Most Dimension 2400 computers predate the Dell PC Restore feature. Unless you purchased the computer some time after July 14, 2004, your Dimension 2400 will not have it. One way to tell is to observe the boot process. If you have the PC Restore feature you will see a blue bar containing the Dell company name appear at the top of the screen. This bar stays on screen for two seconds, followed by a message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. If you don't see that display, you don't have PC Restore and will need to restore your machine manually using the Dell CDs that were shipped with your computer.
i got this pc in nov. 2004. and the dimension 8100 and 2400 doesn't show the boot process as my old packard bell win95 did. it just shows the dell splash screen then win log on.
now i'm upset. i was originally going to do a reinstall and found out about this Restore feature and got so excited not having to go thru a reinstall and all its hassles.
You would still see the blue bar if you had PC Restore since it appears after the Dell logo screen goes away and before Windows begins to boot. You don't see the boot progress because Dells default to something called Fastboot which limits the amount of self testing if the computer hasn't found a problem in a while. If you go to setup and disable Fastboot you will see a progress bar during self test.
Expand the list under Storage at the left and click Disk Management
Look at the bottom right for the status of your boot hard drive. If you have the PC Restore partition, you should see partitions before and after the main C: partiton. One of the other partitions is Dell's hardware utilities partition, the other one is the PC Restore partition. Status of the partitions should be shown. Note even if the partition is "healthy", if the master boot record has been changed, the system won't see the Restore partition when you press Ctrl-F11.
The layout you see indicates that you have the restore partition. If you haven't done anything to modify the master boot record, you should be able to use PC Restore. I mentioned in my earlier posts that you should see a blue stripe across the top of the screen when the self test is complete. This blue stripe will be on the screen for two seconds, after which you will see a message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. The message indicates the beginning of the Windows start-up. In order to use the PC Restore you must press CTRL and F11, releasing both at the same time during the appearance of the blue stripe, and before you see the message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. If you don't release the keys during that interval the restore feature will not be activated. If you successfully trip the pc restore process you will get a menu, one option being the restoration of your computer to factory condition.
dell splash screen and under the dell logo there is a white(DOS color) progress bar but it goes so fast i can't catch what it's showing, but it looks like demention(i'm guessing 2400) and something about the BIOS...
then it goes to windowsXP splash screen and under the logo there is a progress bar that's animated with 3 blue squares running the length of this bar from left to right repeatedly...
i've seen this site before but thinking it didn't apply to me, because of believing i did not have this feature, i ignored it...
but now i go to this site and he makes it seem complicated, i'm sure it's not but there is to much repetition from one page to another. doesn't go into details about basics(which i would need). plus one of three of the downloads, needed, has a broken link(actually links to a Geocities site which closed).
Unfortunately, if you don't see the blue stripe between the completion of self test and the display of the Windows start-up screen, the only way you will be able to use the partition is to understand the advice given on the page referenced by Tom Green.
Why do you want to run PC Restore anyway? Just to get a clean Windows environment or do you actually have a problem that might be fixed by a Repair/Reinstall?
And keep in mind that PC Restore only reinstalls the version of XP that was available when you received the system. You'll need to download and install XP SP3, plus every other Microsoft update that's not included in SP3 (eg, updates for Office, Internet Explorer, etc etc etc).
It's possible the blue stripe disappears so quickly you just don't see it.
From the desktop, click start>turn off computer>restart and immediately press Ctrl-F11 as soon as the screen goes black. You need to press and hold Ctrl then press F11 and quickly release both at the same time.
If that doesn't launch PC Restore, then as JackShack said, you have to follow the geeky instructions from that site to fix the master boot record. Or, you have to a reformat and reinstall everything from scratch.
Beside the excellent advise that Jack Shack, RoHe, and TomGreen have been giving you, and the only way to recover PC Restore really. You can also read this thread written by John USA. I think it is less geeky and a lot shorter than Goodell's, even though it is based on it. You also have feed backs from other forum members and problems they encounter while doing the PC Restore fixing.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
0
December 11th, 2009 08:00
Most Dimension 2400 computers predate the Dell PC Restore feature. Unless you purchased the computer some time after July 14, 2004, your Dimension 2400 will not have it. One way to tell is to observe the boot process. If you have the PC Restore feature you will see a blue bar containing the Dell company name appear at the top of the screen. This bar stays on screen for two seconds, followed by a message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. If you don't see that display, you don't have PC Restore and will need to restore your machine manually using the Dell CDs that were shipped with your computer.
walbek
268 Posts
0
December 11th, 2009 09:00
i got this pc in nov. 2004. and the dimension 8100 and 2400 doesn't show the boot process as my old packard bell win95 did. it just shows the dell splash screen then win log on.
now i'm upset. i was originally going to do a reinstall and found out about this Restore feature and got so excited not having to go thru a reinstall and all its hassles.
jackshack
6.4K Posts
0
December 11th, 2009 11:00
You would still see the blue bar if you had PC Restore since it appears after the Dell logo screen goes away and before Windows begins to boot. You don't see the boot progress because Dells default to something called Fastboot which limits the amount of self testing if the computer hasn't found a problem in a while. If you go to setup and disable Fastboot you will see a progress bar during self test.
walbek
268 Posts
0
December 12th, 2009 14:00
every where i read it says "Dell PC Restore by Symantec" is on PC's after july 2004, mine was ordered in nov. 2004...
do i have it or not???
how can i find out???
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
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December 12th, 2009 18:00
If you previously replaced the hard drive or reformatted this one, the PC Restore partition is gone.
You can check the hard drive to see if the partition exists:
Click Start>Programs>Admin Tools>Computer Management
Expand the list under Storage at the left and click Disk Management
Look at the bottom right for the status of your boot hard drive. If you have the PC Restore partition, you should see partitions before and after the main C: partiton. One of the other partitions is Dell's hardware utilities partition, the other one is the PC Restore partition. Status of the partitions should be shown. Note even if the partition is "healthy", if the master boot record has been changed, the system won't see the Restore partition when you press Ctrl-F11.
Ron
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
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December 12th, 2009 18:00
EDIT: DUPLICATE POST :emotion-12:
walbek
268 Posts
0
December 13th, 2009 17:00
didn't replace or reformat.
under PC management i have
does this mean i have it?
how do i get to it if Ctrl+F11 doesn't work?
jackshack
6.4K Posts
0
December 13th, 2009 19:00
The layout you see indicates that you have the restore partition. If you haven't done anything to modify the master boot record, you should be able to use PC Restore. I mentioned in my earlier posts that you should see a blue stripe across the top of the screen when the self test is complete. This blue stripe will be on the screen for two seconds, after which you will see a message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. The message indicates the beginning of the Windows start-up. In order to use the PC Restore you must press CTRL and F11, releasing both at the same time during the appearance of the blue stripe, and before you see the message about loading the descriptor for PBR2. If you don't release the keys during that interval the restore feature will not be activated. If you successfully trip the pc restore process you will get a menu, one option being the restoration of your computer to factory condition.
Tom Green
322 Posts
0
December 13th, 2009 19:00
Hello walbek
click here and read the instructions to repair the Ctrl+F11.
walbek
268 Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 12:00
this is what i see during startup.
dell splash screen and under the dell logo there is a white(DOS color) progress bar but it goes so fast i can't catch what it's showing, but it looks like demention(i'm guessing 2400) and something about the BIOS...
then it goes to windowsXP splash screen and under the logo there is a progress bar that's animated with 3 blue squares running the length of this bar from left to right repeatedly...
then log-on screen...
walbek
268 Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 12:00
hi tom
i've seen this site before but thinking it didn't apply to me, because of believing i did not have this feature, i ignored it...
but now i go to this site and he makes it seem complicated, i'm sure it's not but there is to much repetition from one page to another. doesn't go into details about basics(which i would need). plus one of three of the downloads, needed, has a broken link(actually links to a Geocities site which closed).
jackshack
6.4K Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 13:00
Unfortunately, if you don't see the blue stripe between the completion of self test and the display of the Windows start-up screen, the only way you will be able to use the partition is to understand the advice given on the page referenced by Tom Green.
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 14:00
Just a follow-up question...
Why do you want to run PC Restore anyway? Just to get a clean Windows environment or do you actually have a problem that might be fixed by a Repair/Reinstall?
And keep in mind that PC Restore only reinstalls the version of XP that was available when you received the system. You'll need to download and install XP SP3, plus every other Microsoft update that's not included in SP3 (eg, updates for Office, Internet Explorer, etc etc etc).
Ron
RoHe
10 Elder
•
45.2K Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 14:00
It's possible the blue stripe disappears so quickly you just don't see it.
From the desktop, click start>turn off computer>restart and immediately press Ctrl-F11 as soon as the screen goes black. You need to press and hold Ctrl then press F11 and quickly release both at the same time.
If that doesn't launch PC Restore, then as JackShack said, you have to follow the geeky instructions from that site to fix the master boot record. Or, you have to a reformat and reinstall everything from scratch.
Ron
iroc9555
2 Intern
•
1K Posts
0
December 14th, 2009 15:00
Hi Walbek.
Beside the excellent advise that Jack Shack, RoHe, and TomGreen have been giving you, and the only way to recover PC Restore really. You can also read this thread written by John USA. I think it is less geeky and a lot shorter than Goodell's, even though it is based on it. You also have feed backs from other forum members and problems they encounter while doing the PC Restore fixing.
http://en.community.dell.com/forums/t/17356468.aspx?PageIndex=1
Hope this helps.