Packard Bell PC help

[niklfc83]

Please help,
i have a packard bell imedia 5065, i did not get a win xp disc with the pc but 3 master restore discs.

I have had a problem when reinstalling windows each time i do it seems to delete all programmes and files but leaves windows on and the reinstalls it.
Also the microsoft recovery console is not found on my system as i thought i would be able to do a destructive reinstall but hwo wrong i was

So now my 80gb only show 71.35gb with 68.5gb free space.
I would like to know if i do i low level format will i still be able to reinstall windows xp using my Packard Bell rcovery diskette and master cds.
I have tried to format my drive before with Killdisc bootdisc but it said unable to format drive, i also go the same message when i tried to format it through DOS.
Please help i am losing storage space.

[Prot]

Recovery disks install ALWAYS destroy what ever you had on the drive and returns your system to its original stare. Before resorting to that, always make sure you have backups of files you need.

As far as the recovery console, you can download that from Microsoft's web page. It will take up 6 floppies, and you will have to install it from those.

Your missing hard drive space is most likely taken up by system files so that the CDs will not be necessary when looking for drivers or when you add Windows components.

I take my A+ Operating Systems Certification exam in about an hour. Wish me luck!

[niklfc83]

Prot good luck with your exam m8,let us know how you do
i did back my files up but my original hdd was 77.99 when it got with xp installed afteri backed up the master cds, i hate them discs would my key on the side of my pc work with any windows orginal home edition cd

[thevoelk]

It probably won't work, it's what's called aqn OEM CD key. The copy of WIndows Packard Bell shipped with your PC is tied to (most likely) that model PC, or the model line, ie. all 50XX Packard Bell CDs. If you use an original Windows XP Home CD, that should have a key with it.

Also, the "missing" space is probably a hidden partition in fron of the C: drive. A lot of manufacturers use them for diagnostic tools, restore sectors, etc. Usually they aren't too big. I believe Pansonic actually puts the entire restore image in front of the Windows partition. With good compression, they probably are about 1-3 GB, depending on what else is installed other than Windows. In your case, 80GB should be about 76GB after a fresh format, not sure where the remaining 4GB is.

[ROF]

The key on the side of your machine is for the discs which came with your machine and will not work for other discs bought at the store. use the key supplied with the windows version you are installing.

The reason you only have 71.35 is because there is a separate partition of 7GBs used to hold your Packard Bell software. The easiest and most convenient way I've found to get around the packard bell BIOS is to remove the drive and attach it to another machine. You can then format the drive with the other machine from windows explorer. Re-insert the drive in your packard bell and don't use the recovery discs if you have a genuine windows version other than what came with this PC. Use this windows version to boot your PC and run the setup. Packard Bells BIOS are default boot to CD, so when it says press any key to boot from CD, press any key and the setup program will begin running. From here on out those recovery discs will be of no use to you except maybe for proprietary hardware drivers. Fortunately, the 5065 doesn't use proprietary hardware except for the sound which windows XP (any version) will provide you with drivers for upon installation.

[Prot]

For those of you interested, I passed the CompTIA A+ 220-302 OS Technologies Exam with a score
of 731. Not fantastic, but still pretty good.
I take the Hardware portion of it next Friday.

Back on topic....
Microsoft encourages recovery disks by manufacturers because it is easier for the novice customer to resinstall Windows. The novice doesn't have to answer all the installation questions, and guess at the ones they don't know. Unfortunately, it is a destructive install and all updates have to be run again. It restores it back to its original condition. This can be a problem if new hardware has been installed since you bought the machine.

[redwudz]

Congratulations, Prot !!!

I deal with the factory restore discs with my laptop. It takes 6 discs and about an hour. And it installs all the HP crap that I don't want, so I spend an additional 1/2 hour deleting that. At least it cleans out everything on the drive. It also installs a diagnostic partition of 8MB, but HP in their wisdom, doesn't give you any software to access or use it.

I tried to do a clean install of XP and that makes it run at half-speed.

I gave up and went back to the factory discs.

I worked on a Packard Bell a couple of years ago and I ended up using ROF's method of pulling the drive and formatting in another machine as the owner had lost the restore discs.

Even if you get the drive cleaned out, if you use the PB discs they will likely put both partitions right back in there before they install the OS.

If you have the room, put another hard drive in. Use it to back up your files or get a program like Ghost or Acronis and make your own restore setup.

[Prot]

I agree with Ghost. I would go further and make a new image every time you make a change in the system and are happy with the way it is running. Blank CDs, and even DVDs, are inexpensive enough to do this. Date each disk and on the cover, make note of the system configuration.