Trying to get my HP Pavillion notebook to boot Windows XP

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lowtech

My home computer has been "corrupted" - I've got a virus or a worm or
something that will NOT allow me to boot Windows in safe mode or any
mode.

I have been on the phone with Microsoft and HP for almost 3 hours
talking in circles about the fact that the CD's that I have, those
provided by HP, are system recovery CD's that will wipe out my
harddrive. I DON'T WANT TO WIPE OUT MY HARD DRIVE. So the disk I need
is from HP, because the computer came loaded with Windows XP so HP has
to provide me with the proper software. I have contacted HP at
numerous phone numbers, spoken to several very nice people who have
rather limited scripts which say essentially, "We want your money but
we can't help for shit.". I am LIVID because I've been playing the
"Whose got the Recovery CD" game on the phone. NO ONE at HP at their
800 number services has this disk, nor do they have much in the way of
answers.

So, I want to find the disk (or an alternative for getting back into my
computer) save whatever I can off it, throw my computer out the window
and feel the satisfaction of watching it smash in a million pieces and
then go buy a computer from a reputable manufacturer.

That brings me to why I'm writing here -

1) Is this the right disk to purchase? Will it recover my harddrive?

2) Can these disks be used more than once? In other words, if I buy a
used one from eBay, will it in fact work?

3) Has anyone had any experience with a similar situation? If so, how
did you resolve it, what was the end result? Any pointers?

Thanks for reading, letting me get some of that off my chest. Any info
you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

signed, Lowtech
 
lowtech said:
My home computer has been "corrupted" - I've got a virus or a worm or
something that will NOT allow me to boot Windows in safe mode or any
mode.

I have been on the phone with Microsoft and HP for almost 3 hours
talking in circles about the fact that the CD's that I have, those
provided by HP, are system recovery CD's that will wipe out my
harddrive. I DON'T WANT TO WIPE OUT MY HARD DRIVE. So the disk I need
is from HP, because the computer came loaded with Windows XP so HP has
to provide me with the proper software. I have contacted HP at
numerous phone numbers, spoken to several very nice people who have
rather limited scripts which say essentially, "We want your money but
we can't help for shit.". I am LIVID because I've been playing the
"Whose got the Recovery CD" game on the phone. NO ONE at HP at their
800 number services has this disk, nor do they have much in the way of
answers.

So, I want to find the disk (or an alternative for getting back into my
computer) save whatever I can off it, throw my computer out the window
and feel the satisfaction of watching it smash in a million pieces and
then go buy a computer from a reputable manufacturer.

That brings me to why I'm writing here -

1) Is this the right disk to purchase? Will it recover my harddrive?

2) Can these disks be used more than once? In other words, if I buy a
used one from eBay, will it in fact work?

3) Has anyone had any experience with a similar situation? If so, how
did you resolve it, what was the end result? Any pointers?

Thanks for reading, letting me get some of that off my chest. Any info
you can offer would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

signed, Lowtech
Click to expand...


With the "system recovery" disk (or partition) used by most computer
manufacturers these days you do have a problem if you need to do a
Repair Install or to boot to the Windows XP Recovery Console. However
it is not likely that either of these procedures would fix a problem
that is caused by a virus or trojan infestation.

There is a procedure that you could use. Start by removing the hard
drive from your notebook and installing it as a second hard drive in
desktop computer. You will need a special 2.5 to 3.5 inch adapter for
this, which you can obtain at computer shop or purchase online. You
can then use the desktop machine to scan the notebook hard drive and
remove any viruses or trojans that it may find. And while the drive
is in the desktop PC you should be able to copy off any files that you
need saved, and perhaps burn them to a CD or DVD. Then you could put
the cleaned up hard drive back into the notebook and see if it will
now boot up okay.

If you are not comfortable working with PC hardware then you might
want to get a repair shop to do the job for you.

Good luck

Ron Martell Duncan B.C. Canada
--
Microsoft MVP
On-Line Help Computer Service
http://onlinehelp.bc.ca

In memory of a dear friend Alex Nichol MVP
http://aumha.org/alex.htm
 
Thank you Ron. I haven't been checked for responses in a couple of
weeks thus I'm tardy in getting back to you. That's great information.
Really helpful. I'm going to try that or call Geek Squad or somebody if
I chicken out.

Thanks again, Lowtech - aka Brenda
 
Not sure if you got my thank you note or not, so forwarding a note
directly to you. Thanks so much for the helpful advice. Either I'm
going to do it or Geek Squad or somebody. Thanks again, Brenda
 
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