Is WinXP_SP2_Per (D:) same as WindowsXP CD?

My Computer did not come with a WindowsXP CD it is a Dell Dimension 3000 and i made a CD from Dell OS Recovery in my computer the CD Properties list says ST34001 4A Disk Drives Floppy disk drive HL-DT-ST CDRW GCE-8483B HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR 8163B Can i use that to wipe the hard drive and reinstall WindowsXP ? and if so what are all the steps to doing that for "a complete idiot" to understand?

My Computer did not come with a WindowsXP CD it is a Dell Dimension 3000 and i made a CD from Dell OS Recovery in my computer the CD Properties list says

ST34001 4A Disk Drives Floppy disk drive
HL-DT-ST CDRW GCE-8483B
HL-DT-ST DVD-ROM GDR 8163B

Can i use that to wipe the hard drive and reinstall WindowsXP ? and if so what are all the steps to doing that for "a complete idiot" to understand?

It lists those three things where? That looks like what you would see listed under "Devices with Removable Storage", and it is showing your floppy, CD writer, and your DVD drive (player). What do you see under "Hard Disk Drives"?

Normally the Dell recovery CD only allows you to return the computer back to it's out-of-the-box state. See Dell Tech Support Article, Using the Dell™ OS Recovery Utility to Create a CD .

Please understand that a recovery or a format and reinstall is always a last ditch option to fix a broken computer. Perhaps if you tell us why you want to lose everything saved on the drive, wipe out your entire defenses, and set your computer back potentially years in critical security updates and patches, we can help prevent that.

Okay - something funny was happening with the original Dell link that my system did not like - so to be safe, I changed it. But the new one does not go to where I want, so stand by. It looks like you can use that new disk. BUT I caution you, in addition to the losses mentioned above, you also lose all the drivers needed to run all the devices on your computer, including the many built into your motherboard, which probably include the LAN, graphics, and sound, at least. So, if that created a standard Windows installation disk, it will NOT contain any Dell drivers, and you will need to go out to Dell and down load the latest for your model, or see if you have what (I think) Dell calls the Resource Disk. Using the Dell Recovery to take your system back will include Dell drivers - they might be out of date, but they will work. I guess we need to know what you want to do in order to know what to suggest next.

I went to the Dell link you provided and the CD that i made is the OS recovery disk. I was infected by a virus/worm and got help in that forum here and so far everything seems to be working properly . I was asking how to reinstall just in case my system crashes and i have to reinstall everything but thanks to your link to Dell i found out what to do if i need to recover. Thank you so much for your prompt reply . This website is great and everyone that has helped me out I cannot thank you enough Sincerely , Narrisah

Okay. Good, I am glad you are thinking ahead - that is always wise.

I must caution that computers generally get infected when the user lets security slip. You might want to check out the Practicing Safe Computing section of my sticky, Cleaning Out Malware and use it to enhance or help develop the discipline and skills needed to keep your systems free of malware.

Narrisah, your computer comes with a hidden partition that contains the Dell PC Restore by Symantec. You access it by pressing Ctrl+F11 as soon as you see the Dell logo during boot. You're Users Guide is available as a PDF document here and covers this:

Dimension 3000 Users Guide

This will restore the computer to it's factory state, including all drivers. Painful and to be avoided unless there is no alternative, but nice to have when needed. I don't know if this is any different than the CD you created as the Users guide doesn't mention creating the Recovery CD, but I suspect it is the same.

Digerati, not sure if you noticed but the link you proivided says

The following information is only applicable to systems shipped between the dates of December 17, 2004 and July 15, 2005.

so I'm not sure that applies to Narrisah's computer or not.

Yes my computer was shipped Feb 2005
the recovery CD that i copied from my computer files was done while i had the virus/worm
i was in a panic because everything seemed to start malfunctioning one thing after another and
i wanted to be able to recover my system in case it crashed .
while searching through all the CD's that Dell sent with the computer i realized that
none of them was a Windows XP CD. All i had was a poster type piece of cardboard with a picture of a CD on it
that said my computer didn't require a windows CD So i followed the instructions to make the O S Recovery CD and
upon completion it notified me that i was only allowed a one time copy of this on my computer

Since it was infected by a trojan worm or virus or all of these when i made the recovery CD will i be reinfected ?
Do these nasty buggers have access to that hidden partition to attach itself to it?

For as much pain as this virus thing has been since the 31st of August i can say that it was entirely my own doing.
I knew that my anti-virus had expired yet i risked going on the internet anyways. I have learned quite a lot about safety
thanks to you wonderful people here and all your guidance in removing or at least containing it from doing anything else.
I guess some of us just have to learn the HARD WAY!!! I must say you all have been very patient and all of your advice is for the most part easy to accomplish. Thanks Again, Sincerely, Narrisah

I don't know if the CD you created is infected or not since I don't know the source of the files it used. If they come from the hidden partition then it is unlikely (though not impossible) that it will be infected. If they come from your XP boot partition then it is quite like to be infected. That's why I recommended using Ctrl+F11 at boot to restore from the hidden partition rather than the CD. Once you have your data backed up, it would be interesting to see what you end up with if you use the CD you made. If it looks to be infected or missing stuff, you can always do it one more time from the hidden partition.

ok thanks if i decide to or need to reinstall i will let you know what happens. For now i'm going to leave things as they are. Thanks for the link to Users Guide and for the Control F11 hidden partition knowledge. Sincerely, Narrisah