Where do I buy,download,or get for free Windows XP recovery discs?

When your computer boots right before it gets to the Windows XP loading screen press F8 to bring up the boot menu. There should be an option to recover… most compaq / HP computers have this build into a separate partition on the hard drive that is created when the system is made.

If yours doesn’t have this, you would just have to buy a new copy of windows because they don’t make recovery CD’s directly.

There may be another way to work with the specific problem you are having.. whats going on?

F8 didnt work and it doesnt go to Windows screen at all. It goes to black screen with Compaq logo. On lower left bottom screen it says…
Press <ESC> to change boot order
Press <F10> to enter SETUP, <F12> to boot from LAN

anyway in September of 2010 I bought recovery discs for a different HP/Compaq Laptop of my son’s and think it was a Professional edition (from HP)

I know HP used to sell the recovery discs. They may not still be doing that. The systems are designed for you to make a recovery disc when you first bring it up. Unfortunately that is not an obvious step in the process. Unfortunately HP has cheapen up and doesn’t supply the recovies discs when you purchase thier computers anymore. They expect you to create one when you first start up.

You might try these guys

They sat they offer restore discs for $20 and I found your model number. Good luck

This page might be helpful.

Do you need an actual HP recovery disc or just a windows XP SP2 HE disc to fix something in windows? What kind of problem are you having that makes you think you need that disc? Perhaps some of us can help you find an alternative way around hunting down a specific disc.

@torchingigloos I need an actual HP recovery disc I am pretty sure. Windows doesnt load and I cant boot up anything. HP says they dont have these discs over 5 years and the web page doesnt have them to download. I cant even work the hard drive test in the bios. Nothing works properly. The wireless light doesnt even come on when I turn on the power. The computer was acting very slow at first and then it wouldnt go on internet at all.

Is it a laptop? If you can’t work the HD test in the bios something is wrong with the hardware and the disc isn’t going to fix that. If it’s a laptop you should probably take it to someone who can look it over hardware-wise. If it’s a desktop, fixing will be a lot easier, but without more info it’s difficult to diagnose what’s wrong. I would suggest taking the HD out and testing it in another system and run diagnostics on it to see if it’s working properly. Surely you have a friend who can do something like that, or maybe a mom & pop type computer place in your area that can do it for cheap. Whatever you do DON’T take it to Bestbuy and pay their geek squad money to mess it up worse and tell you that you need a new computer.

@torchingigloos can I use an ASUS laptop to test the harddrive?
If I need a HD where would I purchase that online?
Thanks! I know something is major wrong.

@marialisa

Just a suggection but I’ve been using Tiger Direct for computer parts for years. They’re cheap and quick. Remember that if you replace the hard drive, you’ll still need the operating system. Any windows operating system will do but you’ll need it.

@marialisa It depends on what kind of drive your non-working computer has. If it’s a laptop and has an IDE/SATA drive and your Asus laptop has the same type of drive (the difference is mainly the type of connector) then yes, you can try one in the other. There’s also a ton of cheap external drive enclosures that you can purchase (ebay usually has them for cheap) where you can toss the drive in the enclosure and then hook it up USB to any computer and test it out. As for new drives, again I would check ebay because you could most likely find the exact drive you already own… which should lead to less compatibility issues in the long run. If you’re dealing with a desktop computer, you can pull the drive and test it in pretty much any other desktop… or again, find a cheap external enclosure. To determine what kind of drive you have, here’s some pics to help.

IDE Laptop drive: http://bigbytepc.net/images/LaptopHardDrive
(Note the pins on the back sticking out)

SATA Laptop drive: http://www.atlantis.co.zw/images/categories/SATA%20Laptop%20Drive.jpg
(Note the L-shaped connectors, one is power, the other is data)

IDE Desktop: http://i00.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/239/322/288/288322239_960.jpg
(NOTE pins on back and MOLEX 5-pin power connector. This picture has the drive upside-down)

SATA Desktop: http://image.made-in-china.com/2f0j00ZCPTenNBcjqA/1-5-TB-SATA-Desktop-Hard-Drive-WD15EADS-.jpg
(NOTE the L-shaped connectors again, just like the laptop version. The pins on the right are just jumpers and you don’t need to worry about those most of the time.

Hope this helps you a little bit.

@torchingigloos @Jaxk @flutherother @mrlaconic

At restorediscs.com and for $26.99 and tech support if problems, I am going for the Recovery Discs first. (Thanks Jaxk!)
If that doesnt work, I am going to the next level and buying a cheap/reburbished Hard Drive. Then when this old piece of slow laptop is fixed….Im selling it asap! LoL
How does that sound???

Try these links:
http://www.bootdisk.com/
http://www.allbootdisks.com/xphome.html
http://www.allbootdisks.com/disk_creation.html
Hopefully one of these may be your answer. God Bless.