Reset Computer to Day One

[JohnK]

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I am trying to help a
disabled woman who has a Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home Edition. Her
computer has lots of problems and runs extremely slow and so I want to start
over but can't find out how to do this. I have checked in Safe Mode and
Settings Mode but don't see how to make this happen on a Dell. She says she
doesn't have and software CDs with Windows, etc. Would appreciate any
suggestions.

 

[Tony Meloche]

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I am trying to help a
disabled woman who has a Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home Edition. Her
computer has lots of problems and runs extremely slow and so I want to start
over but can't find out how to do this. I have checked in Safe Mode and
Settings Mode but don't see how to make this happen on a Dell. She says she
doesn't have and software CDs with Windows, etc. Would appreciate any
suggestions.

John:


You're in a tough position. What I am going to suggest may not be
practical, but it is the safest (if most laborious, and perhaps
expensive) way to do it:

The Dimension 2400 is a very OLD Dell machine - I am guessing, based on
Dell's model numbering system, that is is 8-9 years old. The more recent
Dell machines have a "restore" partition that returns the computer to
the factory release setup, but I am almost certain Dell hadn't started
doing that yet back when that machine was made. Hence, the way I am
thinking is to first, get a good sized flash drive (or two) and move all
her own personal files onto those. Then round up the programs she feels
are "musts" that she has to have on the restored machine (if she no
longer has installation disks, etc, I guess you have to "punt" on that
one). Then using a retail copy of XP SP2, format and reinstall. I
sincerely hope there is an easier way to get to where you need to be,
but again - it's a really ooooold machine, which complicates everything,
as it probably has a small RAM complement (a lot of the reason it runs
so slow, I'll bet, unless she added RAM along the way) Good luck.

Tony

 

[Andrew E.]

Tap the F8 key on pc start-up,if dell put the "backup/installation cd" on
another
partition,the option to "restore" would show...

 

[JohnK]

Thanks for your input.

John:


You're in a tough position. What I am going to suggest may not be
practical, but it is the safest (if most laborious, and perhaps expensive)
way to do it:

The Dimension 2400 is a very OLD Dell machine - I am guessing, based on
Dell's model numbering system, that is is 8-9 years old. The more recent
Dell machines have a "restore" partition that returns the computer to the
factory release setup, but I am almost certain Dell hadn't started doing
that yet back when that machine was made. Hence, the way I am thinking is
to first, get a good sized flash drive (or two) and move all her own
personal files onto those. Then round up the programs she feels are
"musts" that she has to have on the restored machine (if she no longer has
installation disks, etc, I guess you have to "punt" on that one). Then
using a retail copy of XP SP2, format and reinstall. I sincerely hope
there is an easier way to get to where you need to be, but again - it's a
really ooooold machine, which complicates everything, as it probably has a
small RAM complement (a lot of the reason it runs so slow, I'll bet,
unless she added RAM along the way) Good luck.

Tony

 

[JohnK]

Thanks for your input.

The restore feature is there and I have used it to go back to earlier dates
but I don't see an option to go back to day 1.

 

[bojimbo26one]

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I am trying to help a
disabled woman who has a Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home Edition. Her
computer has lots of problems and runs extremely slow and so I want to start
over but can't find out how to do this. I have checked in Safe Mode and
Settings Mode but don't see how to make this happen on a Dell. She says she
doesn't have and software CDs with Windows, etc. Would appreciate any
suggestions.

Have you tried a disk cleanup and defrag ?

 

[Richard in AZ]

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I am trying to help a disabled woman who has a
Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home Edition. Her computer has lots of problems and runs extremely
slow and so I want to start over but can't find out how to do this. I have checked in Safe Mode
and Settings Mode but don't see how to make this happen on a Dell. She says she doesn't have and
software CDs with Windows, etc. Would appreciate any suggestions.

My wife has a Dell Dimension 2400 and it came with a full set of system disks.
Most of the Dell computers in that time period came with a set of disk required to reinstall the OS
and drivers.
However, in my experience as a computer tech., most owners have no idea where they put those disks.
If there is a restore option on the hard drive, you access it by tapping F12 as the computer boots.

 

[Nepatsfan]

I know just enough about computers to be dangerous. I am trying to help a
disabled woman who has a Dell Dimension 2400 running XP Home Edition. Her
computer has lots of problems and runs extremely slow and so I want to start
over but can't find out how to do this. I have checked in Safe Mode and
Settings Mode but don't see how to make this happen on a Dell. She says she
doesn't have and software CDs with Windows, etc. Would appreciate any
suggestions.

I'll echo what Richard in AZ has already posted. Dell shipped the Dimension 2400
with an XP installation CD along with a number of other CDs that contained
drivers for various hardware devices.

You may be able to obtain replacement software from Dell.

Request Backup Discs
https://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dellcare/en/backupcd_form

Here's another source you might try.

http://www.restoredisks.com/

Good luck

Nepatsfan