Compaq recovery CD won't run

My neighbor gave me her relativley new computer becasue she had no room for it. Problem is it is loaded with junk and is very slow because of it. I can't even open Control Panel because whenever I click on it the screen goes blank then back on 30 seconds later and Control Panel never opens.
I want to run the Restore CD to get it back to factory install but when I put the disk in and restart the computer, the screen says I should call Compaq Tech Support.

Any other way to do this? Or should I just throw it away?

Welcome to Windrivers nlange41

If the computer is relatively new, it may be under warranty still... is there a reason you can't call compaq?

What model and operating system?

I'm thinking it is just a software problem, or too much software and adware that is slowing it down. Are software problems covered by warranty? I also didn't know if Compaq would talk to me because the computer is not registered to me.

Also by relatively new, I think it's about a year old.

Check with your neighbour about when it was bought and call compaq to see how to transfer ownership.

If the recovery disks don't work for a full restore, then there is something wrong... it may be something you are not doing or a hardware problem.

What the compaq model?

Most compaqs I have seen in past years have a built in recovery partition that is launched from one of the program folders in the start menu. THey give the customers the option to make a restore CD/DVD set but most people neglect to do that. Also if it is infact a Restore Disc it should be bootable and run outside of Windows. What that means is insert the CD in the drive and it should prompt you to boot from the CD and you can run a complete system restore from there. One of the Function keys at the top of the keyboard above the numbers may also launch the built in restore from the recovery partition. I think it is F10 or F12.

Giving us the exact model of the compaq may also allow us to look up specs and check online support on recovery methods.

nlange, I'm not sure what the CD you have is, but a year old Compaq is going to have a restore set of something like 6 to 8 CDs! Bob's right when he says that there should be a recovery partition on the hard drive to let you do the recovery without disks. Pressing F10 repeatedly during startup just after the logo screen appears should get you there. The instructions are pretty clear after that.

If the recovery partition is missing, corrupted, cursed, etc., you can buy the recovery set from HP Customer Service for about $16, and get it in a few days. You will need the model number and serial number from the rear of the case, but HP won't give you the 3rd degree about how you acquired the system.