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Re-installing Windows XP Home on Dell Laptop

  • 23-08-2007 8:38am
    #1
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭


    My girlfriends Dell laptop has been acting up really badly lately. It just keeps saying she does not have administrative privileges when she tries to open programs. She is the only user set up on the laptop (which is running XP Home) and the laptop has worked fine for the last 2/3 years. We have backed up all her important files onto an external hard drive. The best option I can see is to format the hard drive completely and re-install windows. Only problem being, Dell didn't give her a Windows CD with her laptop, so what can I do?

    If I was able to get a lend of a Windows XP Home CD this would still work with the activation codes on the sticker on her laptop?


Comments

  • #2
    Kimbot
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 18,809 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kimbot


    Did she get any CD's?? If she didn't then its on a partion on the harddrive!!
    What model Dell is it??


  • #3
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭segasega


    Its a Inspiron 1150 and the only CDs she got were to install some DVD creator program.


  • #4
    Kimbot
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 18,809 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kimbot


    Try holding "Ctrl and F11" while booting and see if it brings up a recovery partition option!!


  • #5
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭segasega


    At work right now, but will try that when I get home later, thanks.


  • #6
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭segasega


    If the hard drive was partitioned though, would it not show up as two drives in windows? So do you think the recovery will bring it back to its "factory" settings i.e be like when she first got it?


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  • #7
    Kimbot
    Moderators, Computer Games Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators Posts: 18,809 Mod ✭✭✭✭Kimbot


    segasega wrote:
    If the hard drive was partitioned though, would it not show up as two drives in windows? So do you think the recovery will bring it back to its "factory" settings i.e be like when she first got it?

    It won't show in windows because it a hidden partition for recovery only.

    It will bring it back to exactly the way it was when she opened it first.


  • #8
    JDxtra
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,967 ✭✭✭JDxtra


    ...don't forget to backup any data stored locally first.


  • #9
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭segasega


    segasega wrote:
    We have backed up all her important files onto an external hard drive.
    Done


  • #10
    segasega
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 785 ✭✭✭segasega


    So can you give me a rough idea of what this recovery screen will look like and what I am meant to do please?


  • #11
    DellCA
    Closed Accounts Posts: 10 ✭DellCA


    segasega wrote:
    So can you give me a rough idea of what this recovery screen will look like and what I am meant to do please?

    Hi,

    My name is Todd and I'm with Dell's online outreach group. If you have that imaging partition on the system and pull it up you won't be able to mistake it for anything else. They've changed the screens a bit over the last few years but the last one I saw had a bright orange warning sign.

    Once you're into the utility there are on-screen prompts that will explain what you need to do. For the most part you have to confirm (a few times I think) that you've backed up your data and that you know that the data on the system will be lost. After that you may need to create a user name, set time and date preferences, etc, but the utility itself is pretty automated.

    If for some reason you don't have that partition on your system, or it's been damaged and you can't access it, let me know. If you're in the US I can arrange for a Windows installation CD to be sent out to you. If you're outside the US I can put you in contact with the groups that can help you directly.

    Let me know if it works or if you need any other help from me. I'll stop back to see if there is anything else I can do for you.

    Thank you,

    Todd

    Customer Advocate
    Dell, Inc.

    http://direct2dell.com/one2one/archive/2006/11/19/3648.aspx


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