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Restore XP to factory settings


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#1
yobraniac

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Ok, I am going a little insane here. I am trying to restore a PC with XP back to it's original settings, i.e. wipe the thing of everything except what it came with. I have tried every F key and none of them are giving me a recover option. I know there is a recovery partition or at at least believe there is because the D: drive says recover. I do not want to do a system restore and it doesn't go back that far anyway. A few things to mention about this PC. 1. It's old as dirt, ok maybe not that old but its an hp pavilion 513c running XP professional with sp2 purchased sometime back in 2001 or 02. It was my moms pc. 2. I don't have any disks for this dino at all. Nothing, nada. So the CD boot option is out unless I can download it. That being said, help?? Please??
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#2
rshaffer61

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Press the power button to start the HP. Press and hold the F11 key to launch the HP Recovery Manager from the recovery partition.
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#3
yobraniac

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Ok are you saying press and hold instead of repeatedly pressing f11 because like I said I did try all f keys.
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#4
rshaffer61

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Yep press and hold just like the instructions say :D
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#5
yobraniac

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ok followed instructions f11 still brings up bios screen. i don't see anything having to do with recovery. further instructions??
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#6
rshaffer61

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It is very possible that as old as the system is there may not be a recovery partition on the drive.
That being the case the only thing you can do is one of three options.
  • Contact HP and see about purchasing a set of original Recovery Disks from them. Usually they run about 30 to 50 USD
  • Borrow a OEM version of the same XP that is installed on the system...Home, Media or Pro. Then using your reg key that should be on a sticker on the side of the system you can format and reload it.
  • Purchase a new XP installation disk and reg key. Then format and reload everything from there.

The issue with the last two options is then we will need to find all the original drivers which should be on HP's site.
IN fact I just found them all HERE.
The only OS it shows that the system had was XP so all the drivers are only for XP.
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#7
rshaffer61

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have you been able to find the recovery cd's from HP or have you tried one of the other steps?
It has been 4 days since your last response and I was wondering if the issue has been resolved?
If so can you explain how it was resolved so others may be able to fix it if they have the same issue.
If not please let us know and we can continue with helping you to resolve the issue.
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#8
yobraniac

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None of the steps currently have worked for me. I downloaded the files from microsoft and found a website, see below, that helped me create a bootable cd instead of the floppy. It does work as far as giving me the recovery options but when I try to use i believe the auto recover option it still asks to insert the floppy. I have been unable to get in contact with the author, so I am pretty much still in the same position.

http://tips.vlaurie....-disk/#comments
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#9
rshaffer61

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OK so you have no recovery partition or recovery set of disks.
On the bottom of the laptop there should be a sticker with the version of XP originally installed on the system with a reg key.
Can you locate that?
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#10
yobraniac

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Windows XP Home Edition, the sticker also has a product key on it. This was located on the side of the tower.
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#11
rshaffer61

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OK so here are the options you have at this point.
  • Contact HP and see about purchasing a set of recovery disks from them.. I highly doubt they will have them given the age of the system but it is worth a try. Normally they cost about 30 to 50 USD.
  • Purchase a new XP Home OEM version of the OS from someplace like Amazon, NewEgg or Tigerdirect online.
  • Borrow a OEM XP Home installation disk from a friend and useing the reg key on your system you can format and do a fresh install with that.

Now you have to make sure it is a OEM Home version or your reg key will not work.
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#12
123Runner

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In post 1 you stated the OS was XP pro.
In post 10 you stated it is XP home.

If the sticker says it is XP home, then you can only use that key.
If you want XP pro then you will have to buy a OS disc of XP pro and use its key.
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#13
yobraniac

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The sticker said home but I found a program that showed me the key on the pc and it was pro. Apparently both were installed on it. I reinstalled both both the keys didn't work, I called hp to activate and was told the keys were valid, which I know for a fact they are before anyone suggests otherwise, and that I had to call tech support to find out why they're saying valid but won't activate.
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#14
rshaffer61

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OK then is the XP you installed a Retail or a OEM version?
The number on the system will not work if the version you installed is a retail version.
Also just a FYI the program you used to get the number off the disk in most cases I have found these programs to be worthless.
First make sure the disk is the correct version to match the sticker on your system.
It has to match exactly or it will not work.
Home, Media or Pro...SP version should be the same also.
NOTE: IT HAS TO BE A OEM VERSION TO WORK.
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#15
yobraniac

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The installs were fine, they were oem. Even if the pro key was wrong I got the home key off the tower and it still would not activate. I installed both home and pro oem and used the appropriate key for each. Also I spoke with hp who confirmed the keys were valid.
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