Well i got an 80 GB SATA drive for my new Compaq. I figured i would give Vista a go and maybe get used to it. Well i used the recovery CD's that i ordered from Compaq. After the recovery fisnished i was prompted to reboot and the inicial setup would start. So i rebooted and i get BOOTMGR is missing Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to restart. I contacted Compaq to see what they would say. The tech said the recovery CD'S were not loading all the Windows Files. At first he was telling me the recovery CD'S want work unless i get the drive thru HP. I told him i was not going to believe that and noone was going to fool me into paying more. So he just said he would send another recovery set. It seems Windows setup is not detecting the drive. The drive is fine the BIOS detects it no SMART failer message. I was told to format the drive with an XP disk. I used my XP Home sp1 CD and formatted the drive used quick format and ejected the CD. Then i tried the recovery again still same message. So this morning i figured i would try to load XP. I put in my XP Professional SP2 disk it loads the files i hit F8 ETC then it comes up saying no drive was detected. Maybe it didn't load a SATA driver? Oh and i have a program called Partition Commander it runs from the CD. I used it and it shows the partition and i viewed the contents of the drive and looks like its all there. Its Just Windows Setup don't detect the drive. Because after running the recovery it goes to Windows Vista Setup and all im getting is BOOTMGR is missing Press Ctrl+Alt+Del to restart. The orignal drive was SATA and it was 160 GB. The drive i got is an 80 GB SATA. The board should accept any SATA drive. The BIOS detects the drive. I tried the XP Home CD again to try formatting it just said setup could not continue because there was no drive. This is really wierd it worked lastnight. And before the orignal 160 GB drive died i had XP for about a week. I made a ghost image to DVD. I use the DVD to restore the image on the 80 GB it restores it and ask to reboot. I reboot it gets to the XP boot screen and restarts then comes back up to Advanced Menue Options like it does when you tap F8 key. Im really stumped There sending another set of recovery CD'S but i don't think that will help. The funny thing is i put in my Vista Anytime Upgrade CD and it detecs the drive because i can format and set the partition size ETC. sorry for typo's im typeing fast im on my laptop and the battery is about to die. i got to go grab the cord. Keyboard not detected. Hit F1 to Continue. BREAKFAST.SYS HALTED Cerial port not Responding!!

It loaded all the proper files. What it should be doing now is the Vista Setup. But its not. I do have a Vista Anytime Upgrade disk. And it doese see the partition. Im in the partition comannder now booted to the CD. There is an option for partition exploer and like i said before i can see the files. Its just not booting to the setup process. I tried to view the boot.ini and nothing happens. Keyboard not detected. Hit F1 to Continue. BREAKFAST.SYS HALTED Cerial port not Responding!!

I could be wrong, but I don't think you can use recovery CD's unless you have an HP HDD with the hidden restore partition pre-installed. How much did the recovery CD's cost compared to a *real* copy of Windows? Also, you *may* have to install SATA drivers from a floppy during setup.

L.O.L The recovery CD'S cost me nothing. How did i get them free? Well i know this sounds rude. But im the kind of person that speaks my mind. I plainly told them i the customer should not have to pay for something that sould have been sent with the computer. And i plainly told them that they should NEVER use recovery partitions because the customer gets cheated and thats the way i feel. And im pretty sure other people should agree? Also i mentioned to the the customer should not have to make a recovery CD at there own expense. Keyboard not detected. Hit F1 to Continue. BREAKFAST.SYS HALTED Cerial port not Responding!!

But aren't they useless without the partition?

I think they should work. Whats on the recovery partition is on the CD'S. There just made at the factory same way it prompts you to make them when you first turn on the PC. I got this computer from a friend for $100.00. I thought it was a good deal if i could fix it but its becomeing a nightmayer. The old drive that was in it was giveing a SMART failer. And it finally became unbootable. Keyboard not detected. Hit F1 to Continue. BREAKFAST.SYS HALTED Cerial port not Responding!!

I tried an IDE drive. Connected it to 1st connector. dvd is slave. I tried the recovery CD with the IDE drive. I got an error Error 1005 contact HP Support. Keyboard not detected. Hit F1 to Continue. BREAKFAST.SYS HALTED Cerial port not Responding!!