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getting the OS on a CD

J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a CD
containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need later
on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?

Thank you!

Jo-Anne
 
P

Pegasus [MVP]

Flightless Bird
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> said this in news item
news:uS0oqVyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
> CD containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
> later on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Jo-Anne


Having a WinXP CD is of limited use because you will also need a bunch of
drivers, which can be very hard to get. However, I'm sure that the netbook
came with a factory restore facility, perhaps on CD or on DVD. This is the
fastest way to restore the laptop in case of a catastrophic failure. Have a
good look at the manual!

If you still need a WinXP CD, make a copy of a friend's CD. This is
perfectly legal. Just make sure it's the same type
(OEM/Retail/Home/Professional).
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a CD
> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need later
> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Jo-Anne


Follow the manual for the computer that tells you how to create a rescue CD.
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"Pegasus [MVP]" <news@microsoft.com> wrote in message
news:uapEsZyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>
>
> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> said this in news item
> news:uS0oqVyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>> CD containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>> later on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne

>
> Having a WinXP CD is of limited use because you will also need a bunch of
> drivers, which can be very hard to get. However, I'm sure that the netbook
> came with a factory restore facility, perhaps on CD or on DVD. This is the
> fastest way to restore the laptop in case of a catastrophic failure. Have
> a good look at the manual!
>
> If you still need a WinXP CD, make a copy of a friend's CD. This is
> perfectly legal. Just make sure it's the same type
> (OEM/Retail/Home/Professional).

Thank you, Pegasus! The netbook did not come with a CD or DVD, and the only
thing I could find in the manual is that when the operating system isn't
working, you should use the options in the Startup Menu to fix the problem.
This of course is assuming you can get to the Startup Menu, which includes
the following (among others): Last known good configuration, Directory
Services Restore Mode, Debugging Mode. The user is to "see your Windows
documentation for further explanation."

I do have an ancient OEM CD of Windows XP Home (which is what this computer
is running), SP1, that came with my Dell desktop computer. I guess if
anything terrible happens, I could try it.

I think there's also supposed to be a way to make a bootable CD, but I don't
remember how...

Jo-Anne
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:hi3619$edv$1@news.albasani.net...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>> CD
>> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>> later
>> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne

>
> Follow the manual for the computer that tells you how to create a rescue
> CD.


If that information appeared in the manual, I'd be glad to do it--but as far
as I can tell, it's not there. I've made a bootable CD for my other
computers with Acronis True Image Home, but I haven't installed Acronis on
this new computer yet and don't know if the other one would work.

Is there a website with information on creating a bootable CD or, even
better, a bootable thumb drive that would work on the netbook? (I haven't
yet bought an external DVD drive/burner.)

Thank you, Vanguard!

Jo-Anne
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
> news:hi3619$edv$1@news.albasani.net...
>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>
>>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>>> CD
>>> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>>> later
>>> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne

>>
>> Follow the manual for the computer that tells you how to create a rescue
>> CD.

>
> If that information appeared in the manual, I'd be glad to do it--but as far
> as I can tell, it's not there. I've made a bootable CD for my other
> computers with Acronis True Image Home, but I haven't installed Acronis on
> this new computer yet and don't know if the other one would work.
>
> Is there a website with information on creating a bootable CD or, even
> better, a bootable thumb drive that would work on the netbook? (I haven't
> yet bought an external DVD drive/burner.)
>
> Thank you, Vanguard!
>
> Jo-Anne


You did not identify your model (so I can look up any info on it on how they
want you to create a rescue CD). Also, you said that you want to get the
*OS* on the CD (which presumably meant you wanted to install the OS from
there). Acronis TI is a partition imaging program so you are restoring your
OS to a state for the image you created. That won't be for a fresh install
of the OS (and all drivers) unless you saved an image with your host in that
state. More likely you have installed programs and created files since you
got the clean host with a fresh install of the OS. So are you looking to
restore the OS to its factory-time state? Or are you looking to restore
your host to a prior state (after it got modified)?
 
R

RobertVA

Flightless Bird
On 1/6/2010 6:48 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
> "Pegasus [MVP]"<news@microsoft.com> wrote in message
> news:uapEsZyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>
>>
>> "Jo-Anne"<Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> said this in news item
>> news:uS0oqVyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>>> CD containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>>> later on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>>
>>> Thank you!
>>>
>>> Jo-Anne

>>
>> Having a WinXP CD is of limited use because you will also need a bunch of
>> drivers, which can be very hard to get. However, I'm sure that the netbook
>> came with a factory restore facility, perhaps on CD or on DVD. This is the
>> fastest way to restore the laptop in case of a catastrophic failure. Have
>> a good look at the manual!
>>
>> If you still need a WinXP CD, make a copy of a friend's CD. This is
>> perfectly legal. Just make sure it's the same type
>> (OEM/Retail/Home/Professional).

> Thank you, Pegasus! The netbook did not come with a CD or DVD, and the only
> thing I could find in the manual is that when the operating system isn't
> working, you should use the options in the Startup Menu to fix the problem.
> This of course is assuming you can get to the Startup Menu, which includes
> the following (among others): Last known good configuration, Directory
> Services Restore Mode, Debugging Mode. The user is to "see your Windows
> documentation for further explanation."
>
> I do have an ancient OEM CD of Windows XP Home (which is what this computer
> is running), SP1, that came with my Dell desktop computer. I guess if
> anything terrible happens, I could try it.
>
> I think there's also supposed to be a way to make a bootable CD, but I don't
> remember how...
>
> Jo-Anne


When a name brand computer comes with installation media (CD or DVD) the
Windows OS installation software on that media often checks the computer
brand and model number and refuses to install the OS if the
computer/motherboard isn't on a fairly short list of that computer
manufacturer's products.

To reduce manufacturing costs, thus the retail price, many name brand
computers don't come with Windows OS installation disks or much in the
way of manuals beyond a FEW page long "Getting Started" manual.
Computers that are sold with optical disk writers (CD-R or DVD-/+R
drives) may include software that allows the customer to make a set of
recovery disks, but the customer has to purchase blank media separately.
since many netbooks don't include DVD or CD writers, they would require
some other recovery technique. Check you computer for a user "manual"
stored on the mechanical or solid state hard "drive". There MAY be a
provision for establishing an OS backup on a memory card or other type
of flash/thumb drive.
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message news:hi3a0a$kej$1@news.albasani.net...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>> news:hi3619$edv$1@news.albasani.net...
>>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>>
>>>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>>>> CD
>>>> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>>>> later
>>>> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you!
>>>>
>>>> Jo-Anne
>>>
>>> Follow the manual for the computer that tells you how to create a rescue
>>> CD.

>>
>> If that information appeared in the manual, I'd be glad to do it--but as far
>> as I can tell, it's not there. I've made a bootable CD for my other
>> computers with Acronis True Image Home, but I haven't installed Acronis on
>> this new computer yet and don't know if the other one would work.
>>
>> Is there a website with information on creating a bootable CD or, even
>> better, a bootable thumb drive that would work on the netbook? (I haven't
>> yet bought an external DVD drive/burner.)
>>
>> Thank you, Vanguard!
>>
>> Jo-Anne

>
> You did not identify your model (so I can look up any info on it on how they
> want you to create a rescue CD). Also, you said that you want to get the
> *OS* on the CD (which presumably meant you wanted to install the OS from
> there). Acronis TI is a partition imaging program so you are restoring your
> OS to a state for the image you created. That won't be for a fresh install
> of the OS (and all drivers) unless you saved an image with your host in that
> state. More likely you have installed programs and created files since you
> got the clean host with a fresh install of the OS. So are you looking to
> restore the OS to its factory-time state? Or are you looking to restore
> your host to a prior state (after it got modified)?
>


Thank you again, Vanguard!

The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is on the computer is a very general one that is also available online at

http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf

(If this link doesn't work, I'll re-send as a TinyURL.)

As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in this manual.

I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD or flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and an OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images of the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With Acronis, you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want to boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers. It boots directly into Acronis True Image.

I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD, perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running Windows XP.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
"RobertVA" <robert_c72athotmail@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:-O8B4%23QzjKHA.5568@TK2MSFTNGP02.phx.gbl...
> On 1/6/2010 6:48 PM, Jo-Anne wrote:
>> "Pegasus [MVP]"<news@microsoft.com> wrote in message
>> news:uapEsZyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>
>>>
>>> "Jo-Anne"<Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> said this in news item
>>> news:uS0oqVyjKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>>>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with
>>>> a
>>>> CD containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of
>>>> need
>>>> later on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>>>
>>>> Thank you!
>>>>
>>>> Jo-Anne
>>>
>>> Having a WinXP CD is of limited use because you will also need a bunch
>>> of
>>> drivers, which can be very hard to get. However, I'm sure that the
>>> netbook
>>> came with a factory restore facility, perhaps on CD or on DVD. This is
>>> the
>>> fastest way to restore the laptop in case of a catastrophic failure.
>>> Have
>>> a good look at the manual!
>>>
>>> If you still need a WinXP CD, make a copy of a friend's CD. This is
>>> perfectly legal. Just make sure it's the same type
>>> (OEM/Retail/Home/Professional).

>> Thank you, Pegasus! The netbook did not come with a CD or DVD, and the
>> only
>> thing I could find in the manual is that when the operating system isn't
>> working, you should use the options in the Startup Menu to fix the
>> problem.
>> This of course is assuming you can get to the Startup Menu, which
>> includes
>> the following (among others): Last known good configuration, Directory
>> Services Restore Mode, Debugging Mode. The user is to "see your Windows
>> documentation for further explanation."
>>
>> I do have an ancient OEM CD of Windows XP Home (which is what this
>> computer
>> is running), SP1, that came with my Dell desktop computer. I guess if
>> anything terrible happens, I could try it.
>>
>> I think there's also supposed to be a way to make a bootable CD, but I
>> don't
>> remember how...
>>
>> Jo-Anne

>
> When a name brand computer comes with installation media (CD or DVD) the
> Windows OS installation software on that media often checks the computer
> brand and model number and refuses to install the OS if the
> computer/motherboard isn't on a fairly short list of that computer
> manufacturer's products.
>
> To reduce manufacturing costs, thus the retail price, many name brand
> computers don't come with Windows OS installation disks or much in the way
> of manuals beyond a FEW page long "Getting Started" manual. Computers that
> are sold with optical disk writers (CD-R or DVD-/+R drives) may include
> software that allows the customer to make a set of recovery disks, but the
> customer has to purchase blank media separately. since many netbooks don't
> include DVD or CD writers, they would require some other recovery
> technique. Check you computer for a user "manual" stored on the mechanical
> or solid state hard "drive". There MAY be a provision for establishing an
> OS backup on a memory card or other type of flash/thumb drive.


Thank you, Robert! I think I've read before that OS CDs specific to a
manufacturer might not work on another computer. I guess that leaves me the
option to purchase one if they're reasonably priced--from either Microsoft
or Toshiba--as well as getting an external CD/DVD burner (which I was
planning to do eventually) or to find other methods of dealing with
potential problems. (See my latest response to Vanguard.)

Jo-Anne
 
V

VanguardLH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
(The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)

> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is on
> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>
> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf


Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the OS
partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete this
partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS is
designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
booted.

> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in this
> manual.


Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you need to
get an external DVD burner drive.

> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD or
> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and an
> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images of
> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With Acronis,
> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want to
> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers. It
> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>
> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
> Windows XP.


I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE (see
http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE). I
used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it worked.
However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that. Since
you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).

There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB flash
drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux distro
on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a non-Windows
operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many versions of
Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.

The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD can be
booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first before
the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to be
somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using their
hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from where to
read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be able to
use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting their
recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I have
had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot manager
to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.
 
A

ANONYMOUS

Flightless Bird
Try this link that is specially for people in exactly the same situation as you
are in:

<http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml>

You do need to buy an external CD/DVD drive ($30) to burn the resultant output.

hth

Jo-Anne wrote:

> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a CD
> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need later
> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>
> Thank you!
>
> Jo-Anne
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
Thank you VERY much, Vanguard, for all your help! (Sorry about the HTML. I
had read it was the only way to make sure the long link was clickable; I
didn't realize it would provide one long line for each paragraph.)

I guess I relied too much on Toshiba's index and its chapter titles,
especially "Chapter 6: If Something Goes Wrong" (nothing was there). Having
recovery information buried in the chapter on Getting Started seems strange
to me. Page 47's "Hard Drive Recovery" wasn't in the index under any of the
three words, and the only reference in the index to page 54 was "power
button" (nothing at all for page 55). From now on, I'll check the Table of
Contents more carefully. As an indexer, I've always searched indexes first,
since everything there is supposed to be organized by subject--but that
doesn't work when the subjects aren't in the index.

I will definitely buy a DVD burner, although it would be wonderful if
recovery into XP could proceed from a flash drive. (Thanks to help I
received in another newsgroup, I recently was able to copy my WordPerfect
installation CD to a flash drive and install the program on my netbook from
it.)

I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis. I have four external
hard drives, and I back up my two other computers to them with Acronis
regularly. I also created a separate bootable CD using Acronis to do so--and
I configured the BIOS on my old desktop computer to look first at the
optical drive (it's so old, it has a floppy drive, and that's what it wanted
to boot from first, then the hard drive).

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

"VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
news:hi3ii1$1fs$1@news.albasani.net...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
> NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
> (The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
> paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)
>
>> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is on
>> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>>
>> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf

>
> Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the OS
> partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete this
> partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
> partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS is
> designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
> booted.
>
>> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in this
>> manual.

>
> Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you need
> to
> get an external DVD burner drive.
>
>> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD or
>> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and an
>> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
>> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images of
>> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With Acronis,
>> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want to
>> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers. It
>> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>>
>> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
>> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
>> Windows XP.

>
> I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE
> (see
> http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE). I
> used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it worked.
> However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that. Since
> you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
> create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).
>
> There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB flash
> drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
> drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux distro
> on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a
> non-Windows
> operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
> partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many versions
> of
> Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.
>
> The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
> manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD can
> be
> booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first
> before
> the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to be
> somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using
> their
> hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from where
> to
> read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be able
> to
> use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting their
> recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I have
> had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot
> manager
> to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
> Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
Thank you! I'll bookmark that website for reference for my other computers.
Unfortunately, I don't think it'll work for the netbook, which doesn't have
\i386 in the root directory. It has an I386 folder in c:/WINDOWS and several
i386 folders in c:/WINDOWS\System32\ having to do with, I think,
reinstalling drivers. I learned from Vanguard that Toshiba has its own
Recovery arrangement, and I guess I'll have to follow its instructions to
create a recovery CD.

Thank you again!

Jo-Anne

"ANONYMOUS" <ANONYMOUS@EXAMPLE.COM> wrote in message
news:4B454F16.877863FD@EXAMPLE.COM...
> Try this link that is specially for people in exactly the same situation
> as you
> are in:
>
> <http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml>
>
> You do need to buy an external CD/DVD drive ($30) to burn the resultant
> output.
>
> hth
>
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a
>> CD
>> containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need
>> later
>> on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>>
>> Thank you!
>>
>> Jo-Anne

>
 
D

dadiOH

Flightless Bird
Jo-Anne wrote:

> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis.


Why not just use the one you already have?

--

dadiOH
____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
....a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
 
J

Jim

Flightless Bird
On Wed, 6 Jan 2010 17:09:25 -0600, "Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com>
wrote:

>I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a CD
>containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need later
>on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
>
>Thank you!
>
>Jo-Anne
>


No hidden partition with the OS ?
 
A

Anteaus

Flightless Bird
The i386 route may work (look for one with winnt.exe and winn32.exe files in
it, plus a lot of other files)

Alternatively, the Dell SP1 CD will probably be a more-or-less kosher copy
of XP, in those days Dell more-or-less stuck to Microsoft's spec. An issue
here is that you may need SP3 for the setup to work on a more recent PC. You
can in fact slipstream SP3 with the contents of the Dell CD to make an
up-to-date install CD. You can even include the drivers for your hardware,
although these can be added after setup.

A useful tool for making custom setup CDs:
http://www.nliteos.com/

Toshiba computers are good hardware, but they come with a huge amount of
preinstalled junk like media players and 'security suites.' In my experience
they show a phenomenal boost in performance if Windows is reinstalled with
the right drivers, but sans junk. This is one reason I wouldn't bother with
the recovery partition approach- it usually puts the junk back too. Better a
clean install anyway.

BTW, when installing XP, you often need to go into the BIOS settings, and
change the SATA mode to legacy, or IDE mode. Otherwise the setup will freeze
after the first reboot. (because the SATA driver has not yet been installed,
but bare XP doesn't understand SATA)


"ANONYMOUS" wrote:

> Try this link that is specially for people in exactly the same situation as you
> are in:
>
> <http://www.howtohaven.com/system/createwindowssetupdisk.shtml>
>
> You do need to buy an external CD/DVD drive ($30) to burn the resultant output.
>
> hth
>
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
> > I just bought a Toshiba netbook running WinXP SP3. It didn't come with a CD
> > containing the OS. What's the best way to get the CD (in case of need later
> > on)? Do I ask Toshiba for it or Microsoft?
> >
> > Thank you!
> >
> > Jo-Anne

>
> .
>
 
S

SC Tom

Flightless Bird
Vanguard is correct on this- you need to create the Recovery DVD per
Toshiba's instructions, or create a disk image with Acronis. My Gateway
notebook had a similar setup with having the Recovery Partition on the hard
drive, but no CD/DVD.

Like a dummy, I didn't make the DVD like I should have, and hadn't made any
kind of image. As (bad) luck would have it, about 6 months after purchase,
the HDD crunched once or twice and died, never to boot again.

Luckily, I was able to download the OS and drivers disks from Gateway's web
site after arguing with them about the warranty (they tried to start the
warranty from date of manufacture, not my purchase date. That ain't
happening!). I put a new drive in, and restored it back to factory condition
using the downloads, but it certainly was a PITA to go through all the
setting up, reinstalling programs, etc.

After that, I got an external drive and a copy of Acronis. I now image my
drives on a regular basis, and it has saved my bacon a couple of times so
far.

Stupid of me not to have done all that in the first place since I was the IT
guy at work that always asked "Didn't you back that up?" whenever anyone
lost a file or something. Got my comeuppance the hard way, but I learned
(again!).
--
SC Tom

"Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
news:eZbPHo0jKHA.1824@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Thank you VERY much, Vanguard, for all your help! (Sorry about the HTML. I
> had read it was the only way to make sure the long link was clickable; I
> didn't realize it would provide one long line for each paragraph.)
>
> I guess I relied too much on Toshiba's index and its chapter titles,
> especially "Chapter 6: If Something Goes Wrong" (nothing was there).
> Having recovery information buried in the chapter on Getting Started seems
> strange to me. Page 47's "Hard Drive Recovery" wasn't in the index under
> any of the three words, and the only reference in the index to page 54 was
> "power button" (nothing at all for page 55). From now on, I'll check the
> Table of Contents more carefully. As an indexer, I've always searched
> indexes first, since everything there is supposed to be organized by
> subject--but that doesn't work when the subjects aren't in the index.
>
> I will definitely buy a DVD burner, although it would be wonderful if
> recovery into XP could proceed from a flash drive. (Thanks to help I
> received in another newsgroup, I recently was able to copy my WordPerfect
> installation CD to a flash drive and install the program on my netbook
> from it.)
>
> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis. I have four
> external hard drives, and I back up my two other computers to them with
> Acronis regularly. I also created a separate bootable CD using Acronis to
> do so--and I configured the BIOS on my old desktop computer to look first
> at the optical drive (it's so old, it has a floppy drive, and that's what
> it wanted to boot from first, then the hard drive).
>
> Thank you again!
>
> Jo-Anne
>
> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
> news:hi3ii1$1fs$1@news.albasani.net...
>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>
>> NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
>> (The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
>> paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)
>>
>>> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is
>>> on
>>> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>>>
>>> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf

>>
>> Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the
>> OS
>> partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete this
>> partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
>> partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS
>> is
>> designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
>> booted.
>>
>>> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in this
>>> manual.

>>
>> Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you need
>> to
>> get an external DVD burner drive.
>>
>>> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD or
>>> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and
>>> an
>>> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
>>> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images of
>>> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With
>>> Acronis,
>>> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want to
>>> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers.
>>> It
>>> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>>>
>>> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
>>> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
>>> Windows XP.

>>
>> I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE
>> (see
>> http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE). I
>> used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it
>> worked.
>> However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that.
>> Since
>> you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
>> create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).
>>
>> There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB
>> flash
>> drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
>> drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux
>> distro
>> on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a
>> non-Windows
>> operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
>> partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many versions
>> of
>> Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.
>>
>> The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
>> manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD can
>> be
>> booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first
>> before
>> the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to be
>> somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using
>> their
>> hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from where
>> to
>> read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be able
>> to
>> use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting
>> their
>> recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I
>> have
>> had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot
>> manager
>> to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
>> Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.

>
>
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
I could use the physical medium, I suppose, but I'd still have to pay for
another copy, since the license is for only one machine.

Jo-Anne

"dadiOH" <dadiOH@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:eoG12N5jKHA.1264@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
> Jo-Anne wrote:
>
>> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis.

>
> Why not just use the one you already have?
>
> --
>
> dadiOH
> ____________________________
>
> dadiOH's dandies v3.06...
> ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from
> LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that.
> Get it at http://mysite.verizon.net/xico
>
>
>
 
J

Jo-Anne

Flightless Bird
Thank you, SC Tom, for that wake-up call! I have very little data on my
netbook, but it took me days to install all the programs I wanted and
arrange everything the way I want it. I think the only way to assure that I
keep everything is to bite the bullet and get an optical drive and another
Acronis--although I'll probably make a recovery DVD through Toshiba too.

Jo-Anne

"SC Tom" <sc@tom.net> wrote in message
news:eNw%23mS6jKHA.1648@TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl...
> Vanguard is correct on this- you need to create the Recovery DVD per
> Toshiba's instructions, or create a disk image with Acronis. My Gateway
> notebook had a similar setup with having the Recovery Partition on the
> hard drive, but no CD/DVD.
>
> Like a dummy, I didn't make the DVD like I should have, and hadn't made
> any kind of image. As (bad) luck would have it, about 6 months after
> purchase, the HDD crunched once or twice and died, never to boot again.
>
> Luckily, I was able to download the OS and drivers disks from Gateway's
> web site after arguing with them about the warranty (they tried to start
> the warranty from date of manufacture, not my purchase date. That ain't
> happening!). I put a new drive in, and restored it back to factory
> condition using the downloads, but it certainly was a PITA to go through
> all the setting up, reinstalling programs, etc.
>
> After that, I got an external drive and a copy of Acronis. I now image my
> drives on a regular basis, and it has saved my bacon a couple of times so
> far.
>
> Stupid of me not to have done all that in the first place since I was the
> IT guy at work that always asked "Didn't you back that up?" whenever
> anyone lost a file or something. Got my comeuppance the hard way, but I
> learned (again!).
> --
> SC Tom
>
> "Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
> news:eZbPHo0jKHA.1824@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl...
>> Thank you VERY much, Vanguard, for all your help! (Sorry about the HTML.
>> I had read it was the only way to make sure the long link was clickable;
>> I didn't realize it would provide one long line for each paragraph.)
>>
>> I guess I relied too much on Toshiba's index and its chapter titles,
>> especially "Chapter 6: If Something Goes Wrong" (nothing was there).
>> Having recovery information buried in the chapter on Getting Started
>> seems strange to me. Page 47's "Hard Drive Recovery" wasn't in the index
>> under any of the three words, and the only reference in the index to page
>> 54 was "power button" (nothing at all for page 55). From now on, I'll
>> check the Table of Contents more carefully. As an indexer, I've always
>> searched indexes first, since everything there is supposed to be
>> organized by subject--but that doesn't work when the subjects aren't in
>> the index.
>>
>> I will definitely buy a DVD burner, although it would be wonderful if
>> recovery into XP could proceed from a flash drive. (Thanks to help I
>> received in another newsgroup, I recently was able to copy my WordPerfect
>> installation CD to a flash drive and install the program on my netbook
>> from it.)
>>
>> I'll probably go ahead and get another copy of Acronis. I have four
>> external hard drives, and I back up my two other computers to them with
>> Acronis regularly. I also created a separate bootable CD using Acronis to
>> do so--and I configured the BIOS on my old desktop computer to look first
>> at the optical drive (it's so old, it has a floppy drive, and that's what
>> it wanted to boot from first, then the hard drive).
>>
>> Thank you again!
>>
>> Jo-Anne
>>
>> "VanguardLH" <V@nguard.LH> wrote in message
>> news:hi3ii1$1fs$1@news.albasani.net...
>>> Jo-Anne wrote:
>>>
>>> NOTE: Do *not* post using HTML format in newsgroups.
>>> (The following lines were rewrapped to undo the overly 1 long line per
>>> paragraph formatting for quoted-printable format while using HTML.)
>>>
>>>> The computer I bought is the Toshiba NB205-N310/BN. The manual that is
>>>> on
>>>> the computer is a very general one that is also available online at
>>>>
>>>> http://cdgenp01.csd.toshiba.com/con...2346766/GMAD00199011_NB200_Series_09May01.pdf
>>>
>>> Page 47. This computer uses a hidden partition to save an image of the
>>> OS
>>> partition. That's why if you were to use a partition tool to delete
>>> this
>>> partition and enlarge the OS partition that you would lose this hidden
>>> partition and the ability to use it to restore your computer. The BIOS
>>> is
>>> designed to read the recovery program out of EEPROM. No OS needs to be
>>> booted.
>>>
>>>> As far as I can tell, there is NO information about a Restore CD in
>>>> this
>>>> manual.
>>>
>>> Page 55. Tells you how to create a recovery DVD. So obviously you need
>>> to
>>> get an external DVD burner drive.
>>>
>>>> I guess I was really talking about two different things--a Restore CD
>>>> or
>>>> flash drive from which I could boot the computer if all else fails and
>>>> an
>>>> OS CD in case I need to restore the computer to its factory state. The
>>>> third option is buying another copy of Acronis and making full images
>>>> of
>>>> the current state of the computer in case anything happens. With
>>>> Acronis,
>>>> you also can make a bootable CD in case your hard drive doesn't want to
>>>> boot at all. I've done that and tried it on one of my other computers.
>>>> It
>>>> boots directly into Acronis True Image.
>>>>
>>>> I believe, though, that there's a way to make a generic bootable CD,
>>>> perhaps using Linux, that can get you back to the computer running
>>>> Windows XP.
>>>
>>> I believe one means of creating a bootable CD for Windows is the BartPE
>>> (see
>>> http://www.nu2.nu/pebuilder/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BartPE).
>>> I
>>> used it a long time back but it's been too long to remember how it
>>> worked.
>>> However, you need an install CD of Windows and you don't have that.
>>> Since
>>> you don't have a installation CD for Windows, I'm not sure how you can
>>> create a copy of it (as is, or in a modified form, like BartPE).
>>>
>>> There are Live CDs for Linux distributions that might run from a USB
>>> flash
>>> drive - but that assumes your BIOS can be configured to boot from a USB
>>> drive. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Live_USB. I doubt a Linux
>>> distro
>>> on a USB drive is going to help you since you would be running a
>>> non-Windows
>>> operating system that won't help with much more than disk repair, like
>>> partitioning or cloning. You could use a Live CD distro of many
>>> versions of
>>> Linux (www.distrowatch.com) but you won't be running Windows.
>>>
>>> The Acronis TI product CD is bootable, plus you can install their boot
>>> manager (that usurps the bootstrap area of the hard disk). Their CD can
>>> be
>>> booted (if the BIOS is configured to check the removable drives first
>>> before
>>> the hard disks) to perform a restore but that means your image has to be
>>> somewhere other than on the hard disk that crashed, like you are using
>>> their
>>> hidden partition (Acronis partition) on a different hard disk from where
>>> to
>>> read the image backups. The hard disk crashes then you might not be
>>> able to
>>> use their installable MBR boot manager to use that means of starting
>>> their
>>> recovery wizard (so you're back to using their bootable CD). While I
>>> have
>>> had success using both their bootable product CD and their MBR boot
>>> manager
>>> to run their recovery wizard, I would also suggest creating a separate
>>> Acronis rescue CD using their installed wizard.

>>
>>

>
 
O

olfart

Flightless Bird
"Jo-Anne" <Jo-AnneATnowhere.com> wrote in message
news:uqM8yx7jKHA.3476@TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl...
>
> I could use the physical medium, I suppose, but I'd still have to pay for
> another copy, since the license is for only one machine.
>
> Jo-Anne
>

ssssshhhhh....I won't tell
you are just "transferring" it from one machine to another. Still....one
machine
 
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