Microsoft Vista OS

Question

I am  trying to restore my computer to factory settings.  I have a partitioned hard drive where the restore is sitting.  I've followed the instructions here on the Dell site.  It shows to remove all external components which I did.  restart computer, and press F8 to get to the Advanced Feature. I choose Fix Computer.  The instructions says to use a logon that has Admin rights, which when I set up the computer, I as the user have admin rights.  But, when I try to logon as me in the Fix Computer mode, it tells me that it doesn't recognize this user. I've tried to reinstall the OS from the disk, but my computer is not functioning properly.  If I try to download anything, it tells me that a device is not properly functioning, so I wanted to restore it from the D drive which is where the PCRestore is setting.  Therefore, I want to just restore the computer back to it's original state. Does anyone know how to restore my Inspirion 530S Vista operating system back to the factory settings.  I am very frustrated with this as I've tried most everything I can think of.   Thanks,

Philip_Yip · Answer

If you have changed partitions or attempted to install via the OS disc likely you have lost the ability to restore to the factory settings. The first thing to do is to power down your computer. Press F12 at the Dell BIOs screen, select diagnostics and run these with any extended tests.

If the tests pass, then proceed with a Clean Install according to my wiki A Clean Install of Windows Vista.

Windows General

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