What operating system? That makes a difference. Try this--reboot the computer and immediately start tapping F2. Keep tapping until the bios starts to load. Don't wait for any screen because today's fast computers boot up quickly. Do the same thing for F12 to access the Boot Menu.
Alternately, you can boot to your Recovery disk or thumb drive--once again depending on the OS. If you have win 8, you can use PC Settings, Recovery to access the options.
Hi Mary, Thank you for the response. I'm running on Windows 7, it won't let me press F2 or F12 - it's just unresponsive when I do. I don't have a recovery disk as such, but just a cd to install my OS again, but in the dell handbook it says I need to access the F12 in order to reboot the computer from the CD drive.
Did you try tapping F12? Remember to start tapping as soon as you restart--don't wait for the Dell screen or anything on the screen. Booting to the cd-dvd drive requires accessing the Boot Menu.
I don't know why you want to return to factory settings. It is a little late for that anyway. After a few years the reset doesn't usually work. What problems are you having that make you want to return to factory settings? Maybe there is another way to correct things. Have you tried Safe Mode? Running MSConfig is another way to access Safe Mode but you need to remember to go back and uncheck it.
Mary G
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20.1K Posts
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August 18th, 2014 11:00
What operating system? That makes a difference. Try this--reboot the computer and immediately start tapping F2. Keep tapping until the bios starts to load. Don't wait for any screen because today's fast computers boot up quickly. Do the same thing for F12 to access the Boot Menu.
Alternately, you can boot to your Recovery disk or thumb drive--once again depending on the OS. If you have win 8, you can use PC Settings, Recovery to access the options.
YJCH524
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August 18th, 2014 11:00
Mary G
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20.1K Posts
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August 18th, 2014 13:00
Did you try tapping F12? Remember to start tapping as soon as you restart--don't wait for the Dell screen or anything on the screen. Booting to the cd-dvd drive requires accessing the Boot Menu.
I don't know why you want to return to factory settings. It is a little late for that anyway. After a few years the reset doesn't usually work. What problems are you having that make you want to return to factory settings? Maybe there is another way to correct things. Have you tried Safe Mode? Running MSConfig is another way to access Safe Mode but you need to remember to go back and uncheck it.