The annealing behavior of a highly ordered intermetallic compound, i.e., bo
ron-doped Ni76Al24, was studied for three degrees of cold rolling. The prer
ecrystallization phenomenon was found to consist of two mechanisms: recover
y and restoration of order. The order parameter restored with annealing var
ied with the degree of cold rolling. Recovery was detected by a decrease in
hardness and strain (measured by a half-maxima width). Ordering took place
continuously in the case of 25 pet rolled material; however, the 85 pet de
formed material showed that ordering was restored in two stages; the first
stage was faster than the second. The 45 pet one showed some unusual featur
es in ordering behavior. The hardness and strain parameter measurements als
o confirmed the presence of various stages before the onset of recrystalliz
ation. Those were verified by transmission electron microscopy and quantifi
ed in terms of the degree of order, which, in turn, depended on the degree
of rolling.