Help?

[Couch]

I have purchased a new PC, Vista-ready, and I was wondering, if it crashed, will I lose the OS?

It didn't come with the Vista CD.

So when my PC crashes, does it automatically bring Vista back?

Sorry if I used the wrong choice of words, I'm not a pro.

 

[skunksmash]

Hi Couch & welcome!!
when you say ''crashes'' ...do you mean a software crash or BSOD & power faliure..??



a software crash will not result in the loss of your OS.
i have heard a power failure can wipe the boot files in very rare cases & force a reinstall, but its never happened to me & the power goes out all the time where i live.

so generally the answer is NO...a crash wont wipe vista

SK

 

[Couch]

Thanks a lot mate!

 

[Barman58]

hello Couch, and welcome to the vista forums,

The word Crash is such a generic term and may be used to describe all sorts of problems from an application freezing to a virus or such completely destroying your Vista installation.

vista will recover from a lot of "crashes" itself but of course not all.

The minimum that the manufacturer should have provided is a means of recovering your system to the state it was when it left the factory.

This may be in the form of a disk or set of disks or on a hidden part of the hard disk which can be accessed by a sequence of key presses when switching on.

Check the documentation that came with the computer to see if you can find instructions on System Recovery or similar.

If you cannot find this information please post back with the full details of the system you have [ manufacturer, model no etc, and I will try to advise further.

 

[Brink]

Hi Couch, and welcome to Vista Forums.

In addition to the above, you most likely will have a hidde D: Recovery partition that can be used to reinstall Vista back to factory default.

Depending on the OEM brand of your computer, you may also be able to ceate a set of Recovery CDs/DVDs of your own that can also be used to restore Vista in case something happens to the Recovery partition. Your computer shoud come with documentation on how to do this. If you post back your computer's brand and model number, we mighte able to post back a link that will show you how to create them from the OEM's website.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[Couch]

hello Couch, and welcome to the vista forums,

The word Crash is such a generic term and may be used to describe all sorts of problems from an application freezing to a virus or such completely destroying your Vista installation.

vista will recover from a lot of "crashes" itself but of course not all.

The minimum that the manufacturer should have provided is a means of recovering your system to the state it was when it left the factory.

This may be in the form of a disk or set of disks or on a hidden part of the hard disk which can be accessed by a sequence of key presses when switching on.

Check the documentation that came with the computer to see if you can find instructions on System Recovery or similar.

If you cannot find this information please post back with the full details of the system you have [ manufacturer, model no etc, and I will try to advise further.

Hi Couch, and welcome to Vista Forums.

In addition to the above, you most likely will have a hidde D: Recovery partition that can be used to reinstall Vista back to factory default.

Depending on the OEM brand of your computer, you may also be able to ceate a set of Recovery CDs/DVDs of your own that can also be used to restore Vista in case something happens to the Recovery partition. Your computer shoud come with documentation on how to do this. If you post back your computer's brand and model number, we mighte able to post back a link that will show you how to create them from the OEM's website.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Thanks a lot guys!
Would I be able to recover it if I get a BSOD?

I couldn't really find it in the Manual, so:

Packard Bell
iMedia D2315 AIO
2GB
250GB Hard Drive
Intel(R) Pentium(R) Dual-Core E2180

Thanks in advance.

EDIT: Is a system CD similar to a recovery?

 

[Barman58]

Hi Couch,

Ok all you need for you PC is at the Packard Bell Website :D

IMEDIA D2315 AIO - PB80135601 - iMedia - platform_amadeus_imedia - Desktop

Have a browse around the site and you will find it answers a few questions

You may want to register you PC on the site as this will allow you access to their full help and support - Hopefully you'll never need it :D

The site say's that you should have a recovery system built into your system.

Checking the On-line manual , which may be the same as your paper copy, the instructions for creating a recovery DVD are on Page 20 amnd full instructions for using the Recovery options are on Page 52

Hope this is helpful, if you have any specific questions with the information on the site, post back and I'm sure We'll be able to help further

 

[Couch]

Hi Couch,

Ok all you need for you PC is at the Packard Bell Website :D

IMEDIA D2315 AIO - PB80135601 - iMedia - platform_amadeus_imedia - Desktop

Have a browse around the site and you will find it answers a few questions

You may want to register you PC on the site as this will allow you access to their full help and support - Hopefully you'll never need it :D

The site say's that you should have a recovery system built into your system.

Checking the On-line manual , which may be the same as your paper copy, the instructions for creating a recovery DVD are on Page 20 amnd full instructions for using the Recovery options are on Page 52

Hope this is helpful, if you have any specific questions with the information on the site, post back and I'm sure We'll be able to help further

As my skills are not too savvy, do you know how to create a CD for the Operating System itself?

Like on my previous XP, I had the purple CD which installs XP

 

[Barman58]

Hi Couch,

Unfortunately with this system, and a lot of those provided by the larger PC suppliers these days, this is not an option from the system recovery system supplied. This is not a Vista thing but has been happening since before XP.

The whole licensing situation with Vista and OEM's means that this system is the only option that Packard Bell can offer.

I would definitely advise following the instructions, in the manual, to create Packard bell's recovery DVD, which should be a simple and fully automatic process, so that you at least have a valid "Disaster Recovery Option".

As for other options you can follow the instructions on this tutorial to create a repair disk that will allow you to perform some of the repair options which are available with a Vista Retail Install Disk (but not a true install), follow the instructions carefully and test the resulting disk, before you need it in an emergency

If you can borrow a retail disk from a friend or colleague, I think, you would be legally OK to use this for a repair or upgrade install as long as you used your product code but this could cause problems as your code will be an OEM code, when It comes to activation.

The only way to be sure is a genuine retail disk and product code, but that would of course have a cost implication.

Hope this explains the situation as I understand it