Re: Restore Question....
- From: "Gerry" <gerry@xxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 17:56:52 +0100
Cheryl
How long ago did you buy the computer?
Why has the lack of a CD become an issue?
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/opsx260/en/ug/index.htm
--
Hope this helps.
Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
CrankyCheryl wrote:
I know this Dell wasn't "new", it is an OptiPlex SX260 and they've
been around for a while....it wasn't advertised as being refurbished,
so it may never have been used before, but it's been sitting around
for a few years waiting for someone to buy it. I bought it from a
large Computer Liquidator Store. I called the store about needing to
restore and he said they have an agreement with Microsoft for
pre-installing WinXP on their pc's and providing a valid, legal
product key, but they don't burn off copies. He even admitted that
they may have deleted the hidden partition when they pre-installed
WinXP.
Oh yeah, I forgot the last time to give you my pc info:
Dell OptiPlex SX260
Windows XP Home Ed. version 2002
Service Pack 2
512 MB of RAM
2.66 GHz
On Sun, 14 Oct 2007 08:48:00 -0700, CrankyCheryl
<CrankyCheryl@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I was just reading a thread in this newsgroup about doing a full
system restore and I was hoping to clarify a few things. Here is
what I read:
Hello, I was curious if its possible to completely restore your
computer or your hard drive to how it was when you first bought
your computer, or so there is no unessential files on your hard
drive.
I have all these random files all over the place on my computer
and I would like to just wipe it clean.
Yes. Is yours an OEM computer--one made by one of the major
manufacturers like Dell, Gateway, HP, etc?
If so, OEM vendors are required by their agreement with Microsoft to
give you a means of reinstalling, should it be necessary. They can
do
this in one of three ways:
1. An OEM copy of Windows
2. A restore CD
3. A hidden partition on your drive, with restore information.
If you don't have 1 or 2, you should have 3, but you should contact
your vendor to find out.
Personally, I find both 2 and 3 unacceptable (especially 3; a hard
drive crash can leave you with nothing), and would never choose to
buy
a computer that came with an operating system unless I got a
complete generic installation CD for that operating system.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
Does that mean that the store that sells the computer is
responsible for supplying a way to do a complete restore? My pc is
a Dell, but I didn't buy it from Dell. I need to do a full system
restore, but they didn't supply me with an OEM disk, or a restore
disk, and they deleted the hidden partition when they pre-installed
WinXP, now they are saying it will cost me $125 to buy the OEM
disk. Can I call them on this? I realize it is better to buy from
"Dell" a receive a full factory restore disk, but that wasn't in my
price range. If their agreement with Microsoft requires them to
provide me with some way reinstall WinXP then I will definately
have something to work with when I call them again.
Sorry, I don't know exactly what the situation is when there's a
third party involved like this. Unless someone else here knows for
sure, if I were in your shoes, I would begin by calling Dell and
asking them the question.
--
Ken Blake, Microsoft MVP Windows - Shell/User
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