Restore to factory settings not working

Hi Dokouzian,

Hi Sujatha, tks for your reply.

Tapping F8 doesn't do anything; the computer continues on with its booting process. As a note, tapping F2 or F12 freezes the booting process, and doesn't get me into Set up or Booting options. So my problem at this point is that I cannot access Advanced Boot Options.

I once had a virus, and had a computer technician clean my computer. I have a feeling he restored it. I wonder if this may be the reason and he somewhat overwrote/changed this function.

As for the procedure, I'll be using that one once I can get pass this F8 issue!

Any ideas?

Hi Dokouzian,

Restoring the computer will not affect the recovery partition where the image is saved no matter how many times the system is restored.

I suggest that you shut the system down, remove the battery and disconnect the ac adapter, press and hold the power button for 20 to 30 seconds.  Now connect only the ac adapter and wait for 30 seconds and turn on the system. This will drain any residual charge in the capacitors.
In case the F8 key is still not responding, I recommend you to use an external USB mouse.

Please reply for further assistance.

Hi Dokouzian,

Unfortunately we have not received feedback from you on this topic. If you need continued support, please respond to this post. Other community members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread.

Hi Sujatha,

Sorry for not replying sooner. My hands have been full with my 2 young kids :)

So, nothing has been working. I therefore decided that wiping out Windows entirely and re-installing it would be best. I contacted technical support in Canada; They sent me a Windows CD. Now, the problem is that I cannot boot with this CD. I just can't get into the BIOS. I tried F2, F8 and F12. I even tried by pressing these before booting the computer. Once, with F2, I entered some testing mode in the BIOS. But since, I haven't gotten this to work either. I also tried the 30seconds with battery and AC off, etc., and it doesn't get me into the BIOS. It in fact gave me an error, when re-booting, and pressing F8, and screwed up the date and time on the computer.

I therefore decided to re-install/update the BIOS, by downloading the latest version from Dell support, with my service tag number. No improvment.

I then read a post on another forum from a guy that had the same problem. He had a virus, cleaned it up and it worked after. I ran the free version of Malwarebytes, and it found 5 Trojans. It removed them. Also ran a scan with Alvira. I then re-tried F2, F8 and F12. Nothing. So I am back at the same problem: I cannot get into BIOS to boot with Windows CD. I however wonder now if my BIOS is somewhat a problem, and that re-installing Windows only may not solve an underlying issue.

Any more ideas? :)

Hi Dokouzian,

I suggest that you restart the system and try to press and hold the ‘Fn’ and tap the F2 key at Dell logo to go to BIOS screen. If you are able to go to the BIOS by pressing Fn + F2, I request you to navigate to Advanced tab and check the Function key behavior. If status shows as ‘Multimedia’, change it to function key. Press F10 to save the changes and press ESC to exit.

Now check if the F keys work.

Revert with the status to assist you further.

Hi Dokouzian,

Unfortunately we have not received feedback from you on this topic. If you need continued support, please respond to this post. Other community members who need assistance please start your own topic in a new thread.