HP Recovery CD Question

Hello, I am posting over here after deciding to order my recovery cds from HP for my Pavilion a350n. So, I'm guessing this is a software question.
I guess I have a basic question about this: Is the recovery cd kit a cd to recover the Windows XP? I basically am needing to recover my d: drive from the cd because of a corrupt registry problem. But I bought this computer and all the software was bundled: XP, and all kinds of other programs. I have no cds for any of it.
I am wondering if the recovery cd has all this on it. I know I need to back-up my files and all that, but I'm worried about the programs I use that I don't have a cd for.
Can anyone explain this to me in 'computer knowledge for dummies' terms? I've never had to do something like this to my computer before and honestly I'm a little scared because I do all my business from it.
Thanks in advance for not laughing at me!

 

Hey Scout,

Welcome to Major Geeks.

You may have some options / solutions that we can help you with if you give us some details, especially on the corrupt registry problem.

Just post what problems you have encountered and give the geeks a chance to offer some assistance.

We have members with years of experience and knowledge that will be glad to help. So post it up and I am confident you will get plenty of responses.

Steve

 

Hello,
I posted my original problem and specs over in the hardware area:
http://forums.majorgeeks.com/showthread.php?t=55570
After calling a computer tech repair person on the phone, I concluded that ordering the recovery cds was my only option. Do you know about the recovery cd question I had asked?

 

The recovery CDs contain a complete copy of your original installation of all your software that originally came with the PC.

The recovery CDs generally have two modes of operation: 1) Completely overwrite/recover all the existing files or 2) Selectively overwrite/recover a particular file or set of files.

Option 1 would also restore your registry to its initial value and consequently any information that relates to software that you installed since the original state would be lost.

Before recovery you should make a backup of your data and any special information relating to your software, e.g., license keys. Then I would recommend to format and clean your disk before attempting recovery.