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General discussion

new hp pc

Jan 13, 2005 9:24PM PST

I just bought this thing and after I got it all set up I went to defragmenter and it shows 2 drives : hp recovery (DHappy FAT32 and hp (C:), the old one had system recovery also but everything was on the C drive, is that a partition thing? Also, the belarc thing shows that I have a P4 2.93 gig processor but the box said it ia a celeron D. I was just getting used to the old one, now i feel really ignorant. Guess i will always be 4 or 5 years behind on this tech stuff,o well, I'm a dinosaur. And I have no idea why those smiley faces showed up on there either, JEEZ!

Discussion is locked

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don't delete that partition!!!
Jan 13, 2005 9:48PM PST

Most new computers do not comes with recovery CD set. Instead, the manufacturer puts the information on a partition on the hard drive. You should have an option to make a recovery CD set. Do yourself a favor and make one. It will be necessary to have that recovery CD set should you have a need to reinstall everything. You can access the recovery feature without making a CD set but be advised, this won't happen in the event of a hard drive failure.

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Thus my point!
Jan 13, 2005 9:52PM PST

Hewlitt Packard took the cheap way out and screwed you!
Take the cheap thing back and get a Dell or Gateway. This will insure you get a recovery CD for all progs and hardware.

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many companies do the same thing
Jan 14, 2005 1:42AM PST

HP is not alone with this type of setup. If you have any doubts, just buy a new computer. I had the same thing with a Sony. That way you pay for the blank CDs.

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sony
Jan 14, 2005 9:15AM PST

true, my VAIO came with a separate partition *just* for restoration, IF you can access Control Panel. If not, you have to use a recovery set. I made my own (requiring one CD and one DVD) and actually used it once....and it worked. Sony also sells a set for seventeen bucks if you don't want to make your own.

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retail sales
Jan 14, 2005 7:29PM PST

When I bought my HP notebook from Best Buy, they offered a service, for a $25 fee, to created the restore CDs for you. That price didn't include the price of the blank CDs. I decided to pass and I'm glad I did. The model I bought had the operating system CD plus the drivers included.

I'm not sure how much money the manufacterers save by doing this but, I wish they didn't. Most people don't know enough about computers to realize how important it is to make a recovery or restore CD set until it is too late.

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That is where
Jan 14, 2005 9:51PM PST

I bought my Compaq computer and I also decided to do the recovery CD's myself BUT the tech guys at the store that I went to stressed over and over again to do that immediately when I got home, which I did. They even had a sign up next to the new computers. I also feel that the manufacturers should supply the CD's but I was impressed with the people at Best Buy, at least at the particular store that I go to all the time.

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Partitioned
Jan 13, 2005 9:49PM PST

Could it be, a partition for Bios settings?
First off: Purchasing a Hewlitt Packard, has insured that you will be buying another one very soon!
It's probably not very upgradable.
Celerons/AMD's/Duron: these cheaper and slower processors are fine for net surfing. You probably wont see too much lag in performance. Pentiums however, are much faster for highend graphics, gaming or multi-tasking. Xion processors are lightning fast, liquid cooled. Unless you work for Pixar Studios, I don't think you will need a Xion.
For the SAME MONEY: you could have gotten a very upgradable Dell or a Gateway and much, MUCH better tech support and warranties.
Belarc Advisor: VERY GOOD app! I use it alot, to check on what is what. If it says you have a pentium, I would check sys. properties and see for absolute. HP could have easily boxed the wrong item and you got a free upgrade.
My advice: Take it back and go to Dell on-line; you will have your new PC in three days. If it DOES cost a little extra it will be worth it: It will last you much longer and cost you less in the long haul.

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new HP pc
Jan 13, 2005 10:30PM PST

You are concerned about the C & D drive, and that does seem to be an HP thing. My former computer was an HP with a 40 Gig Hard drive. It had 10 gig in C and 30 in D. Your operating system is in C, and with Windows XP could take up to 3 or 3.5 gig. Also had Office XP which also took a lot of space. You need to be careful when downloading or installing new programs that you put as much on the D drive as possible. Concerning the Intel Celeron chip VS the P4,it is my understanding that a Celeron processor is just a slower version of the P4. I now have a Gateway, and while the Customer Service is okay, they do not have a toll free phone line where HP does.

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HP recovery CD's
Jan 14, 2005 3:38AM PST

Was just browsing the forums and noticed this discussion. I bought an HP computer two years ago and mine is set up the same way with a D recovery drive. I had asked about this on the HP forums and was told I don't need any recovery CD's but if I wanted to I could order a set for my model from HP so I did that, they were free under the one year warranty. I can't say if the D drive works as I never had a need to take my computer back to out of the box state.

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Belarc
Jan 14, 2005 4:09AM PST

I have a 9 month old Compaq that is set up the same way and as glb said, besides having the D as recovery you should make the recovery CD set also. It took 7 CD's for mine. Anyway, we had a discussion a couple of months ago about Belarc and found that the older version had a few glitches, including reporting the processor. The newest one took care of some of them. The newest version is 6.1f. The old one was 6.0j. You may find that if you have the old version, the newer one might read differently for that particular spec.

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Thanks for the input guys
Jan 14, 2005 5:35AM PST

The reason I got this hp is because my last one was an hp also. I like hp because they are dependable, the other one was made in late 2000 and still works ok. I wanted something a little faster is the only reason for the new one. Again, thanks for the comments folks.

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restore CD set
Jan 14, 2005 6:29AM PST

I have a Compaq and a HP notebook. Both came with either a restore CD set or the separate CDs with the operating system/drivers. My sister owns a Sony notebook that has the information stored on the hard drive. Each time she tried to created the recovery/restore set, it failed. So she contacted the company and they sent her a set free of charge.

Bottom line, either make a set or request one from the company. You need a way to restore or repair your computer in case something happens. It doesn't matter if you are a computer novice or expert. Computers can malfunction. If you don't have these disks, you'll end up SOL.

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You're welcome and follow
Jan 14, 2005 6:46AM PST

glb's advice, the price of the blank recovery CD's is cheap rather than the alternative. The first thing I did when I came home with this computer was the recovery CD's and, if I rmember correctly, the whole process took less than an hour.

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Recovery cd's
Jan 14, 2005 7:24AM PST

Thanks guys, that sounds like sound advice. I'm gonna do that right now.