I think it depends. I just did a factory (aka Dell/Symantec) restore and it did indeed wipe out everything on the C: drive. However I had my data on a separate logical drive (D:) and backups on a second hard drive. They were not touched.
I had been concerned that the restore would wipe out the file allocation table or some other code in the boot sector and would thus preclude access to my data/backup drives, so I did copy the data to a separate location. To be absolutely secure I suggest you do the same. However, based on my experience it appears that your data should be safe if it is on a separate drive.
shesagordie
10 Elder
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46K Posts
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June 20th, 2009 16:00
TheGent
Yes, it returns the hard drive to it's factory condition.
Bev.
JDookie
107 Posts
0
June 20th, 2009 16:00
I believe so. It should bring it back to the day you got it.
Jas461
31 Posts
0
June 20th, 2009 20:00
I think it depends. I just did a factory (aka Dell/Symantec) restore and it did indeed wipe out everything on the C: drive. However I had my data on a separate logical drive (D:) and backups on a second hard drive. They were not touched.
I had been concerned that the restore would wipe out the file allocation table or some other code in the boot sector and would thus preclude access to my data/backup drives, so I did copy the data to a separate location. To be absolutely secure I suggest you do the same. However, based on my experience it appears that your data should be safe if it is on a separate drive.
Hope this helps.
Regards, James.