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General discussion

Restoring a Compaq Presario

Nov 27, 2012 5:15AM PST

My original HD is failing I have another HD that I formatted and attempting to use.. the BIOS does recognize the drive, but when I use the restore CD I get a Compaq Restore error message...the original HD had a small 4GB partition for SYSTEM_SAV files, so I partitioned the new drive the same..with same results...the old drive was 40gb and the new(used) drive is 60GB...

This is a Compaq Presario Model 5415WM
Win XP

what did I do wrong...Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Since you have the restore CD, try it with a blank HDD.
Nov 27, 2012 5:39AM PST

No Partitions. Let the restore media do the work.

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Compaq restore
Nov 27, 2012 11:26AM PST

I went back and took out that partition, so I have an empty, formatted HD, no partitions, but it still gave me the "Compaq Recovery CD Error " message...I went back to make sure it's recognized in BIOS and it is, with the CD drive first in the boot order...

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First, lets consider
Nov 27, 2012 8:43PM PST

Since that PC is so old, could it be that something else is failing? One can always get new restore CDs here: http://www.computersurgeons.com/SearchProducts.aspx?sbt=5415WM&bkm=Results#Results
If the Recovery set was made with inferior media, it could have failed. One other possibility would be another hardware failure. To eliminate other possible hardware, try a Linux Live CD, such as Ubuntu, to see if the PC will perform in an acceptable fashion. If it does, then order the Restore media set or use a different OS.
BTW: HP Recovery media will check for any changes in the original configuration, so make sure it is as it was from the factory.

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Since it says CD error try an old trick.
Nov 28, 2012 12:36AM PST

Duplicate the CD to CDR (no, do not use CDRW!)

Clean the CD lens and try again. If the CD drive is more than 2 years old, we swap that and try again.

You'll find owners that won't do these steps and end up at the service counters.
Bob

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Compaq restore
Nov 28, 2012 11:01AM PST

Hi Thanks for everyone responding!!...Listen to this,....just for the heck of it I put in one of my son's recovery Cd from a DELL with Win XP Pro... it installed without a hitch!!! I;m up and running...I just don't get it!? I've never heard of your trick about duplicating the cd to cd-r..I'll have to keep that in mind...Thanks again................

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Good to hear.
Nov 28, 2012 1:25PM PST

It's an old tech's trick. It's saved the day a few too many times.
Bob