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41961
February 26th, 2009 12:00
Need replacement OS disk for Dell inspiron laptop
My sister owns a Dell Inspiron laptop which has been badly neglected, and which I'd like to revive. The power lead and the OS disks have been lost, and the admin username and password have been forgotten.
I can easily acquire a new power lead, but it's only worth doing if I can solve the other problems.
Is it possible to obtain a replacement OS disk from Dell? If so, how, and what is the cost? I can provide proof of purchase/ownership, serial numbers, etc.
If I acquire a replacement OS disk, will I be able to reset the passwords on the admin account?
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jackshack
6.4K Posts
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February 26th, 2009 12:00
If you live in the U.S., you can try the form found at this link: Dell Replacement Disks. If you live outside the U.S., try calling Tech Support for the region in which you live.
caroltapp
3 Posts
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February 26th, 2009 13:00
It appears that the answer cut off the last part of the long URL. If it doesn't work, Google the following and select the Dell site URL:
"reset to factory settings dell" without the quotation marks.
caroltapp
3 Posts
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February 26th, 2009 13:00
For resetting the password, I suggest you Google "reset password windows xp" or "vista," if it is Vista. There are many sites that tell you how to do it.
Dell for some years has stored a copy of the OS and all other factory settings in a hidden partition of your hard drive. You can restore the machine to those settings easily, whether it's XP or Vista. Here is the URL for Dell's support site with info:
http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/document?c=us&l=en&s=gen&docid=3E48AE3870775D64E040A68F5B2877D4&journalid=4DD6746C573F7F62E040A68F2728345C&Query=&SystemID=&ServiceTag=&contenttype=&os=&component=&lang=&doclang=&toggle=&dl=#4
I believe that if you do the restore, you won't have to worry about a password for the admin account, as it takes the computer back to the way it was when Dell shipped it.
pspinks
2 Posts
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February 26th, 2009 14:00
Many thanks for the suggestion - I wasn't aware of the hidden partition or the recovery process.
The URL worked fine, so when I've solved the power lead problems (shouldn't take long!) I should be able to fix this.
Thanks once again.