Ctrl+F11 won't work - system restore

galyna

Not sure what you mean? Quote “The keyboard is connected thru a USB adapter.  There is no slot”

Unless referring to the old legacy keyboard that you have already mentioned  :emotion-43:

Assume the USB keyboard was purchased & supplied with the Vostro 200?

If correct then it will have a USB 2.0 cable connector

Do not connect USB keyboard using indirect adapters/hubs etc.

Ensure the USB keyboard is connected directly to one of the USB Root Hub ports, (e.g. one of the rear panel USB ports) before you power on the PC

Does tapping the F2 key during boot loading allow access to System Setup (BIOS) Settings?

Ctrl+F11 will not work if you have previously done an XP Clean Install or deleted/modified partitions

If keyboard is OK then you may have to do a Windows XP Clean Install

Thanks for your quick reply.  Please ignore Quote “The keyboard is connected thru a USB adapter.  There is no slot”  I forgot to delete this sentence before I sent it.

I am using a USB keyboard and it is connected to the rear panel.  From what I know, no one has ever done an XP Clean Install or deleted/modified partitions.  However, I am not 100% sure.  If I hit F2 or F12 during the boot loading, I can enter into those settings with no problem.  I can also hit F8 which takes me to the advanced options but does not give me any further choice to do a System recovery. 

Please help and let me know the steps of how to do a Windows XP Clean Install?

Thanks Jesse.  In my previous response, I did say I do not get "Repair Ypur Computer" option upon hitting F8.  I have pressed F8 numerous amount of times but the option to repair your computer never shows up.  Is there any other option other than to manually reinstall Windows?

galyna,

Some systems do not have the Dell Factory Restore Image. If it is there you will have to start the computer, press F8,choose "Repair Your Computer"

This option will delete anything you have installed on the system. If it is not there you will have to manually format and reinstall Windows.

It's also possible that the malware changed/damaged the boot sector on the hard drive so you no longer have access to PC Restore by pressing Ctrl-F11. And in that case your only solution may be to reformat the hard drive and do a clean installation of Windows XP. Everything on the hard drive will be lost...

BTW: when you try to launch PC Restore, press/hold the Ctrl key and then quickly press F11. Release both at the same time.

Ron

Hi galyna.

Vostro 200 came with either XP or Vista. You said that you do not know if the OS (Operation System, XP) has been reinstalled? Did you buy the PC from Dell or from some one else? Did you take it to a repair store before?

One way to know if you still have the hidden image partition for XP, is to right click "My Computer", click Management and look for Disk Management, expand it and look for a 3.00 GB FAT32 unknown partition in good health.

If so, reboot and after Dell Logo appears you will have another screen with information about your drives and SATA drivers and then a third screen with a blue bar at the top that says www. DeLL.con written in white and underneath it reads Loading PBR descriptor2....Done. This last screen is when you press Ctrl+F11. Have in mind that you have about one second to use Ctrl+F11.

When doing PC restore by Symantec, have only mouse, keyboard, and monitor connected to PC. No printers, camara, modem, and external media have to be connected.

Read step 2 here.

For your drivers (choose OS) use Service tag here.

Hope it helps.

Hi again galyna

Since you are able to use the F2 key then keyboard is OK (system is responding to keyboard input)

Assuming the Dell preinstalled Windows was XP Home then yes its Ctrl+F11 combination keys to initiate Dell PC Restore

And as previously mentioned there are a number of reasons why Dell PC Restore doesn’t work, the most common is the Dell Master Boot Record (MBR) has been damaged/corrupt by doing e.g. a Windows Clean Install

If the Dell MBR is damaged/corrupt, then during boot process (just after the F2 & F12 key prompt screen) you will not see the www.Dell.com flash across top of next screen

But if you do see www.Dell.com then you only have a very precise 2 seconds to press & hold Ctrl key then press F11 key & then quickly release both keys

Important: if you use either:

Dell PC Restore – step-by-step procedure is click here

 Or

Dell XP Clean Install – step-by-step procedure is click here

You will lose ALL personal data & any software added since purchase date??

An alternative option is to post in Malware Removal Form for expert help, click here

Read the “Sticky” thread by Bugbatter before posting

If it is indeed XP, then you can repair the Ctrl+F11 function, but its not for the non geek to do this.

www.goodells.net/dellrestore/fixes.htm

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