system restore

Question

Hello,        I'm still in infancy with all the  computer's issues.  I am wanting to restore my computer to it's original configuration as when I received it.  I've tried to use system restore but not getting anywhere.  Anyone have a suggestion?:

jonlyn · Answer

I've tried Ctrl F11 with no response even though I recieved my computer 10/04.  Would you be willing to walk me through the manual process?  Again thank you

jonlyn · Answer

Thank you, I'll give it a try :)

ejn63 · Answer

That's not what the Windows System Restore is for.

If your system shipped after 7/15/2004, power on, press CTRL-F11 and follow the prompts. If it's older than that, you must manually reinstall Windows.

ejn63 · Answer

Back up your data. You will need the Dell XP CD and the drivers and utilities CD. If you do not have Service Pack 2 on the XP CD, I would suggest obtaining it (it's a huge download, so you may want to order the SP2 CD from Microsoft if you do not have a broadband internet connection).

Boot the XP CD. Choose the Format/Install option, install XP, then install SP2.

Install the chipset, audio, video, modem, netowork, and any other drivers, in that order.

Go into the control panel and have Windows redetect the USB hardware and install the 2.0 drivers.

Then enable the XP firewall, go online and get all post-SP2 critical updates - there are many of them, so unless you have a cable/DSL connection, allow several hours for this process, as it'll be agonizingly slow over dialup.

Then install your application software and finally restore your backups.

Storage, Drives & Media

system restore

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