help restoring OEM xp system

Hi
could anyone please help!
I have a packard bell that came with pre installed xp home,and i have done destructive recovery in the past via f10 no problems.
my problem this time is while i have been on holiday,my nephew has dowloaded something onto it called vista vortex and it has messed up my system saying that it isnt a genuine windows product,now nothing is working properly,and f10 is going to a screen telling me the message that it cant create the partition and then just continues to load windows.
I cant restore my system any other way,so my question is can i use some kind of program to format my hard drive? if so will this wipe off my pre installed version of windows? or would i be able to start afresh as via f10 i.e without any discs?
my tower still has the sticker on it with the product key,but will i need some kind of disc to reinstall windows or will it still be on my system after i wipe the hard drive?
any help appreciated as i dont have a clue how to get my system back
thanks Barry

 

Hello and Welcome,
Well, First it sounds like you have a recovery partition typically setup that would allow you to do that, and now it seems that partition is not there. So, exactly as you mentioned, what I may suggest is this. Are you able to get into the operating system? If so, give Microsoft a call and get them to re-activate your version of Windows XP/Vista or whatever it may be. From there, that will get you past the "Isn't a Genuine Product" issue, once that is done, we definately can see what we can do to get your system back to normal.

Thanks

 

hi
thanks for your reply,I had originally xp home,but my nephew has downloaded this vista vortex from a torrent site so its a pirated copy i think,now its telling me i have xp professional,apparently this vista vortex is supposed to give you the look and features of vista but basically its still xp,but i think its overwrote or is conflicting with my legit OS in some way so its telling me its now xp pro.
I can get onto the OS and even the internet etc but nothing is working as it should be i am getting error messages etc
so can i tell microsoft all this as i dont want to tell them hes dowloaded pirated software
thanks Barry

 

Hello Barry,
Yeah. I was doing some research on the Vista Vortex. I wouldn't suggest using pirated software, but we all make mistakes. So, this is what I suggest, I would see if you have a Windows XP Professional CD, if not, I would try to see if you could get one. What I would also suggest to see if you can go through Control Panel, and Add/Remove to see if you can remove Vista Vortex from there. If you cannot remove it, let me know, and we'll try something else. Once it's removed, you'll then be safe to give M$ a call.
Thanks,

 

Vista Vortex is a shell patcher which replaces Windows files with modified files to give it the appearance of Vista's UI. http://forum.esoft.in/desktop-enhancements/2480-windows-xp-vista-vortex.html
I suspect your nephew may have decided to do you another 'favor' and replaced your original OS with pirated XP Pro and in the process deleted your recovery partition. Contact Packard Bell and see if you can get a recovery disc from them. They may charge a fee for this if it is out of warranty. If the OS is XP Pro and your original COA/product key is for XP Home, it's highly unlikely MS will activate it for you but it won't hurt to try.

 

Hi
If i could get a copy of an xp home OEM disc and i used something like kill disc to wipe my hard drive,could i then re install xp home using said disc and use my product key off the sticker on my tower if it asks me for one?
would this work?
thanks Barry

 

hi
this is the message i get when i try to enter recovery console via f10
failed to create user partition,we can create the partition via the stored DPT data by the first recovery process
ok or cancel,
no matter which i click it just reboots and then loads onto windows
can anyone tell me what this means?
thanks again in advance for any help!
Barry

 

Hey Bazwhite,

Well, what that means is whatever Partition that was there for your restore. Is no longer there, and its trying to re-create the partition. But it unable to because of the fact that the rescue/partition files are no longer there, instead what it does it boots into Windows XP.

Honestly. Playing around with multiple copies of CD's/Product Keys are very iffy, as most OEM Product Keys, will not work well with an OEM Disk. Your best bet is to call up the manufacture, and get a replacement CD from them. It may cost you a few dollars, but it should work.

Thanks.

 

Once i get the recovery disk off packard bell will i have too wipe my harddrive first before i run the disk if so which is the best software too wipe it,i was going too use kill disk,thanks barry

 

Once you get the recovery disk off of Packard Bell, it may require you to format your computer. If so, I do believe the Packard Bell disk will do that for you.

Also, I would suggest when you do call them, tell them what happened to the recovery partition as possibly the recovery disk may not aid. Only they will know.

 

ok Thanks for your help,i will contact them and give it a try
Barry

 

Yes in most cases, as long as you have a valid COA with product key that is not in use with another PC. I did this with an old Compaq I had. I lost one of the recovery discs I had to make and I used an OEM disc I purchased for another computer I built. You will need to call in as MS no longer offers online activation for OEM installations.