Problem with Dell factory image recovery. XPS M1530

If the recovery partition is corrupted usually there is no way to recover that, unless you had a full backup of your hard drive, including the Dell recovery partition, so you could restore the complete hard drive.   I use Acronis True Image to "ghost" my hard drive to an external USB connected hard drive and when I do the full hard drive backup I include all disk partitions, not just the "C" partition.  If I have to restore the hard drive, I am able to restore the "C" partiton and the two Dell partitons on my Dell PC (the Dell Recovery Partition and the Dell Diagnostic Partition).

Reinstalling the Operating System will have no affect on the recovery partition.

Thanks for the prompt reply Fireberd:

Firstly it;s a little spooky that you come from Inverness, FL. I also come from inverness, Scotland. :emotion-17:

I copied all the four partitions with the contents using  norton ghost 12. I complete a full backup every month including hidden drives etc.

when i attempt to restore the backup it states that the drive(s) are invalid. (This is the first time this has happend) I then use norton recovery disk to delete the partitions and then it allows me to complete the restore. Again F8 refuses to work for factory image. I was wondering if i had the correct table settings for the partitions i could use a partition repair programe and then try the restore or backup to resolve the problem.

Norton creates five files. 4 are the partition contents the fifth is the location settings..any suggestions

Backup 2.

Thanks

Andy

Very helpfull Speedstep.

I have copied the instructions from the link and i will ask a freind to do this for me. He will be able to understand the computer jargon a lott better than me. I will post a further reply if it works or not

andy

Newer Dells use F8  instead of CTRL F11 symantec Ghost restore.

If you can see the recovery partition there ARE files there you can use.

How you recover depends on if you have the Microsoft Factory.WIM file or the Symantec GHO and GHS files.

Either way the Recovery files are less than 10 gigs total.

Go out and Buy a 16 Gig USB Flash drive and make sure to copy the files from the recovery partition.

You can use them to recover even after the partition is messed up.

DSRFIX repairs the OLD style Dell partition.

http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/fixes.htm

The New Vista Machines use Microsoft IMAGEX on a 10 Gig partition.

The drive is setup with Diag partition then 10 gig NTFS Recovery Partiton then the rest NTFS DATA/OS partition.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ImageX

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc507840.aspx

Not sure I know how all this works but someone has also noted this.

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/19198294.aspx

I conducted an initial scan using DSR and it stated that most of the settings were wrong.

what would be helpfull is if any one has an XPS M1530 Laptop, Vista, 250GB, 2.6 duo core or knows the correct partition table/settings to post them here so i can print it for reference.

andy

Aronis True Image (Home) only creates one backup file of everything on the hard drive (all partitions if selected).  It doesn't create several files like you say Norton Ghost creates.  I've restored my hard drive one time and another time I installed a larger hard drive and then "restored" everything to the new larger hard drive including the Dell recovery and diagnostic partitions. 

If you can "recover" to the point your Dell recovery partiton is fixed, suggest you seriously consider Acronis True Image for backup software (and always do full backups, not incremental backups).

This only work if the "Recovery" partition is not damaged

1) Boot to WinRE using the Dell OEM DVD/CD

2) Click on Command Prompt

3) Type path d:\windows;d:\windows\system32 and press key

4) Type d: and press <ENTER> key

5) Type cd tools and press key

6) Type PCRestore and press the key and Dell Factory Image Restore window will appear

7) Click on Next and Confirm Data Deletion dialog will appear

8) Place a check mark beside "Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition" for the final confirmation and click on Next when ready

Note: The restoration process takes approximately 10 to 15 minutes, the format bar will run back and forth

9) Click Finish to reboot system

Thanks Eddynoe2000.

Ok this might sound a little  stupid but the only disks i have are the Vista installer and the driver's disk.

which one should i use on boot up.

In reply to the previous post. The back-up images that i have are not incrimental but are FULL BACKUP images of the 4 partitions. Norton created 5 files on each backup. Ive used the backup and restored these in the past with no problems.

Thanks

andy

Heres a list of the following tools at my disposal.

1. DSR fix (ISO)

2. A COPY OF THE RECOVERY IMAGE AND ALL THE FOLDERS FROM "D" ON A 8GB STICK

3. PARTITION MAGIC DISK

4. NORTON 12 GHOST AND 12 FULL IMAGE BACKUPS

5. A 250 GB EXERNAL HARD DRIVE.

One question being  is can i do the restore using the image file from the copy on the memory stick and if so i need a few instructions. 

Thanks for all you help to date

andy

Please use the Windows Vista Disk.Boot from it.use the same commands except substite the path drive letter with the approriate drive letter.

Eddy

I tried your instructions Eddyneo but with no luck. stated path not found. I tried it several way. Partition must be messed up. I have a copy of the recovery on an external drive. Any suggestions to try and restore from that location which is "F" drive

Andy

This link on the forum proved to be 99% successfull for me with a minor error after factory re-install

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

Hi EDDY;

After i enter PCRestore this error appearce:

"The application was unable to start correctly (0xc000007b)."

Do you know why?