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I have an emachines restore XP disk. How can I put XP on my old computer which runs 98se?

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An emachine's or any manufacturer's restore disk isn't enough to install Windows from scratch, especially on another manufacturer's machine.

by , © 2004

I have an emachines restore XP disk. How can I put XP on my old computer which runs 98se?

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Well, you probably can't. Not with that anyway. A restore disk is just that; a disk to restore the operating system onto a specific machine - it's not a setup disk. There may also be legal issues involved; it's not intended as a way to make a copy of the operating system.

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Article C1970 - May 31, 2004

Leo Leo A. Notenboom has been playing with computers since he was required to take a programming class in 1976. An 18 year career as a programmer at Microsoft soon followed. After "retiring" in 2001, Leo started Ask Leo! in 2003 as a place for answers to common computer and technical questions. More about Leo.

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Recent Comments
40 Comments

How do I restore my information back on my hard drive when I have used the recovery disk. The disk said that it would erase my hard drive and I want to get my information back that the disk had erased

The short answer is that you probably cannot. That's what the recovery software means by "erase your hard disk" - it erases your hard disk. After recovery and installing whatever you've re-installed it's likely that all your old data has been wiped out. Typically this is another reason why regular backups are so incredibly important.
- Leo
15-Oct-2008

Posted by: Allison Joyner at October 14, 2008 7:18 PM

you got rid of all the information as soon as you used the restore disk, you should have burned your info. on a cd and then reinstalled it .

Posted by: jerome braun at October 15, 2008 8:45 AM

i lost my emachiens recovery disc i took the computer to a guy called charls in uttoxiter staffordshire he got it going again cam computer

Posted by: dave at February 15, 2009 6:35 AM

To those needing the original restore discs... I had the same problem with an XP eMachine; eMachine refused to help me because it is considered a "legacy" (read, out-of-warrenty) box. Found www.restoredisks.com. They maintain a large library of discs from various makes. I found my model quickly and this will be a BIG savings over purchasing a new copy of Windows.

Posted by: Andrew at August 12, 2009 6:44 AM

i just want to foremat my hard drive but keep my ie
can this be done??

No. Reformatting your hard drive erases everything. You'll then need to reinstall Windows which then includes IE.
Leo
17-Sep-2011

Posted by: bob needi at September 15, 2011 2:49 PM
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