ReInstalling Xp, don't have disks

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widgett16 wrote:

I have access to the xp cd that came with my mothers cumputer.  Are these cd's not specific to each computer?  Hers is a dell also, is that all that matters?

 

Thanks,

Kristan

 

If they are both XP Home, you're all set.  You then need drivers from the Dell site, starting with chipset.

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widgett16 wrote:

I want to reinstall my operating system but I don't have the disks that came with my computer.  Is there anyway I can download them from the dell site?  If it is possible to download them would I download these things and burn them to cd's or can I just get the xp cd and then get online and download these drivers and such and install them one at a time then?

 

P.S. I had reinstalled my operating once before when I had all the disks so doing that isn't new to me. 

 

Thanks so much,

 

Kristan

 

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.

 

They cannot be downloaded.  If you lost them, then you're probably out of luck unless you know someone with a Dell computer that has one.

 

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.

Systems that shipped beginning in early 2005 ship without a Windows XP CD. You can contact Dell and request a CD and wait for it to ship, see Contact Us at the bottom of the page.

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widgett16 wrote:

I have what i believe to be my last question...

 

I see those downloads but will I be able to access that after I have reinstalled ex or can I download them before I reinstall xp and save them to disks, then pop them in in the correct order and be done?

 

You'll need chipset, notebook/desktop system software, and ethernet at a minimum to get online, then the rest.