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How to recover dell inspiron 1420 back to factory settings
Hi, I have bought a dell inspiron 1420 for 2 years and wanted to "format" the laptop. When I initially purchased it, it did not come with a recovery disk, but it does come with a partition with the name recovery on it. I try using F8 to go to advance boot options and log in, but was unable to locate Dell Factory Image Restore. What option do I have at the current moment to restore to factory settings?
Edit: Forgot to mention it is running windows vista home basic 32bit
ejn63
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April 5th, 2009 18:00
If it's two years old, it likely came with XP, not Vista - in which case, CTRL-F11 is the key sequence for the restore.
ahho
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April 5th, 2009 19:00
Forgot to mention that it is running windows vista home basic 32bit
ejn63
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April 5th, 2009 20:00
If the restore doesn't appear in the list, it sounds like the restore partition is gone - you will need to load Vista manually from your Windows DVD.
ahho
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April 5th, 2009 21:00
Don't know if it gone or not but the recovery partition is only like 800 something MB. So where can I get a windows vista disk that is compatible with my laptop? I know that for one that the cd-key on the bottom won't work with retail version or even the oem vista on the market. Also if I were to install from the DVD where can I get the drivers?
TheRealFireblad
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April 6th, 2009 03:00
Whether you'll still be entitled to them for free, I don't know, but you can at least request a full set of backup disc here.
As for drivers: Click the 'Drivers & Downloads' link in the 'Support' column at the bottom of this page.
Simply choose your model from the Laptops/Inspiron Laptops box, and you'll be taken to the respective drivers page :emotion-5:
NB: Be sure to install the drivers in the correct order: 'Drivers installation order'.
I don't know why Media Direct isn't mentioned on that page, because Media Direct has to be installed, even before you install the OS!?
And download/install Vista SP1 as well, before running Windows Updates.
It's advisable to copy all the drivers and SP1 to a pendrive or external hard drive, or burn them to a CD/DVD before you reformat the drive/install the OS.
You won't then be scrambling for the drivers required to get you up and running, while you're waiting for the backup discs to arrive.
And you'll also have the latest drivers too.
The ones on the 'Drivers & Utilities' disc you get, are drivers which were available when the laptop was first introduced.
As such... although they'll be fine to get you up and running initially, they're obviously outdated, and require updating thereafter.
army-dell-boy
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June 26th, 2013 07:00
they come with the tool that you can create your own recovery media once only and that needs to be done at the time when you purchased the pc before you get infected or anything of that nature.
if you are reading this probably you did not make any recovery media, in that case you will have to order teh recover media from the dell support website and restore it to its factory settings
I hope this helps
army-dell-boy
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June 26th, 2013 07:00
Instructions
1
Disconnect any cables from external hardware such as printers, MP3 players or smartphones, as they can be damaged during the recovery.
2
Restart your computer, and wait for the Dell logo to appear on the screen. Press "F8" repeatedly until the "Advanced Boot Options Menu" opens. This can only be performed before Windows has a chance to load.
Highlight the "Repair Your Computer" option using the arrow keys, and press "Enter." Click "English" in the language menu, and click "Next." Enter the administrator password for the computer, and click "OK" to access the recovery tools.
4
Click "Dell Factory Image Restore" and click "Next."
5
Click the check box for "Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition," and click "Next" to perform the recovery process. Click "Finish" once the process is complete to restart your computer into the recovered condition.