GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

When I got my PC with Win XP, it ask me to create a recovery disc. Now I'm in the market for another computer. I plan to buy it on-line (like Dell.com).One of the option for $20 is a "Recovery Disc."Does Win Vista no longer allow you to create this Recovery Disc anymore? Do we have to buy it?

No, you're still able to create your own. They just give you the option of having a pre-shipped one if you desire.

This is actually kind of confusing. Computers like your PC you currently own, most likey had software on the unit that made/prompted the creation of the restore disk. Windows xp does not have a restore creation software built in that burns your current setup to dvd/cd. Vista does offer a back up service built in but well with the vista testing we've done at work it sucks and it is really only good for backing up folders of data not a boot able disk/drive. Dell now when they say $20 for a recovery disc this is now either the actual windows CD/DVD or a copy of a restoration cd. I would recommend getting this recovery disc as Dell is known for not shipping windows cd's any more and only a recovery partition. Hence why I suspect the recovery disc they offer is the actual windows cd. I say pay the 20 bucks so you have and authentic windows vista cd, or you will be forced to pay loads more if your hdd goes back later on and you have to reinstall the os but have no cd..

i agree with north 100%

No manufacturer actually ships the CD anymore. What they DO ship is the recovery partition and a program installed on the machine to create a CD or set of CD's from that partition in case your drive should fail. Dell's $20 service is for people who either do not wish to create their CDs, haven't the first clue how to go about it (even though it's a wizard), or who would just like to waste $20.

when i got my computer..i had to burn 6 or 7 discs..not sure if it was for the recovery or what but it was a waste of 6 or 7 cd's i can tell ya that..havent used them since..been 5 years now

That would be for the recovery. I can tell you it wasn't a waste, though. If you hadn't burned those and your HD would have died, you would have been up a creek. I can't stress enough and I battle customers over this all the time, you *must* burn those recovery CDs. If you don't and you experience a catastrophic failure it's very difficult to get any help from the manufacturer. As this pertains to the original post, if you don't feel like burning the discs, pay the $20. In all actuality, it will pay for itself if you have even one failure.

ahh..well whew..glad i burnt those cd's then