[chuckgibson]

I honestly do not know. I bought the computer several years ago and the gentleman gave me a disc in an envelope. It has not been removed until now. The disc has what appears to be sharpy writing on it that has "Windows XP Pro" written on it and it has a long code divided by dashes. Do I need to buy a new disc and if so which kind do I buy, Gateway or Microsoft? Included in the envelope are two other disc. they each have Windows XP Restore Disk. One has Disc. 1, the other has Disc 2. Neither one has Pro on it.

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Are all the disc identified by sharpy writing on them?

[rshaffer61]

Are all the disc identified by sharpy writing on them?

[chuckgibson]

Hopefully this is not duplicating, the server was to busy and did not post my reply.

No, the restore disc have professionally printed labels stuck on them. They still do not have any information such as Microsoft or Gateway on them.

[rshaffer61]

Can you get a picture of them and attach it to your next response? If it is a Microsoft installation disk it would have a hologram on the disk.

[chuckgibson]

I blew it. Can you blot out that code or just remove the pic after yo0u see it? I tried to go after the attachment to remove it but I could not see how to do it..

Edited by chuckgibson, 16 February 2013 - 08:44 PM.

[rshaffer61]

ok the OS disk is a copy with the reg key. Since this is a gateway there has to be a sticker somewhere on it to tell you the original OS installed along with a registration key.
If there is no sticker then we have a problem because there is no way to verify that the cd you show actually goes with that system.

[chuckgibson]

Can I buy another disk or does it need to be the exact one that was installed on the system?

[chuckgibson]

I found one sticker on the back of the pc that has the model number which is MFATXPNT EL2 500SE; It also has the serial number and says it was manufactured 4-18-02; Does this tell us anything?

[chuckgibson]

Out of desperation I have been looking on e-bay. Is this for real or not even an option?

http://www.ebay.com/...=item3f20064ef5

[rshaffer61]

It would be much better to contact Gateway themselves and see if they have the original restore disk set for your system. This will get you a legal copy but it most likely will not allow for the restore without formatting as most disks of this type only allow for what is called a factory restore.
The sticker you mentioned sounds more like a system model number and not the actual OS installation info I described.
A COA sticker will look like one of these on this page HERE

[chuckgibson]

Now we need to work on fixing the boot problem.

You do this by booting to the recovery console on the xp installation disk and then type in fixboot c:
Press Enter and let it go. Once donereboot and see if it will now boot into windows normally.

OK. Maybe I am in business. I put in an XP Pro disc and am now in the recovery console. I have a black screen and it reads as follows:

Microsoft Windows XP™ Recovery Console.

The Recovery Console provides system repair and recovery functionality.

Type Exit to quit the recovery console and restart the computer.

1: F:\WINDOWS

Which Windows installation would you like to log onto
(To cancel, press ENTER)?

I tried typing the "fixboot c:" but it will only take the "f" and the curser stops moving.
What am I doing wrong?

The way the screen reads this is trying to open my "F" drive which is a slave drive used for storage. The "C" drive is the main one. Otherwise I would just press "1" and enter.

Edited by chuckgibson, 28 February 2013 - 09:19 PM.

[rshaffer61]

Is F another hd physically?
If so then simply unhook the data cable from it and try again. Why is Windows installed on that hd?

[chuckgibson]

Yes. It was an extra hd installed for storage. Windows is on the C drive.
I unhooked the F drive Setup did not find any hard disk drives in the computer. I unhooked the C drive and used the same connections that were hooked up to the F drive and gotr the same results. What can I do?

[rshaffer61]

Hmm not good as it sounds like the C drive has failed.

[chuckgibson]

NOOOOO! I did not want to hear that! Just kidding, well not kidding but you know what I mean...