Shoutbox

Hi,
i brought a dell and no operating system disc but there is a program called
Dell Os recovery CD so could that be my windows xp disc it says put in a CDR disc which i think is a dvd disc where EXE, videos and what not can be stored
and my computer has got a cd dvd burner
SO COULD THIS BE MY ANSWER TO GET VISTA

Umm... slow down a little please!

The Dell OS Recovery CD will format your hard disk to its original leaving-factory state. You don't want to do this unless it's an emergency.

Usually (if you have Windows XP) the install files for Windows can be found in C:\Windows\I386. You can't directly burn these to a CD and expect it to boot, unfortunatly, but with some minor tools you may be able to get these files booting. (I had to use the WIN51IP files from an XP Pro CD to burn mine as well as Arnie's boot image).

What this has to do with you getting Vista is unclear.

To get the actual OS ISO for Vista you have to be a registered Microsoft tester, at the moment anyway.

If you're looking to repartition your hard disk so you have both Vista and XP installed, you don't need to wipe out your XP installation, you can use a tool like PartitionMagic to resize the partition XP is installed on and create a new one for Vista.

quote:

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Originally posted by andrewdodd13
Umm... slow down a little please!

The Dell OS Recovery CD will format your hard disk to its original leaving-factory state. You don't want to do this unless it's an emergency.

Usually (if you have Windows XP) the install files for Windows can be found in C:\Windows\I386. You can't directly burn these to a CD and expect it to boot, unfortunatly, but with some minor tools you may be able to get these files booting. (I had to use the WIN51IP files from an XP Pro CD to burn mine as well as Arnie's boot image).

What this has to do with you getting Vista is unclear.

To get the actual OS ISO for Vista you have to be a registered Microsoft tester, at the moment anyway.

If you're looking to repartition your hard disk so you have both Vista and XP installed, you don't need to wipe out your XP installation, you can use a tool like PartitionMagic to resize the partition XP is installed on and create a new one for Vista.

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well i need a back up of windows xp disc because a format is best for me (got a load of crap on there) and the vista is something i need as well because i like the look and cool new features
its downloading now

quote:

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Originally posted by Mentoz

well i need a back up of windows xp disc because a format is best for me (got a load of crap on there) and the vista is something i need as well because i like the look and cool new features

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Last time I checked, liking the look and cool new features does not depict a need, meerly a want.

Anyways, if you can burn a Dell recovery cd, theoretically that will help you restore Windows XP if an installation of Vista goes wrong, or you simply want to remove Vista.  If i were you i would make your  XP recovery cd and use it to format your computer to make sure it works correctly, then go ahead and install Vista. (Even though using your system as a test bed for a Windows cd isn't neccisarily the best idea.)

quote:

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Originally posted by Mentoz
i brought a dell and no operating system disc but there is a program called
Dell Os recovery CD so could that be my windows xp disc

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It's a recovery CD. It will copy a pre-installed version of Windows XP (loaded with dell drivers and software) to your computer.

quote:

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Originally posted by Mentoz
it says put in a CDR disc which i think is a dvd disc where EXE, videos and what not can be stored
and my computer has got a cd dvd burner

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CD-R and DVD-R are two seperate formats. What does that have to do with EXEs and videos?

quote:

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Originally posted by Mentoz
SO COULD THIS BE MY ANSWER TO GET VISTA

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I'm lost at this point. Can you rephrase your post in proper english? `

quote:

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Originally posted by Mentoz
the vista is something i need as well because i like the look and cool new features

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big mistake
DO NOT DOWNLOAD VISTA BECAUSE YOU LIE THE LOOK OR FEATURES

its still beta, and does crash often, the term beta, does not mean stable, its a pre-releace version to work out all the bugs

in my opinion, you should not install vista as your primary OS, use duel boot, so you can always format and get rid of vista