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I need help in restoring my Dell to factory settings
I have a Dell Vostro A860 laptop with Windows Vista Home Basic on it. I'm trying to restore it to factory settings, but I can't seem to figure out what's going on. I've looked up on how to restore the system and I'm following the steps. I've listed them below:
1. Turn on the computer.
2. As the computer starts, press on the keyboard until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.
Note:
You must press before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press after the Windows logo appears on the screen, the Advanced Boot Options menu will not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen.
3. Press the on the keyboard to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press .
4. Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
5. Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
6. Click Dell Factory Image Restore.
7. In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
8. Click to select the Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition check box.
9. Click Next.
The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.
10. When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.
The problem that I'm facing is after I press on the keyboard and then "Repair Your Computer." When it asks me for the administrator and the password, I can't remember the password. Is there any way for me to recover it? I don't have a recovery disc... Or it's more like, I don't know where it is. Though I would love it if someone could help me.
Please and thank you! :)
OS_77
16 Posts
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April 24th, 2014 13:00
Thanks for your help!
I tried the first one you told me, but it didn't work. I couldn't find anything past Control Panel. As for the second option, I downloaded the software, but in order to even open it, I need the Administrator's password, and I don't know it. The only account I can access is a standard user account.
OS_77
16 Posts
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April 25th, 2014 09:00
All right. I'll try that out and see if it works. I'll let you know if I run into any problems. Thank you! :)
OS_77
16 Posts
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April 27th, 2014 10:00
I tried it a second time, and I was able to remove the password from the computer. Thanks so much for sending me that link. c:
I was wondering if you could also help me restore the computer to its factory settings. I tried using the option I talked about before, but the option "Dell Factory Restore Image" (I think that's what it's called) doesn't show up. I also tried using the command prompt to restore it manually, but that didn't work either.
Are there any other options I can use to restore my computer?
OS_77
16 Posts
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April 27th, 2014 22:00
I see the "Windows Complete PC Restore" option. However, it's asking me to insert a backup disc. I don't have one, though. I had originally planed to restore the computer to its factory settings, so I wanted it to delete everything.
Is there still a way to do that?
Jerry456
2 Posts
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April 28th, 2014 03:00
The backup image should be in the OEM or BACKUP partition. You can try to browse other partitions to find the backup image to restore.
OS_77
16 Posts
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April 28th, 2014 08:00
Does it say "RECOVERY (D:)" and is it located when you click "Computer" on the Start menu?
But the thing is I didn't want to restore my computer with a backup image. I just wanted to restore it completely to when it was first bought. Do I still have to use the backup partition?
OS_77
16 Posts
0
April 28th, 2014 10:00
I tried typing in the same password, but it didn't work for the administrator, but I've already recovered the password. Thank you anyway! :)
speedstep
8 Wizard
8 Wizard
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47K Posts
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April 28th, 2014 10:00
The adminstrator password is the same as the user that you boot from.
There isn't a recovery for this password.