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    Buying new laptop but with no recovery disk?

    Discussion in 'Windows OS and Software' started by KillWonder, Jan 7, 2008.

  1. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    Ive noticed that some notebooks dont come with a recovery disc.
    Is it still advicable to buy one of these?
     
    KillWonder, Jan 7, 2008
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  2. n0elia

    n0elia Come on Haswell...

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    Yes it is, in case you screw up your OS :)
     
    n0elia, Jan 7, 2008
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  3. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    How does it work then?
     
    KillWonder, Jan 7, 2008
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  4. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    It restores your computer to its factory state. You should be able to create recovery discs using a program that the manufacturer installed.
    Unless you're talking about upgrade/reinstall discs, then yes, it's good to have one so you don't need to borrow one.
     
    notyou, Jan 7, 2008
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  5. schoko

    schoko Custom User Title

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    most likely there will be a recovery partition on the laptop. you will have to use that one to restore your installation.

    in case you want to partition your hdd, the way you need it you´ll have to make a backup of your recovery partition. hp for example has some software, thta let´s you burn your windows recovery onto a dvd.
     
    schoko, Jan 7, 2008
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  6. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    I must be a total noob because that sounds too complicated to me. In the past my lappy all screwd up, so i just put in the recover cd and within an hour it was like just bought, simple and easy.
    What does paritition mean?
     
    KillWonder, Jan 7, 2008
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  7. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    A partition is exactly what is sounds like, it's when you take your hard drive and split it into pieces, partitions, each separate from the others. This is how people dual/triple/etc. boot.
     
    notyou, Jan 7, 2008
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  8. KillWonder

    KillWonder Notebook Evangelist

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    What if i uninstalled a standard software or an important file and i want it back, would system restore in Vista do the job? or would it just bring back the folder name and icons like it was somtimes with XP?
     
    KillWonder, Jan 7, 2008
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  9. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    It could very likely bring it back but you could always reinstall software or undelete (restore) a file from the trash, assuming you haven't yet erased it. If you have then you need to use a restoration program to search for it, I use (free) PC Inspector File Recovery.
     
    notyou, Jan 7, 2008
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  10. jezzer

    jezzer Notebook Consultant

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    i hate those things.. it images the factory image back with all the vendor thrash and slowing processes.. format c: and clean install for me.
     
    jezzer, Jan 7, 2008
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  11. notyou

    notyou Notebook Deity

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    I just said that since he asked about recovery discs. But yes, a fresh install is definitely better.
     
    notyou, Jan 7, 2008
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  12. orev

    orev Notebook Virtuoso

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    You're talking about a million different things here.

    Recovery Discs: DVDs that allow you to restore your computer to the factory installation. These delete EVERYTHING currently on your system, so don't use them without a full backup.

    Recovery Partition: same as the DVDs, except on the hard drive instead. You can often use a program to make DVDs from the recovery partition.

    Uninstalling software: You can only get uninstalled software back by using the installer program for that specific software

    Removed data file: You can restore a removed data file from Vista previous versions if you have Business or Ultimate. Otherwise the only way to get them back is to restore from a backup copy.

    System restore: Allow you to rollback your system drivers or DLLs to an earlier version if they get screwed up when you install a program or get a virus or something.
     
    orev, Jan 7, 2008
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