Reinstall XP Home on a Dell

[Guest]

I bought my Dell PC about 4 years ago (in the UK) and did not receive a
back-up OS disc in the package - I recall there was a note to the effect that
back-ups were no longer supplied because of the system restore facility.

System Restore has failed - big time - where do I go from here? Has anyone
had a similar problem with Dell and overcome it? Is there a contact at
Microsoft who would respond to my system registration number?

Alternatively, is there a "magic bullet" in XP that will reset the system to
its original configuration?

 

[Mark L. Ferguson]

Dell is pretty good about support. I would try their forums for info on
getting a reinstall disk.
Dell - Support- : http://support.dell.com/support/

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

I bought my Dell PC about 4 years ago (in the UK) and did not receive a
back-up OS disc in the package.

If the system did not come with a reinstall CD, then there will be a
recovery partition on the drive.

Enter the OS and model of the system for instruction on how to reinstall.
http://shurl.net/4u8

I recall there was a note to the effect that
back-ups were no longer supplied because of the system restore facility.

System Restore is a Windows utility designed to restore system files and the
registry. Not reinstall Windows.

System Restore has failed - big time - where do I go from here? Has anyone
had a similar problem with Dell and overcome it? Is there a contact at
Microsoft who would respond to my system registration number?

Without more information I would suggest starting here.
Here are some troubleshooting steps to take when System Restore fails to
restore:
http://bertk.mvps.org/html/srfail.html

Alternatively, is there a "magic bullet" in XP that will reset the system to
its original configuration?

Answered above.


Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org

 

[Daave]

I bought my Dell PC about 4 years ago (in the UK) and did not receive a
back-up OS disc in the package - I recall there was a note to the
effect that
back-ups were no longer supplied because of the system restore
facility.

System Restore has failed - big time - where do I go from here? Has
anyone
had a similar problem with Dell and overcome it? Is there a contact at
Microsoft who would respond to my system registration number?

Alternatively, is there a "magic bullet" in XP that will reset the
system to
its original configuration?

In addition to what Bert said, you may want to have a look at the
following pages:

http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/fixes.htm

http://support.dell.com/support/top...3748CF&docid=DC493DC313321A9BE030A68F27281E82

(Or http://shurl.org/xCVVD )

 

[Jon Sherry]

1) See if there's an option from the POST screen where the Dell logo
shows up offering to take you to the restore partition. If so, use that to
wipe the primary partition and put it back to factory. THIS IS COMPLETELY
DATA DESTRUCTIVE! So back up your files first.

2) Order a recovery CD set from Dell. These will do the same thing as
step 1. The verbage you recall about these no longer being supplied is
about the restore partition, that's different than system restore within XP.
Most OEMs have gone to a restore partition rather than spending the 15 cents
for a CD or DVD. However, this does you absolutely no good if your hard
drive fails. (Bravo bean-counters!)

3) IMHO System Restore is bollocks, especially if you've ever gotten
spyware on your computer. Once spyware infests your computer all your
restore points are suspect and likely infested.

4) Microsoft can't provide restore CDs for your machine, that's the
OEM's job. They can provide some support, at quite a cost, but would likely
refer you to your OEM first. And what is this system registration number?
If its your Dell Service Tag number that's only useful for Dell. If its
your XP key sticker, that's just your proof of license for Windows.

5) There's no magic bullet for XP to restore itself without a CD if the
OS is that far gone. That would be like asking someone with crossed eyes to
perform their own eye surgery. It just can't be done without someone
external doing the work.

6) You may be able to find a recovery CD for your model on eBay for a
few bucks, but you do so at your own risk. And in any event, its a good
idea to pre-download all the drivers associated with your computer's
equipment to a flash drive or CD before you wipe your machine.

 

[Daave]

3) IMHO System Restore is bollocks, especially if you've ever
gotten spyware on your computer. Once spyware infests your computer
all your restore points are suspect and likely infested.

I don't follow. Is there spyware that corrupts old restore points? That
is, if I installed spyware on the 5th of the month, removed it
successfully on the 6th, and used System Restore to go back to the 2nd
(for another reason), would there still be a problem?

I understand using System Restore is useless if *all* restore points are
post-infection, but what about the above scenario?

 

[Jon Sherry]

It is possible to have spyware infect restore points prior to the date
it infected the computer. That's why the first thing I do when removing
spyware from someone's computer is turn off System Restore so it purges all
the old restore points. Then I leave it off till the computer is clean and
protected. Not all spyware will infect restore points, but its better safe
than sorry. But I've seen System Restore screw computers up but good all on
its own without any help from spyware. The newer versions for Vista seem
vastly improved, but the XP version doesn't sit well with me.

 

[Bert Kinney]

Hi,

I don't follow. Is there spyware that corrupts old restore points?

No, spyware is not likely to corrupt restore points. Any restore point that
was created while the spyware was present on the system, would contain the
monitored files that spyware.

That is, if I installed spyware on the 5th of the month, removed it
successfully on the 6th, and used System Restore to go back to the 2nd
(for another reason), would there still be a problem?

When a restore point is selected, all previous restore points are required
to complete the restoration. If the spyware was not present within these
restore points it should not return.

I understand using System Restore is useless if *all* restore points are
post-infection, but what about the above scenario?

When removing virus/spyware infection, DO NOT DELETE ALL RESTORE POINTS
until the system is confirmed clean and functioning normally. Here's why.
If something goes wrong in the virus/malware removal process you will have
no way to reverse your actions. Sometimes the removal process can be more
damaging to the system than the infection. Two examples would be if the
system became unbootable, or if the ability to connect to the internet to
retrieve additional cleaning utilities is lost. So it is a good practice to
leave System Restore restore points intact until the cleaning process is
over and the system is otherwise clean of infection. Virus and malware
infection residing within restore points are dormant, unless the system is
restored to an infected restore point. Just don't forget to purge all
existing restore points after the cleaning is complete.

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org

 

[Daave]

Hi,


No, spyware is not likely to corrupt restore points. Any restore
point that was created while the spyware was present on the system,
would contain the monitored files that spyware.


When a restore point is selected, all previous restore points are
required to complete the restoration. If the spyware was not present
within these restore points it should not return.

Yes, this is what I've thought all along. Apparently Jon disagrees. He
still hasn't convinced me.

When removing virus/spyware infection, DO NOT DELETE ALL RESTORE
POINTS until the system is confirmed clean and functioning normally.
Here's why. If something goes wrong in the virus/malware removal
process you will have no way to reverse your actions. Sometimes the
removal process can be more damaging to the system than the
infection. Two examples would be if the system became unbootable, or
if the ability to connect to the internet to retrieve additional
cleaning utilities is lost. So it is a good practice to leave System
Restore restore points intact until the cleaning process is over and
the system is otherwise clean of infection. Virus and malware
infection residing within restore points are dormant, unless the
system is restored to an infected restore point. Just don't forget to
purge all existing restore points after the cleaning is complete.

Good point.

 

[Guest]

Many thanks guys, I will look at all these points over the week-end. I've
already apologised to Burt for posting the query twice - please don't feel
obliged to copy your responses.

 

[Bert Kinney]

No problem.

A lot of folk have difficulty finding there own posts when using the web
based forum. Using Outlook Express or Mozilla Thunderbird will make
accessing these newsgroups much more enjoyable.

Outlook Express Newsgroup Setup Instructions:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/support/newsgroups/howto.mspx

How to use Thunderbird with newsgroups:
http://opensourcearticles.com/thunderbird_15/english/part_08

Regards,
Bert Kinney MS-MVP Shell/User
http://bertk.mvps.org
Member: http://dts-l.org