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Windows XP forum: system restore

by: mneumann January 29, 2006 6:45 AM PST

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system restore

by mneumann - 1/29/06 6:45 AM

I have a problem that must be very common. I would like to reformat my hard drive and do a complete system restore on XP Home. Unfortunately I have one of those PCs which has no Windows disk and the restore functions based on a partition, D. The trouble is, if I do a complete system restore from D, I will get all the crap that was on the PC as shipped - including trial vesions of security software that will be a nightmare to purge. There will also be a ton of updates: I won't even have SP2. Is there any way to do a cleaner restore for someone in my situation?

Any help much appreciated,

Michael Neumann


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by phantazy - 1/29/06 7:17 AM

In Reply to: system restore by mneumann

Most use another application like Acronis True Image, or Norton Ghost to emulate exactly what you have, choosing only those elements you deem important, and then transfer to a medium of your choice. In other words use as an edited back up.


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by joe_smith - 1/29/06 7:28 AM

In Reply to: system restore by mneumann

You should be able to get a bonified XP install CD by requesting one from whatever company made your computer. You will probably have to pay a small fee for them to ship it to you, but I am fairly sure they are required to do this by the license agreement they have with Microsoft. You could then use this to make an SP2 slipstreamed version if it isn't already. Or, I think Microsoft is still offering free SP2 update CDs, and the 200MB "network" download of SP2 can still be found with a little persistence. That's the stand-alone version of the SP2 update, that contains everything needed to install SP2 without a network connection. You might also find this recent Slashdot article helpful:

http://ask.slashdot.org/askslashdot/06/01/28/2235218.shtml

Otherwise, you're looking at buying a second copy of XP Home at retail prices, which is typically around $100.


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