The Hewlett-Packard board first discussed the possibility of acquiring Compaq at the end of 1999, but serious merger talks did not begin until last June.

Still, she made a notoriously costly error by acquiring Compaq.

Hewlett-Packard acquired Compaq in 2002.

"These results further confirm that Hewlett-Packard does not need to acquire Compaq," Mr. Hewlett said in a statement.

Although HP has since acquired Compaq, the Presario name was not discontinued due to its marketability.

Yesterday's report was just the second filing of quarterly results since Hewlett-Packard acquired Compaq in May after a bitter proxy fight.

The printer business, about the only aspect of Hewlett's business not changed when the company acquired Compaq, accounts for more than three-quarters of its profit.

It was once the world's largest computer manufacturer but had that accolade taken from it by HP after it acquired Compaq.

The team at Compaq continued to develop the system, now called OpenSSI, for some time after HP acquired Compaq.

So when Hewlett-Packard announced its plan in early September to acquire Compaq, Wall Street was skeptical.