Dell Inspiron 1525 factory restore not working

Hi there these instructions only tell me to do the f8 thingy which doesn't work and pmsl they are pc performance techies that i pay 8 quid a month for the best they could do was give me Dells phone no. i'm ringing them in the morning hopfully i wont have to send my laptop in cos i've heard it take no less the 6 weeks to get back:emotion-7:

Hi, jojojnr:

Could you explain further about the "F8 thingy"? What exactly is or is not happening. I'd like to help, but your description of the problem needs to be a bit more detailed.

Hi.

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only 1 who can't make head nor tail of the process to recover an Inspiron 1525 laptop.  I'm having exactly the same problem.  All I want to do is run a Restore to the Factory Settings, only it won't let me, lol.  Yay Dell!

The "F8 thingy" is one of the instructions given on the numerous threads trying to solve this problem.  They all say "Press F8 on startup and it will take you into the Advanced Boot Menu and you pick Restore My Computer from the menu".  That would be too easy, lol.  I tap F8 and get into the Adv Menu, but there is no option for restoring the computer.  Safe Mode, with Prompt, with Networking, Last Known Config, Repair the Startup, and a cpl of others, but no Restore My Computer.

There is also a lot of Press Ctrl+F11, use the right Ctrl key to do it, Press F12, but none of these work either.

I've gone through every Fing number, lol.  F1-F12.  F2 = Bios, F8 = Menu, F12 = Pick a boot device.  All the other Fs just ask me to choose an OS or run a RAM test.

Very frustrating situation.  I'm hoping someone can help.

Thanks.

Hi,

I have the same problem. I need to restore my computer to factory settings, but when I hit F8 there's no repair your computer option, and I have tried hitting all the Fs keys but nothing happened! How can I restore my lappy, if I don't have partitions?

WilMc and sloo welcome to DeLL Forums.

Restoring your PCs to factory settings only work if the hard drive has not been touched before hand. No reinstall of OS, no repartition, and most of all, if you are running Vista, that the D:\ partition is there with its folder and untouched.

The Ctrl+F11 method is for Windows XP and the F8 method is for Vista.

I do not know which case applies to either of you, but I guess is Vista. Since both of you said that you have tried the F8 method without positive results, my guess is that you do not have the Recovery folder intact.

I will recommend for you two to read these Support and Forum post to solve your problem.

<ADMIN NOTE: Broken link has been removed from this post by Dell>

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19312488.aspx

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19243206.aspx?PageIndex=1

Hope it helps.

How can I restore my lappy, if I don't have partitions?

Hi sloo1

If you deleted or formatted the D:\Recovery partition you can not do a pcrestore it is gone for ever , there is no way to replace it you have to reinstall windows with the DVD !!!

Good Luck

Hi C3PO5

Then, how can I uninstall the windows vista and re-install it again? The problem I have is that, my laptop wasn't working properly since one day it fell down on accident, so a friend try to fix it and I think he formatted the hd (I really have no idea) but when he installed the Vista he didn't use my dvd but his, which was in Spanish and it was only a trial dvd I think. When the trial period ended, I put the code that it is on the bottom of my laptop and since then it's working terribly, so I wanted to restore it and I saw I didn't have the recovery partition anymore. Is there a way I can create a new recovery partition or format the hard disk or delete everything and install everything again?

Thanks

Hi

You can not build a new recovery partition it is gone for ever , you have to press F12 when you see the Dell logo then select boot the DVD that came with your computer and when you get to where you see the partitions select the big partition format it , then install your OS to that partition !

Good Luck

Hi,

Thank you very much for the information, I tried what you said and now my computer is working properly, the only thing that it's not working is the sd card reader? I tried updating the sd controller that is on the list that appears when you go to device manager but it didn't do anything.

Thanks

Hi,

I have a inspiron 1525.  I had a HDD failure.  I replaced the HDD and took the Vista Basic disc to try and reinstall the operating system and it loaded into the vista reinstallation and started it then errored halfway through and now after trying four different times, I have four installations of Vista Basic but nothing will load into the actual operating system.  Any help is very appreciated.

Thanks,

hello  i am haveing the same trouble. i have an inspiron 1525, vista.   i went and F8 got the menu, clicked restore pc,   went through  clicked on  english, clicked ok format,  did what it was doing came up said click finish, click restart ...... so you would think it worked right   NOT.......  what i have right now is restarting dell screen comes up the bar under dell fills up and it restarts again. its been doing this for an hour now.   and to be honest with you im freaking out here.. pulling hair   help please 

Mines doing the same exact thing!!!!!!! Turning itself on and off and not getting past the dell loading screen. I need it fixed asap.. and dont have a load of money to spend to fix it! My computer didn't come with any of the discs so, i'm stuck between a rock and a hard place and continuously just getting REALLY frustrated!

Hello Addismygurl,

There are a couple of steps i would suggest.
Disable the automatic restart.
-- Restart the computer, keep tapping F8 on the Dell logo screen and once you are on the Advanced Boot Options, Select Disable Automatic Restart. 
Check if it generates any error message, please capture the error message and write back , would be glad to assist further.
I would request you to mention the system model as well.

 

Ok what do you do if you no longer get the dell startup? Mine goes straight to a partition boot and then lets me sign in. I get no other options!