Dell PC Restore allows you to revert your Dell computer back to original factory settings. This is sometimes also called a System Recovery and can be done either by a set of Recovery CDs or a second partition on the hard drive that has a compressed version of the factory image on it. Either way, a PC Restore is used to wipe and take your computer back to where it was on the day you opened the box. A Dell PC Restore from the secondary partition generally will take around fifteen minutes to complete.
Warning: Performing a PC Restore will delete everything on your hard drive. Be sure to backup anything you do not want to lose.
A few other things to keep in mind with a Dell PC Restore is that you will lose any settings or applications you installed after receiving your computer. Be sure to take a quick inventory of your system and make sure you have the installation disks for new applications you’ve added. Also, you will not be able to PC Restore via the second partition to a hard drive other than one you received directly from Dell.
Dell Backup Reminders and Suggestions
Most people do not remember to backup everything. While they may grab their Pictures, Videos and Documents, it’s easy to forget Outlook contacts and emails, Internet Favorites from your browser, encryption keys for anything that might be encrypted and passwords that might be saved in the IE or Firefox. A good practice is to grab everything from the “Documents and Settings” folder under the C: drive in XP or the “Users” folder in Windows Vista.
How to run the Dell PC Restore
The Dell PC Restore is relatively easy once all the prep-work is done. You will boot the computer and begin tapping the F8 key. You will see an option called Advanced Boot Options. Navigate down from there and select “Repair Your Computer.” Select Dell Factory Image Restore. and click Next. Click the checkbox that says “yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.
The restore process will begin. Once it’s finished, boot back into your new Windows environment and immediately visit Microsoft Update to get any security patches that may have come out after the release of the computer. This is important.
good but very short.
i dont understand why i dont see that option “advanced Boot option” when i press the f8 button. i see all other stuff except that.
i have the Dell demension 3000 series. does anyone have any idea or can help me reformat my computer?
Not all models have a recovery partition. Is this a newer machine? If not, you can usually obtain recovery CDs from Dell for a small fee.
john try to hit Ctrl + F11 as soon as you see the Dell Splash Screen when you reboot the system, or if you’re havinf a problem with Ctrl+F11 like most people do just click the run button, on the page, it will show a popup window that will notify you that the PC restore will start & the system will be rebooted or notify you that no PC restore partition found. Dim3000 should have a PC restore on it. but if you have reinstalled the operating system of your computer using any OS CD or even used chkdsk /r & fixboot commands, it will wipeout the PC restore partition in your system.
Dave I have entered the set up and when I choose “Repair your Computer” option my system restarts. I do not get any other options. I have shut my computer down several times and it reboots as soon as I choose the repair option
Does you model have the recovery partition? Do you have recovery disks? Maybe it is looking for disks in the drive when it reboots.
Dave thanks for the reply. It does not ask for disks. My computer is two yeras old. The only disks I got with it was for the monitor etc. I have a reinstal disk for Vista
The Dell Vista install disk is what you want to boot to. it will format and reinstall Vista. The other disk is probably a driver disk, which you will need to make your network adapter, sound card, video card, etc work. Does this seem like the type of disks you have? If so, keep in mind it will erase everything–so backup. If you continue to have problems, let us know the model and we’ll try and help more.
I have a Dell Inspiron 530. Any help will be appreciated, It definately is a Vista OS disk
James
James, I recommed you join our forums at http://www.pctechbytes.net/forums/ as this can become a long resolution. The message boards really are a better medium for this type of topic. I will research your problem in the meantime.
I was just reading the proceedure, and the rebooting part is normal. It should be prompting you to log in as Administrator. You should then see the “Click Dell Factory Image Restore” option and follow through the prompts.
Yea I will take up the invitation to join the forum. When I try and reboot pressing F8 key it asks me to go to “Repair your computer. After selecting this it should bring up another list of tools and the one I want is the Dell Factory image restore option but when I select the Repair computer prompt it just starts my computer up
Sigh, I’ve got the same problem on a Vista xps m1530
I have a dell inpirion 910 and when i hit f8 i dont get a repair computer option! any ideas? This is a netbook also, and doesnt have a slot for cds/disks
Isn’t F10 or F12 the repair option on Dells? F8 is or the startup options (Safe Mode etc.) When you first boot, you should see a message that tells you what to hit for repair.
I got a dell inspiron 1750 and I did a reinstall with the cd’s but when i had formatted
C: drive i figured out it had a recover partition now ive lost it.
I’ve still got d.drive with all the recovey stuff in like factory image ect ect
but i can’t press f11 any more get get to reinstall it that way any idea how i would get it back
Hmmm. Did you use the recovery CDs you made when you go the computer or did you use a regular Windows disk? Are you holding the CTRL key when you press F11?
I want to use the Dell PC Restore, but I don’t know how to back up my e-mails, address books, My Documents folders my Desktop, Favorites, etc. Please help me.
Thanks very much,
Tommie
Tommy, you can backup the folders by getting a USB thumbdrive or an external hard drive and copy the entire Documents and Settings folder over located in My Computer under the C drive. This will pretty much grab everything. Confirm they are backed up before you do the restore.
Regarding email, it might also grab the email depending on what client you use. If you use Outlook you can read how to backup your data here http://support.microsoft.com/kb/287070
the recovery cds and ctrl f11 dont work etha ive lost the recovery partishon and need it back
I have an inspiron 2200 and about to try the dell system restore. I have had problems with my computer getting very very slow, and my cd/dvd drive is also not showing up in my computer. Is the restore a good idea ?
cheers
after pressing f8, then ‘repair computer’, then dell image factory restore, i go thru all the prompts and click ‘next’ …… then its says “performing factory image restore” may take over five minutes …. the bar just keeps moving for over an hour, or two, i have to manually shut it down by pressing and holding down the power button. All i want is my computer back to how it was when i opened it
… please help i dnt have my disks
dell xps m1530
That is the correct procedure. Make sure no external devices are plugged in, as it could be getting tripped up by a driver issue. If you continue to have problem, I recommend you post on our forums for additional help at http://www.pctechbytes.net/forums/
Hi, I have a Dell and want to do the PC Restore. Can you tell me if this will remove microsoft office as I don’t have any microsoft programes on a disk and I don’t believe that my computer came with any. Any advice would be very appreciated. Thanks.
It will remove Office. If it came pre-installed, you should also have an applications disk to put it back on.
Thank you for your reply. My computer doesn’t seem to have come with any of these disks. I found a document about the PC Restore which says that certain disks won’t be needed. If it does remove Office and I don’t have a disk how can I go about re-installing it?
i am planning on selling or donating my desktop. i’ve been advised to completely wipe the hard drive to ensure that nobody is able to hack in and recover any personal files. does running the pc restore process make my hard drive secure enough to sell?
thanks so much!
In most cases yes–meaning unless someone is using tools to specifically look for files on the drive that have not been overwritten. Normally these files will be invisible. If you’re really concerned, look for a free program called DBaN. It will overwrite the drive so no data can be recovered.
Hello Dave
I need to know dell factory image restore is wipe out my pc due to installion from OS disk ..is there any way to can i get my dell factory image back
Problem is that my Dell factory Image is not found in my laptop after install win 7 from DVD provide by Dell . So i need to know is it possible to get back my dell factory image setting.
advanced Boot option comes up but no repair your computer listed
I have reinstalled window vista twice on my dell inspiron laptop, I still have the (now) two ‘old’ versions of windows, is there any way to remove all versions and just have one, will this pc restore do that or is it just the same as reinstalling?
Ctrl+F11 did lead me to “Dell PC Restore by Symantec”.
the restore seems to work for me.
i believe it is running the Ghost utility.
All these problems you all are having is EXACTLY why you should NEVER spend money on a Dell product, period
help! My parents got a nasty worm/virus (w32 blaster/worm), it won’t let me restore setting via the computer. I can’t download a patch or run a scan without it stopping it.
I am hoping to try this F8 option or the cntrl F11 option to restore to factory settings. But what about operating systems? I dont have a cd to add to that. I only have the microsoft windows cd (5 of them), they gave us. Will those work to help get the icons back and get to basic functions again?
Tap F8 and boot to safe mode with networking and then download malwarebytes from malwarebytes.org. Run a full scan and remove anything it finds.
ob btw, its a Dell DIM 3000 running windows xp 2002 pack 3, worksuite 2005
oh, sorry I am just so frustated. I was able to go in safe mode and try to restore settings for another date, but it won’t let me restore to another date. I am out of options.
For those trying to find the factory recovery on a dell inspiron 1750, we had to first complete the emergency backup (files and folders) and then it would allow a computer system recovery. ctrl f11 didn’t work and neither did the instructions on the dell website.
Hope this helps.
ive tried doing PCrestore from the tools folder and when it starts it stops shortly after with a error message saying nothing. all it says is error. what should i do?
Do you still have the ability to create the recovery disks? Is windows bootable? I recommend you join our free forums at http://www.pctechbytes.net to discuss this further, as it could take some time.
ctrl+f11 is for the ones with xp pre-installed
to fix ctrl+f11 see this website http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/
f8 is for the ones with vista/7 pre-installed
to fix f8 see this website http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/software-os/f/3524/t/19263355.aspx?PageIndex=2
hope that helps
I need to restore my Dell C521. I go into the F8 function and click on “repair my computer” and it then goes to “other user” and askes for a user name and password. I have tried everything known to man and can’t get passed this point. is there a generic password to get passed this. i am the administrator for this computer and have the correct password for all other functions but i guess i don’t have the right user name for this. help.
Did you try no password? What version of Windows is this?
I am having the same problem as Tracy. I am running an Inspiron 1520 with Vista. ‘Repair my computer’ just takes me to a login screen ‘other user’ and none of my passwords work.
I can’t run the PCRestore.exe through the Recovery Partiton (D:) either. It say that access to tools\dp.sc was denied OR something about PCRestore.exe not being a valid win32 app when I try to run off cmd with a USB (F:)
I have read something about the Ctrl-F11 Function will only work once and I have used it before. But I haven’t messed with the Recovery Partition (D:) How can I fix this?
Is there a way I can just boot into the D: Recovery Partition and format the (C:) and then run a PCRestore to reset the system?
Thank you in advance,
Tony
Hey Im was just wondering if you ever solved your dell recovery partition problem. I’m having the exact thing you described now. Any info would be appreciated
I am having the exact same problem with “other user” login when trying to run access the recovery partition. I know this computer was infected and suspect that part of it was making the recovery partition non-accessible. Has anyone found a solution to this. I was able to restore by booting off of a windows system disk using repair computer, then going to command prompt, got to recovery drive (whatever it is d: e;) cd\tools, then put in this command imagex /apply d:\dell\image\factory.wim 1 c:\ (make sure that at the beginning of the command the d:\dell\image you are entering the actual letter of your recovery drive. This worked for me however I still have the other user if I try to access partition from F8. Anyone has a fix for that please let me know.
I have a Dell inspiron 1501 that is having many problems, the first is I cannot log on and since irony know it, I can’t reset it so I can log on and take care of my software issues
I’ve done like some of the suggested for others f8,and
11 and My thing is I can’t even get there to try them…
My user name and password née to be reset
I need to completely restore my computer to way it was shipped, and I read somewhere about a restore partition or something on the computer so that it takes it back to how it was shipped to you. Microsoft Office was preinstalled on this and I was wondering if that would be put back on my computer. I also read on one of the dell sites (customer to customer chat thing) how to reinstall but it doesn’t tell you if everything you ordered on the computer would still be there. Help!
No, I do not think the restore will work. You should be able to make an applications DVD that will back up the programs. http://www.pctechbytes.com/dell/system-recovery-options-for-dell-computers
i have a dell inspiron 910 (mini) and i need to restore it to factory settings. since it’s a mini, it doesnt come with any disk whatsoever. i’ve tried hitting f8 and i dont seem to find the repair option, can i just plug in another keyboard and hit ctrl+f11? or should i just buy another computer? thanx
That’s an older computer, so I don’t think it has a recovery partition. If it came with disks, you will need an external CD / DVD player to launch the recovery process. But since your’s did not come with disks, you can get an external DVD burner and burn a free copy of Ubuntu Linux. It’s very similar to Windows. You can run it from the DVD before you install to make sure you like it.
Can I restore the dell mini 910 through an external hd? I’m having an issue with “missing operating system.” Been reading alot of forums and try hitting F8 and such but nothing works. When I do use the external hd I get an error of “invalid partition table”.
i bought a dell inspiron 2200 off a female freind of mine had to get a charger now when i try and install or download anything it asks for a username password that she cant rember she got a differnt what can i do? it wont even let my stepfather or buddy reformat i dont think. so what should i do iam at a lost?
You should be able to reformat if you have either the recovery disks or a Windows install disk. But try tapping F8 when booting and see if you have the option to do a system recovery from there.
I have a dell inspiron 910 mini and I want to restore the factory default. I’ve seen all the comments and suggestion to press F11 but the problem is the mini stops at F10. Can’t get to the repair mode or hard reset. Any recommendations?
Try tapping F8 at boot. You might see the recovery option there.
trying to restore my computer back to factory settings. when i get to the advanced boot menu and then select repair my computer it gives me a error message saying that my computer didn’t shut down properly, so i can’t restore my computer. i have went to the sart menu and selected shutdown and that still didn’t work. can anyone help me please
Help Please, I have a dell latitude D630 and i need to restore to factory settings. when i get into advanced boot settings there is no “repair my computer” option, any ideas? :S
Hey, my computer is not working. when I repeatedly press F8 it asks what I want it to boot in: safe mode, normal mode and other things. I do not have recovery Cds but don’t know how to use a re-install cd of Windows XP.
Restore options will be different–especially for older PCs. I recommend visiting the Dell site and in the support section look up your model and find the manual. It should tell you exactly what to do to restore the computer.
Please help! System restore wiped out by viruses on my XP Home Dell laptop. Eset online scanner, kaspersky & malwarebytes removed the viruses but still no Dell splash window hence, no dell restore. I have no CD available for repair/re-install. Dell website freezes everytime I try to access My Account to try and download a repair cd. And I cannot even begin to understand Dan Goodell’s pages upon pages on partition information!! What would be the best option for me to simply get my computer back to factory settings? Is there a recovery disk/website that you can recommend? thanks.
The dell splash screen is before windows, so it should not be affected by the virus. Have you tried accessing the BIOS to turn the splash screen off? I say this because you might see where the system is hanging if the splash screen does not attempt to load. Try tapping one of the following keys to get into the BIOS when you first boot: ESC, F1, F2, F10, F11 or Delete. Regarding the recovery disk, Dell is your best option for replacement disks.
My laptop(I have windows 7, dell inspiron 1750) when I try to boot normally,safe mode it doesn’t. I have run drivers and utilities disk which allowed me to check for problems because I had turned off the laptop correctly and when I ran the diagnostics it came up with theses disc errors: 0F00:1332,0F00:0132,0F00:0632,0F00:0232,0F00:0432,0F00:1232. I. Was wondering if the reinstall disk would fix my problem? And I. Did my research before I posted here and everywhere it says the hard drive is completely dead because of those errors and all I can do is get a new hard drive.
The recovery discs might work. It’s worth a try. Your drive might have some bad sectors on it, but all hard drives do. If you reinstall Windows and it works, make sure to have a good backup of your data in case the drive DOES completely fail. Good luck.
Well the reinstall disk was the recovery Disk but sadly the recovery part didn’t work. So the hard drive is fully dead but luckily everything that was on that hard drive is on my external hard drive so everything is safe.
When Ctrl F-11 doesn’t work because someone re sized their partition in this case added a D partition to the Hard drive this interferes with the Ctrl f11 on the system restore I found a work around Download Symantec System Recovery 2011 use that to make the DSR partition active reboot the machine and then follow the instructions on Symantec Ghost to re-install the OS back to the original out of the box configuration – do not forget to set the windows partition back to active after completing this this worked on a Dell B110 Dimension
I backed up my files to an external hard drive before doing a full system restore, which worked great. Except, my backups don’t show up when I go to Windows restore and look for backup periods to restore. I can find the backups on Explorer, and can open each and every little file (tedious) but can’t seem to restore them as a unit. Any thoughts? I think I backed them up with the Dell local backup, for which Dell now seems to want $39.99 for. Before I send them more money, is there another way to get the system to recognize the backups?
I’m not familiar with the Dell Local Backup system. Sounds like it is an annual fee for this service? I hope not. Windows has a built-in backup system, too. But I don’t really recommend it. I prefer services like Carbonite, where you can see the files and download them whenever you need to. Good luck. Let us know what Dell says, so others will learn.
I have a Dell M5010 and when i hit F8 at start up and I click on Repair my computer it takes me a to black screen with a grey bar at the bottom that say’s windows is loading files then it doesn’t do anything after that. I just sits there. Does it take a while for windows to load the files? I really need to get this restored back to factory settings tonight as I need my computer tomorrow for school and work. Thanks.
um guys i really need help.. I got a new laptop recently types Dell Inspiron what happened was i randomly got an error while searching on internet and it kept on giving warning i had to restart the pc.. but when i did so it doesn’t turn back on.. now whenever it turns on it loads and a black screen with _ blinkin.. Now when i got the laptop i made recovery disks and that’s all now if u think i should reboot my pc bout my files or anything i just want it as it was when i got it i have the recovery disks now on the main screen for setup it says F2 Setup and F12 Boot setup in F2 setup it doesn’t have any options in my opinion as to reboot or recover in F12 idk what it means it has options as Internal HDD then CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive/Onboard NIC/ Bios Setup/Diagnostics idk what to do please HELP! Thanks!
Some models will use the F8 key to launch the boot options. One of those options should be a recovery option. Read here: http://www.pctechbytes.com/dell/system-recovery-options-for-dell-computers/
I tried using pcrestore.exe but get an error with no message. Any other suggestions?
If you can boot to Operating System through safe mode, type PC recovery on D:drive search url. Click on it and do d recovery from there. Follow up the instructions and recover to factory defaul.
i will be click f8 button..but nothing happend to my computer..why..??some one can help me..??:(
I got a Dell Inspiron 530 and the hard drive was formatted and winxp was installed. I looked and found a FACTORY.WIM image on the second partition but i dont obviously get the F8 boot option now.
I am able to boot on a live CD and run DOS commands, and have found out how to type
> Imagex /apply factory.wim 4 c:
I am able to get all the files except the bootloader and the important stuff do load. I later found out that this crappy image program doesnt do bootloaders. So dont install linux or any other OS, Dont delete the partition and dont format it clean. and oh Dont get a bootloader virus I guess and you will be ok.
My question is for my dell inspiron 530 what is the number I should put afer the image name? A one or two or what? what does the number mean on the image? anything? thanks!
Try pressing CTRL + F11 when you see the Dell logo appear. This should activate the recovery partition for your model.
I just completed a System Restore on my Inspiron 1464 by reverting back to the factory image saved on the recovery partition. The process was quick and painless. However, after rebooting I was directed to make new restore disks on removable media (DVD-R) but what I really want is a new recovery partition in case I need to restore again in the future.
Can anyone tell me how to recreate the recovery partition and store the recovery information I just burned to DVD on it?
Also, Microsoft Office wants my registration key, and since it came preloaded on the machine, I don’t have it. Does anyone know who I can contact to get my registration code?
The recovery partition should still be there–you can use it every time. Regarding the product key, it is usually on the side of the case somewhere–look for a sticker with the Microsoft logo.