Completely restoring to 'like new'

Question

I have the reinstall CD's that came with my system and I want to completely restore my dimension 4700 to brand new condition.  I tried to do this previously and it seemed to clean things up a little, but all of the old software that I had installed over the years was still there.   I have what I need backed up to an external HD so I don't mind wiping everything out.    Any advice on how to accomplish this? Do I use the format command from DOS?

rickmktg · Answer

@cbdfsu wrote:

I have the reinstall CD's that came with my system and I want to completely restore my dimension 4700 to brand new condition. I tried to do this previously and it seemed to clean things up a little, but all of the old software that I had installed over the years was still there.

I have what I need backed up to an external HD so I don't mind wiping everything out.

Any advice on how to accomplish this? Do I use the format command from DOS?

In the future, by using the Advanced Forum Search on the bottom of this page, you can quite easily find the answer to this often asked question.

Since you tried to do it previously, that means you've likely disabled Dell PC Restore by Symantec which would have done what you want in about 15 minutes. Now, you can either repair it (see below) or reinstall XP.

Systems shipped after July 15, 2004 came with Symantec PC Restore. This utility restores the computer to an "as-shipped" condition. If you haven't reformatted, repartitioned, or otherwise modified the master boot record, it should work. Click here for instructions about Symantec PC Restore .

If the Symantec PC Restore utility won't work, but still resides on your computer, a Dell customer has figured out some ways to get it to work again. Note - If you removed this partition, it is not recoverable, cannot be downloaded from the internet, and cannot be shipped from Dell. Click here for ways to fix Symantec PC Restore . Users have also reported that the partition can be restored with Ghost 2003, and Ghost 9 using the '03 capabilities of it. If you boot to the Ghost 9 CD, select Advanced Recovery Taks, select Utilities, then Restore Legacy Image it should work - but you want to verify the image before attempting the restore. It's in a folder called IMG.

Your other option is to reinstall XP. You don't format from DOS, which your computer doesn't have. You boot to the XP CD, remove all partitions, make a new one(s), format it, install, update, then install software. There are reinstall guides under the Desktops tab above, then Dimension, then Reinstall Guides including references to the SATA drivers that you will need, and there are literally hundreds of posts with links to other sites with good instructions.

Windows General

Completely restoring to "like new"

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