Factory restore Dell Dimension e521

[BOP]

I've tried the <ctrl> <F11>, the <F8>, and <F2>, which is setup, but no luck. I thought Dells had a PC Restore on one of the sectors. I have a home copy of XP, but I'd rather use the version that came with the computer. Thoughts?

 

[LibertyBeacon]

Have you previously re-installed an OS on this machine? If so, I'm pretty sure that wipes the Dell factory-installed Master Boot Record and the restore partition. If you get that "blue bar" across the top of the screen when booting (if it's in a healthy enough state to get that far), then that should mean you still have the factory-installed MBR and should be able to boot to recovery. Aside from that, getting the timing on hitting ctrl-F11 at the right time can be tricky, in my recollection, but it is known to work. I've definitely used it once or twice.

Definitely don't install XP - it's end-of-life and there are no more patches.

Hope this helps some.

 

[PeoplesElbow]

Definitely don't install XP - it's end-of-life and there are no more patches.

Hope this helps some.

Judging from the processor that is the OS that came loaded on it.

He could use the home copy of XP he has and use the Microsoft product key on the machine.

 

[BOP]

Judging from the processor that is the OS that came loaded on it.

He could use the home copy of XP he has and use the Microsoft product key on the machine.

Hadn't thought of that, but it should work.

So I guess the forum interpreted the pointy brackets as html, which means you can't see the F8 or the ctrl F11 in my original post. Or the F2. I've tried the 2 former, neither seems to work. There's nothing in setup (F2) that brings it up. I guess I'll go the command prompt and see what's on the hard drive in the way of partitions.

 

[GWguy]

If the PC is bootable, check to see if there is an entry under the Start menu for a Dell specific folder or a Restore folder, or something similar. There may be a utility to create boot restore disks. That utility would be able to access the restore partition if it exists.

 

[BOP]

Have you previously re-installed an OS on this machine? If so, I'm pretty sure that wipes the Dell factory-installed Master Boot Record and the restore partition. If you get that "blue bar" across the top of the screen when booting (if it's in a healthy enough state to get that far), then that should mean you still have the factory-installed MBR and should be able to boot to recovery. Aside from that, getting the timing on hitting ctrl-F11 at the right time can be tricky, in my recollection, but it is known to work. I've definitely used it once or twice.

Definitely don't install XP - it's end-of-life and there are no more patches.

Hope this helps some.

If I thought I could play some of my old computer games, I'd install Windows 98, but that's more hassle than it's worth. It came with XP, and it's service pack 3, but I"m going to wipe the hard drive so I can donate it. Of course, I could just wipe the hard drive and let them worry about what to put on it.