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How do I know whether pcrestore is present on my hard drive?
I want to use pcrestore to bring my computer back to its initial condition. But before I go to all the trouble of backing up my data, software etc. how do discover whether the pcrestore option exists on my computer?
Bedworthian
RoHe
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
PCRestore is only available on systems shipped after July 14, 2004, assuming you haven't previously reformatted or replaced the hard drive.
Start>programs>administrative tools>computer management
Expand the list under Storage at the left and click Disk Management; select your hard drive in the right pane. Look for a partition that's ~4 GB, and hopefully marked "healthy". Even if you see the partition, that doesn't guarantee that it's functional. You could try launching PC Restore (press Ctrl-F11 before XP starts to load). If it launches, you know it's there, and you can always cancel out of it.
But why not back up your stuff anyway? It's always a good idea to have backups on external media, just to play safe. :emotion-5:
Not sure if there's benefit in backing up your software. You can't just copy the software files back onto the hard drive after running PC Restore. You have to reinstall them from their CD or from a downloaded installer. And don't forget to reinstall ALL microsoft updates and hotfixes (eg SP3) too, as soon as possible.
Ron
Hanspuppa
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
Hello Bedworthian, I checked the Dell web site for your system.
HERE is a link for the manual for your system that explains the procedure.
Page 43 of this document refers to the pcrestore you refer to.
This is a pdf file, so you will need to have Adobe Reader installed to view it.
If you do not have Adobe reader, you can download it free from adobe.com.
You may want to take a look before you attempt this.
Hope theis helps.
mtabernig
208 Posts
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
Just check your HD drive, if you have the choice, you will need to have a smaller particion; explore the partition and find out whether or not you have what you need.
Bedworthian
11 Posts
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
JackShack thanks for the help. My computer dates from August 2003 so I suspect I don't have the facility, but with your advice I will investigate further.
Bedworthian
RoHe
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
EDIT:
It took me 13 tries to post my response, while the 2 of you were having a nice discussion. And then my response posted twice. So I'm editing this one.
Why do I bother...????????
Ron
jackshack
6.4K Posts
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
I was about to complain you hadn't told us the computer model and operating system when I noticed the "2400" in your tags. May I assume you are running a Dimension 2400 with Windows XP?
If so, you may or may not have Dell's PC Restore program. The Dimension 2400 was available for purchase from about mid 2003 until early 2005. The PC Restore program was delivered on consumer computers beginning in mid-July, 2004. One easy way to tell is to observe the screen during a start, or restart, of the computer. The boot sequence begins with a Dell logo during power on self test (POST). If you have PC Restore, you will note a blue bar at the top of the screen immediately following the Dell logo screen. If you watch carefully there will be a message; "Loading descriptor for PBR2...Done" below the blue bar just before Windows begins to load.
If you don't get the blue bar and the message, you don't have the special Dell master boot record required to run PC restore, or at least, it has been disabled. If you have ever tried to perform a manual installation of Windows, even if it was a repair installation, the Dell MBR can be overwritten and disabled. If you would like to investigate further, see Dan Goodell's page here: Inside the Dell PC Restore Partition.
Bedworthian
11 Posts
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December 30th, 2008 10:00
Many thanks for the help. From the previous reply I suspect I don't have a pcrestore installed as my computer dates from 2003. But I'll have a look at the document
Bedworthian
Hanspuppa
799 Posts
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December 30th, 2008 13:00
As a matter of fact, there could be as many as four partitions on the hard drive, but with the Dell Recovery restore, there will be at least 3 partitions on the hard drive.
The first partition is hidden and is about 45-50 MBs and formated in FAT16, The largest partition is for the OS and programs.
The Dell Recovery Restore partition is about 15-20 GBs, depending on the software on the system.
It is normally labeled as D:
There can be a fourth partition that is a small partition of about 2-3 GBs, that stores other Dell files, some of which are Media Direct files.
These can all be checked in the Control Panel, Administrative Tools, Computer Management, Storage, Disk Management.
You must also keep in mind that if any of these partitions or files in these partitions are corrupt, the Dell Recovery Restore will not work, and the only option would be to perform a fresh install of the OS and the programs.
Hope this helps.
RoHe
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December 30th, 2008 16:00
Hanspuppa,
You basically repeated exactly what I had already said. :emotion-5:
However, the PC Restore partition is not labeled D: as you indicated. It's hidden from the OS so it has no drive letter. The ~40 MB FAT16 partition is Dell's Utility partition with the hardware tests. And, at least on my 8400 with XP, the PC Restore partition, which is formatted FAT32, is only ~4 GB, not the 15-20 GB you indicated.
Ron
RoHe
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December 30th, 2008 16:00
DUPLICATE POST - DELETED :emotion-39: