my dad needs are compatible with it. Perhaps we will use it one day. :)

[Cyrax9]

Originally posted by sdtPikachu
Yep, Compaq's suck ass. In fact, so does every copmputer that doesn't come with an OS CD, just a crappy "recovery disc". All these things do is copy a disc image from a hidden partition in your hard drive back to the C partition (whether you use a recovery floppy or CD-ROM, it does the same thing. The only thing on these discs is a few tiny executables to start copying the image over).

In case you haven't guessed, this whole shebang was invented to avoid giving out CD's that people could theoretically install on other machines (which, as we all know, is illegal with Windows). They're even doing it with XP (which can't be run on more than one machine).

Of course, if your hard drive goes belly up, you're fscked. My friend Rachel, despite my protests, insisted on running LookOut Express, and one day caught a hard drive destroying virus. One new HDD later, and they're sans OS, so I had to go along and reinstall and partition the hard drive up. It's just got ME in there at the moment, but it's going to get 2000 in there once I get my hands on my CD.

Shooter, I'm afraid even if he does save and buy a better PC he's probably not going to get his CD's with it. Shipping the OS CD's with windows machines just isn't done any more. Yet another excuse for building your own computer.

Angrist, you may want to read the links about craputers I put in Joeiss' "Advice on Buying a Computer" thread.

Pika, my $h*tty cable company has forced me into using either Lookout Express or Loookout itself, because of this, I'm now "disgruntledly" running M$ Outlok express for thed able modem wityha firewall, I don't use it to go online realy, I'l use AOHell for that just to piss of M$. I wish someone would hurry up and kill Bill Gates, I don't care who at this point.

Also when you say Recovery Floppy do you meqan a Start-up Disk? If so I made myself one of them as wel, ebcause I've had to use a Recovery CD 50 times with it never working before my "Factory repair", which I finally got my PC back from, it works now, except they've decided to include the Windows ME BLue Screens of deah and Tourture to try and mkae me upgrtade to Winblows XP, it's not working and it won't work.

I'd wipe the HDD< but I've got a warrenty for another three year, and after reading about the Paladium, I'm not even going to bother with a new PC, or Mac unless someone helps me stop M$, even if it means flying to Readmon Washington and busting into M$ HQ and killing Bill Gates. I'd prefer it dosen't come to that though. I'm actually hoping Bill Gates will wind up with life in a federa prison for his "monopoly" on the PC market, ok the word "monopoly" isd an understatement, he dosen't ahve a monopoly, he has a @$#%$ing dictatorship! I hope you readthe EULA that says "I accept" and " I don't accept" the next time you download a prgoram, chaneces are if you read it you wouldn't accept and Mcrosoft would lose, don't clickl blindly, read before you DL, I just DLed Morpheus v 1.9 and I hate it, I'll probably delete it and just use WinMX 3.22 which isn't ful of ads and Spyware form the ads which is just as bad.

Morpheus says "NO Spyware", but they don't count there ads in that saying, if you don't like spyware and SPAM, switch your fules to WinMX, and avoid KazZa as wel, there's a new P2P virus going around KazZA, and at this point it's beter safe than sorry.

I know about your HDD getting Screwed, at this point I'd like to "Clone" my HDD with my copy of WinME since it's the closest thing to a CD-ROM I can get, and M$ dosen't like it, than maybe they should go to court or releasethe source code so people can "fix" there PC's. If I had a nickel for every time I needed that damn REcovery CD, I'd be richer than Mr. Dollar Bill Gates of Hell.


May microsoft die slowly and painfully as their OS's are decomplied and sentto every Linux, Mac and M$ Windows user in the world. I wish nothing but death, disaster and destruction upon Microsoft after hearing about the Paladium, and if anyone want's toput up a petiton to the goverment of the USA, the UN, or any other Legal body to dissolve Microsoft, please do so ASAP!, I'll be the first to sin it, I'll even sign in all CAPS so Bill Gates can see it without his glasses (this is a modernized version of what John Handcock said when he signed the eclaration of Independance), I want bill gates to know that the world hates his guts.

Also don't buy an XBox!!! You're Just funding M$ and ghiving them money to produce there Paladium Chips that Pika Mentioned in another post, no matter how god the next "Halo" or DOA game looks, avoid it on the XBox! Cut of M$'s money,a dn the'll realize that we hate them, we can alwasy sue them for software that we amy be "forced" to use for Work and School, but we don't *HAVE* to buy it because we want too.

[Jonbo298]

Originally posted by Cyrax9


I'm not even going to bother with a new PC, or Mac unless someone helps me stop M$, even if it means flying to Readmon Washington and busting into M$ HQ and killing Bill Gates.

I'll gladly join as the first member of your new "mob/mafia" against M$:D. I too want Bill dead after reading the Palladium article:mad2: Jail time would be nice as long as I know that I have saved the US/World from eternal hell.