[sintricate]

I just received my netbook a few days ago and I was wondering what I was supposed to do if say I needed to reinstall the OS (XP) in the event of a system format.

They obviously didn't send me a recovery disc of any kind so what do companies expect you to do in the event you need to reinstall your OS? The XP product key is on the bottom of the netbook but that's it.

I'm not really worried about this as I'm 5min away from installing Windows 7 on mine but I was just curious.

 

[n1helix]

there should then be a recovery partition on the hard drive

 

[Rewindlabs]

Well depending on the netbook there is usually a partition setup so you can press so and so key at startup and it will begin a recovery installation of the default OS the netbook shipped with

If you are formatting the whole drive or do not have the partition you can just setup a USB key with XP/Vista/7 or any other OS of your choice and isntall via that manner

Very easy stuff

 

[Rothen]

Well, in your case they should have provided some sort of OS disk. You will need a removable CD drive or some large flash drive (8GB) if you want to reinstall your OS.

Then you will need a disk or image file, and that's the problem. If you find one good, then it comes down to your key. It's likely an OEM key, so I don't know if it can work with a normal XP CD.

I believe you can legally download CD image files if you can prove you have Windows, its just a question of where..

 

[Rewindlabs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rothen Well, in your case they should have provided some sort of OS disk. You will need a removable CD drive or some large flash drive (8GB) if you want to reinstall your OS. Then you will need a disk or image file, and that's the problem. If you find one good, then it comes down to your key. It's likely an OEM key, so I don't know if it can work with a normal XP CD. I believe you can legally download CD image files if you can prove you have Windows, its just a question of where..

That depends on the OS...i only needed a meager 1GB stick for XP installations

OSX is about the only OS you really need 8GB's for...actually i can't say that and be 100% sure...i believe i had some trouble with Windows 7 and my 4GB stick awhile back

I believe you can obtain OEM XP ISO's and that will allow you to use your key but if not you can just call up your netbook's manufacturer and they will surely send you a disc

 

[Dman]

If its an HP mini running XP they don't come with disks, you have to use the roxio utility they come with to make a disk image to restore the unit.

 

[vuxdu]

http://www.thinkcomputers.org/instal...b-flash-drive/

Here is how to do it if you have windows 7.

 

[sintricate]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dman If its an HP mini running XP they don't come with disks, you have to use the roxio utility they come with to make a disk image to restore the unit.

Yeah, mine is an HP Mini.

I installed windows 7 on it yesterday and it runs great. It was a lot easier than people made it seem. Thanks for all the answers, guys. I was just curious.

A buddy of mine has a Dell netbook with a 4gb SSD and he wants to install windows. Since the HD is only 4GB is he stuck with XP? He's currently using Ubuntu but wants to switch over. I see that windows 7's min req is 16gb so I'm guessing that's out of the question, eh?

 

[mmx+]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sintricate Yeah, mine is an HP Mini. I installed windows 7 on it yesterday and it runs great. It was a lot easier than people made it seem. Thanks for all the answers, guys. I was just curious. A buddy of mine has a Dell netbook with a 4gb SSD and he wants to install windows. Since the HD is only 4GB is he stuck with XP? He's currently using Ubuntu but wants to switch over. I see that windows 7's min req is 16gb so I'm guessing that's out of the question, eh?

Definitely nothing newer than XP, but even that might be hard, a fresh install of XP Pro SP3 takes up ~3gb. However, you can use Nlite to remove stuff you don't need (other languages, keyboards, etc) and get it down to ~1.5gb. It sounds like the best plan for him would be to buy a new SSD, such as this 16GB OCZ model. Even then, Windows 7 would be out of the question, but at least then there would be room for some programs/documents

 

[Rewindlabs]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mmx+ Definitely nothing newer than XP, but even that might be hard, a fresh install of XP Pro SP3 takes up ~3gb. However, you can use Nlite to remove stuff you don't need (other languages, keyboards, etc) and get it down to ~1.5gb. It sounds like the best plan for him would be to buy a new SSD, such as this 16GB OCZ model. Even then, Windows 7 would be out of the question, but at least then there would be room for some programs/documents

Mhmm this would be his only option other than attempting one of the modifications that involves installing an ipod size HDD...it is a bit pricey but you can get some decent GB's in there for the space taken up and really the only option if he needs the space or windows 7/osx