Quote:
Originally Posted by d-null
I should look into it a bit more myself, but I am curious as to how this might work out with a laptop that never came with xp disks (the restore is all on the hard drive).... is it possible somehow to use what is on the laptop harddrive to prepare another bootable har drive with the xp from the laptop ?
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good question.
Most partition based recovery images are proprietary, so there isn't much you can do in terms of generating an install CD from that partition. The best bet is to simply ask a friend/family member/technician/ or the manufacturer to make/send you a copy of their CD. Granted you don't need a code because you already have yours.
An important point in this regard that needs to be highlighted is that Microsoft's Indian call centers have been advised NOT to activate your copy of Windows if you are installing/migrating your copy of XP onto another computer, even if the previous computer has crashed.
The text book answer to their inquiry of why you are re-activating is that it is the SAME pc with different hardware installed.
I got really pissed at a Microsoft activation tech the other day when a client's system had blown up (mainboard, power supply, etc), but the hard drive was still intact and was able to boot cleanly in a new system. When I called to activate Windows, the activation tech had the nerve to tell me that I could not complete activation, even though the other system was dead as a doornail. In other words, he told me that I HAD to ignore a fully working and legitimate copy of windows on that hard drive, with all of the client's programs AND files, simply because I had put it into a new system. He mentioned that my only recourse would involve blatant wasting of my time (and my client's) by REINSTALLING from scratch with a brand new XP license purchase for the new PC.
Needless to say that reinstall did not happen and my client is chugging away on that same old hard drive in that new system.