Recovery disk question.....please?

If I'm not supposed to start a new thread for each question I have about reinstalling windows, please forgive me and correct me.......:-o

I have an old HP Pavillion a384x that I would like to reinstall xp on. I *thought* I had done this about two years ago, but now I'm not so sure. After reading several guides on how to reformat and reinstall XP, and then looking at the disks I used previously, I'm not so sure I have the correct disks I need. Are recovery disks what I'm looking for? I have 2 of those on DVD and a start up disk on floppy.

I am trying the first recovery disk right now and it's not following any of the guides or tutorials I have read. Is this just repairing my OS instead of reinstalling?

I know these are silly questions, I'm really interested in learning how to get my computer back to running quickly and smoothly - any insight anyone can give me regarding installation vs. recovery disks would be helpful and greatly appreciated!!

 

I am not sure about this but I think Recovery disks should restore your PC to factory conditions at least thats how my hp laptop works

 

Just after you get "press any key to boot from CD/DVD" it should give you the option to install or repair, if you select install"it will format the disk and install from the disk, at some point it will ask you to "insert disk 2"after that you will have a brand new install.
Don't forget to use the key from the sticker on your case because HP use OEM mobos and the board is registered with that number.

Also remember with this method you will lose everything from the PC so it's better to save to flash drive or disk anything that you want to save especially drivers (saves you looking for them later)

 

Thanks both for your replies!

BILLMCC66:

this was another reason I thought I might be doing something wrong - I found my key, but then was never asked for it during installation.:confused

Another question:-o :

What is the safest way for me to now get online to download all the XP updates? I tried to reinstall ZoneAlarm and AVG that I had downloaded and moved to an EHD before starting the reinstall. I was able to install CCleaner no problem, but ZoneAlarm and AVG won't install, I think they're trying to get online but I have disconnected my computer from the internet. Also, will I have to use IE to get to Mozilla to download Firefox?

Again, thanks for your patience with these silly questions!!