Dell XPS 210 Desktop

Hi Tanooka,

I would like to know when the system was purchased. Since mid-July 2006, PC Restore has been added to XPS 210 systems. Previously it had been omitted since these systems receive Reinstallation CDs.

If Ctrl+F11 option during startup is not working, I suggest you to use the operating system disk to reinstall Windows.

Please reply for further help.

tanooka;

Boot the system, watch for a blue stripe that appears at the top of the screen after the Dell screen disappears and before Windows begins to load.  If you see the blue stripe, press CTRL and F11 at the same time, releasing both keys simultaneously while the blue stripe is still visible and before you see an announcement below it stating that the descriptor for PBR2 has been loaded.  The blue stripe is visible for only two seconds, so you must be ready.  If you do not release the CTRL and F11 keys before the descriptor for PBR2 message, you will need to wait for the computer to finish the boot process, and start up again.

If you do not see a blue stripe, your PC Restore feature is not active.  This can happen for a number of reasons; if you have ever had to re-write the Master Boot Record, perform a repair installation of the OS, or if you have had to replace the original factory delivered disk drive.  In that case you will need to follow the instructions given you by the previous poster, or you can try to repair the PC Restore feature by following the directions found on this page:  Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition.

EDIT:  Forgot to mention that the CTRL-F11 feature is available only on computers that were delivered with Windows XP.  If your computer was delivered with Vista, you must enter the Advanced start-up menu by pressing F8 just before Windows begins to load.  Choose the item to Repair My Computer.  You should find the option there to restore the Dell Factory Image.

Sorry; did not come with what?  Which operating system are you using?

After the computer boots up to the Dell page it does not go to the blue stripe

instead it goes to a black screen with the following:

Serial ATA AHCI BIOS, version iSrc 1.02.23 08012006 Copyright 2003-2006

Strike the F1 key to continue, F2 to run the setup utility

What is my next step since it won't let me go to RESTORE from F11?

I  got it!

I had to go through F2 then to esc out of this it DID show me the dell blue bar - I was then able to go from f11 to the RESTORE point

Thanks for the support

You're very welcome; I'm glad to learn you got it running.

Best of luck to you.