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dell never gave me one when i got the pc
Hi "CherokeePride",
If no XP CD was provided, then you probably have a hidden recovery partition
on the drive. During the startup POST (Power On Self Test) before Windows
begins to load, look at the top of the Dell screen for the key to press for
Boot Menu. On my Dell Optiplex I have "F2 for Setup" and "F12 for Boot
Menu". Yours may be different. Check your User Manual for instructions. If
you also don't have a manual, get an online copy from the Dell website.
When you lost power, there may have been an electrical surge that resulted
in hidden damage. Play it safe. Backup your Valued Data before attempting
any recovery options that might cause data to be lost, like a re-install,
CHKDSK, or repair install. If you remove the drive and hook it up to another
computer to copy data off it, make sure that System Restore on the other
computer is not monitoring your drive. You want to avoid anything being
written to your drive while recovering data from it. Keep in mind that if
you do a re-install of Windows, then you will also need the Dell Drivers and
Utilities CD. (Which you probably didn't get either, since Drivers are
available on their website also. Anything to save a buck.
http://support.dell.com/support/
On the main support page, click TECHNICAL SUPPORT. You will need to enter
your Service Tag number, which is a unique five- to seven- digit
alphanumeric (letter and number) code, which is found on a white bar-coded
label, on the back of desktop models, or on the bottom or behind a plastic
cover near docking station on laptops. (If you can't find it, then on the
Technical Support page, click "Show me where to find my service tag.") You
will then get web pages for your particular model and configuration. There
are numerous problem solving resources on that website.
During startup POST, you can use your PAUSE/BREAK key to pause display of
messages (and stop action) while you write down complete messages, including
error codes, and then press CTRL+Pause to resume. After Windows starts to
load, you can also use Pause, but press ENTER to resume. Let us know how
things work out, or if you have further XP questions.
You're welcome. --Richard