Intellistation E Pro w/XP questions

[wags22]

I recently purchased an IBM Intellistation E Pro w/MS XP Pro. One of the main reasons I purchased it was for the XP Pro. The system is a refurbished former lease computer.

Much to my chagrin I discovered upon receiving the system that it does not come with an XP disk, not even an OEM system restore disk. All of the system restore files are on a partition on the hard drive. And the hard drive is formatted as FAT32.

What I would like to know is:
A) Is there a way to move the system restore to a CD so that I can completely wipe the hard drive if necessary?

B) If I can move the system restore to CD, will it still load on a NTFS formatted system?

C) Is there a way to get the XP Key code from my system so that with an XP disk I can just enter the code from my system and restore that way?

Thank you for any assistance in this matter.

Wags

Wags

"Everything you have read is a lie, including this.

 

[linney]

The product key is going to belong to the OEM installation and not any other retail version of XP, which will have its own supplied product key for you to use.

Use software like Drive Image or similar to make a restorable image of your hard drive. On restore this would replace everything (including file systems) to the point of time the image was made.

http://www.langa.com/newsletters/2003/2003-07-03.htm

Some new computers do not supply a Recovery CD but have the Recovery Partition with instructions in the "Getting Started" paperwork on how to create a Recovery CD from your machine. Some just have the Recovery Partition (getting rarer I think) and nothing else.


307881 - HOW TO: Convert a FAT16 or FAT32 Volume to NTFS in Windows XP

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;307881&FR=1&PA=1&SD=HSCH

 

[T3chGuy]

A)How big is the system restore? I think that will answer the question as to whether it can be put on a CD or not.
Are you certain that the partition contains all the files required to run and restore the system?

B) If you boot from an NTFS drive then you will not be able to see the FAT32 drive. There are a few work arounds to this. 1. Install XP as FAT32 2.install XP as NTFS and then convert it to FAT32 with something like partition magic. 3. boot using a FAT32 boot disk or CD 4. Create a dual boot system. 5. there are NTFS/FAT32 viewer apps available for download but I have never had good experience using those.

C)Check the case sometimes they stick the number on the side of the case somewhere. I don't know how you can extract the number from an installed version....=-(

This seems like another case of a refurb guy leaving you hanging. Maybe you can go back to the retailer that you bought it from and ask for the recovery CDs and any driver CDs etc that should have come with your PC.

 

[wags22]

Ok, did some thinking and looking last night. Discovered that there is a Product Key sticker on the side of the box. That should work with any retail version of XP when installing...ie my buddy who bought a copy of XP can give me a copy and when I use it to install, just put in my Product Key, right?

Now all I need to determine is what items are a default install from the recovery partition, and whether I really care that they are installed.

Wags

"Everything you have read is a lie, including this.

 

[wunkunn]

Your Product Number will not work with a retail version of XP.
OEM, Retail and Vulume license versions each require a different Product ID. Don't waste your time trying to beat the system.

 

[bcastner]

There is a lot of misinformation in this thread.

If you boot from an NTFS drive then you will not be able to see the FAT32 drive. There are a few work arounds to this. 1. Install XP as FAT32 2.install XP as NTFS and then convert it to FAT32 with something like partition magic. 3. boot using a FAT32 boot disk or CD 4. Create a dual boot system. 5. there are NTFS/FAT32 viewer apps available for download but I have never had good experience using those.

Whether you boot XP from a FAT32 or NTFS filestore, it can always read and write both FAT32 and NTFS. No conversion, no utilities, no reformat, no drivers, are required. The statement above is completely wrong. This is true of Win2k as well. It is not true for Windows NT and Win9x, which do not support natively NTFS.

Ok, did some thinking and looking last night. Discovered that there is a Product Key sticker on the side of the box. That should work with any retail version of XP when installing...ie my buddy who bought a copy of XP can give me a copy and when I use it to install, just put in my Product Key, right?

Wrong. The controlling factor is the PID contained on the CD. Retail PIDs are not used in OEM installations and key generation. It will reject the key.

 

[bcastner]

Call IBM and ask for a CD.