BleepingComputer.com: HP VISTA RESTORE ONTO A NEW HDD

Hello,

I just bought an hp quad core 2.4 HP Pavillion model 9040. The (2) 3209GB HDDs that were in it were removed by the seller. I installed an exact replacement drive from my other HP 8150. The E: drive that was in the 8150 had never been written to. I have been filling up the C: drive for the last 2 years. So, I just removed the E: drive and put it into the 9040. I didnt format it or anything - just put it in. I bought the Recovery CDs from HP. I went into the bios and made the CD the first boot device. And, I attached power/keyboard/mouse/monitor and powered it up. (this is the short version). Well, it does find the CD and it seems to be loading and then comes up with an error - This PC is not supported by the System Recovery discs. You will not be able to recover the system with these discs.

I got onto hp chat. The support guy had me <power up> and hit <cntrl backspace> to return to factory settings. And, ... it gave me the same error message.

HE said the DMI chip on the hard drive is not detecting the DMI chip on the recovery discs which means I need a new HDD.

Any suggestions. It just seems weird since the 320Gig drive I'm using came out of an HP and is the exact same model number and type. Maybe I should reformat it???

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks a lot.

Greetings .

With HP and Compaq PC's there is a special ID assigned to each drive by model number. If it doesn't match the recovery discs you have then it won't work. To get it to work you'll need to take it to an HP certified repair center (there are many, including Best Buy's Geek Squad in the US) and they will have to use a special disc to change the ID info on the drive as well as writing the Recovery Partition to it so it will be recognized by your recovery discs, then you'll be able to use your recovery discs with it from that point onward. As far as I know HP does not make the disc that performs this task available to anyone except certified HP techs.

Thanks Exile.

Well, I believe you.

So, conceptually speaking, if you have a hard drive crash and have to replace the HDD, (or if you just want to replace a primary HDD with a larger/faster unit, ) you have to spend at least $100 for service no matter what.

What's hard to believe is that I spoke to the HP Customer Service guy and he said I was shipped the right RECOVERY DISCS and that they would work. I then chatted with an HP guy and told him specifically that the HDD failed and that I replaced it with another similar unit and right out of the chute he said he would get me up and running. We went through the procedure and he said I needed to buy a new HDD. He didnt say that HP locks the drive to the MB at the factory.

That's so weird that both service guys just didn't tell me - hey, you're screwed, you have to ship the box back to HP so we can work our magic. He quoted me for a new HDD.

Well, thanks for the translation of the DMI mumbo jumbo. That clears up the mystery.

Tim

Give this pdf doc. a quick look:
http://go2techonline.com/Documents/Tattoo_...ructions_v5.pdf

I got back on the line with HP.

The bottom line is that RECOVERY CD's don't install VISTA onto new HDD's.
So, if your HDD fails, 1) you have to get authorized HP service for them to set up your new HDD, or 2) you can buy a "customized" HDD from HP (quote was $300 for a 320Gb HDD) or 3) you can buy a brand spankin' new full installation copy of vista and reload it yourself.

Thanks exile for the sanity check.

Tim

Hello Garmanma,
Wow. That was a great link. Thank you so much. That clarifies this entire problem - It takes it out the ether and shows that it systematic.

I appreciate it a lot.

I am a Bleeping Computer Fan!

Tim

Yeah, unfortunately it's a pretty messed up situation, particularly if you actually like to upgrade or customize your PC (Vista's own licensing can have issues with that unfortunately, but not with HDD's as far as I know). But yes, the HDD needs to be "Tattoo'd" as they call it. I've worked at Best Buy, Circuit City and CompUSA as a tech in the past, all of which are or were certified HP service centers and that's how I knew about it because I've had to do it. As long as the computer is still under warranty then you can use HP's locator here to find a service center near you and they should perform the work for free as long as the old HDD is provided as proof of failure. I'm not sure if they'll let you use the other drive you had or if they'll have to order one, but they should have the disc needed to make the install work on hand (HP sends out a binder full of discs and sends updated discs for newer models to their service centers regularly).

Hopefully these OEM's like HP and others will learn that when most people buy a PC they don't expect to get a system full of proprietary hardware and software, if they did then they'd probably buy a Mac instead.