Restore laptop using restore disks from another brand?

onzey

Hi

I am helping someone who has a Fujitsu-Siemens Amilo L6820 laptop with a faulty hard drive (no longer recognised in BIOS and making nasty scratchy noises). We've decided to buy a new (or secondhand) replacement hard drive but cannot find the original restore disks that came with the laptop. I think we can get drivers from the FS website but nothing to recover the Windows XP Home installation.

I have restore discs for an Advent laptop and wondered if it would be possible to use them or is it a complete no-no?

Obviously some or all of the hardware will be different but will it install Windows in some form and then perhaps say things like "hardware not found" but discover new hardware for which we could supply drivers from the FS website.

Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks.

webhamster

Doubt it , the disks usually read a private area on teh hd that has a image of install to copy back ...if the restore disk is from a different brand and the hd is a new one then it wont have the image it needs to restore.

Best bet is try ubuntu live on it , if everything you need hardware wise works then a free operating system , if not then its time to get a new legit os from fs or ms.

onzey

Thanks for reply.

Surely some restore disks are supposed to work if you have to replace a hard drive where there is no existing partition?

I've spoken to someone from FS and they say if I can borrow any FS operating restore disc it should work (I didn't ask at the time about trying the Advent disc).

Anyone have one I could borrow? (or perhaps I'll just try my Advent disc when we've got the new hard drive)

Syman

onzey

i have sent you a PM

do you have the windows serial codes, i can get a copy of the recovery disk for an FS amilo 2010 but you will need the code

whether the disk will work i cannot say.

alanrowell

If you have the registration code (probably on the bottom of the laptop on a stickers saying "microsoft windows XP" then all you need is a set of XP disks which can be borrowed from a friend & be able to alter the startup of your computer to boot from the CD/DVD

onzey

Syman

Have sent you PM.