Crashed! Need Help for Inspiron 5100!

I have lost the CD that came with the computer...Can I still do that using another XP program cd?...I put the cd in the cd-rom drive but it just ignores it...Does it mean that there is something wrong with the cd-rom or the computer?

Their is no such thing as a restore CD for Dell computers.  You can boot to the Windows XP CD that came with your computer, reformat the hard disk, reinstall Windows, and then reinstall your applications programs using the information at the following link:

http://support.dell.com/us/en/kb/document.asp?DN=1077444

or, depending on what your problem is, you can do a repair installation using the same CD and the information at:

http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm

Steve

I do not know how to thank you...You saved me! Even though I do not know much,if you ever need help or something of the sort,count with me...I needed the computer for school...The one I am using is my dad's computer...THANK YOU VERY MUCH!! YOU ARE A LIFE SAVER!!

Try hitting the F12 key immediately after you start the computer to bring up the boot menu, then choose to boot from the CD-ROM drive.  Or, go into the BIOS setup program and move the CD-ROM drive to the first device in the boot sequence.  You can use the other CD to do a repair installation, but you probably won't be able to use it to reinstall, particularly if it has already been activated with Microsoft on another computer.  I can't believe that so many people lose something as important as the operating system CD.

Steve

I purchased a dell inspiron 5100 on a yard sale and need to get the previous owners info off, how might I do that.  I do have a copy of winxp professional. I would appreciate any information that I can get on restoring system back to original state, or just open out the box.

 

Message Edited by lilbevr on 03-13-2004 03:14 AM

See the message posted earlier in this thread:

http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=si_sysperf&message.id=4753

Steve