How to do a restore to factory settings?

[wayoftheleaf]

Is there a program Or a site that can tell me how to put my computer back to factory settings?

I tried to download WOW, twice. And each time my mom or someone would get on when it was nearly done *I was asleep the first time, and at school the second*get the computer frozen and shit. Well now I have about 4gb of memory taken off my computer with no way to delete it*analyzed my computer's memory and it has that much memory still taken even though I deleted the document*

Besides that, for reasons that not any of the technical people at dell or my web provider could identify, nor any of my computer friends, I have files that were downloaded on my comp that WILL NOT COME OFF.

So if anyone knows how....I could really use this help.

[wayoftheleaf]

And I do not have a recovery disk....

[madeline]

There is a menu that offers access only during the initial setup stage. One of the "F" buttons gets you into it and it should be briefly on the bottom of the screen soon after your computer turns on but before the desktop screen comes up. Look for "FORMAT" or "REFORMAT" and carefully read the help section. It's always a good idea to set up a backup disk before reformatting the hard drive and be sure you have the original Windows OS disk (the one with the serial numbers on the booklet). You also might want to ask Dell about anything you might need to watch for while reformatting your hard drive.

good luck and don't let this hunk of metal and plastic intimidate you!

[thebeancounter41]

Do you have a copy of win XP?If so, simply REFORMAT your hard drive to wipe out ALL data on the drive and then load a fresh copy of windows from your windows cd.Of course if this is a Dell piece of crap, you had best back up your modem and ethernet card drivers first.Dell has a bad habit of using numerous manufacturers for those items and therefor, you need to make SURE you have a copy of a WORKING driver for those before doing a reformat or even a restore with a dell restore disc.The restore disc DOES NOT restore the modem driver for damn sure.I learned the hard way when my dell crashed.Took over a week to find the right driver for their cheesy modem.

[wayoftheleaf]

no i have NO DISKS

I will call dell and ask I guess.

[Skink]

no i have NO DISKS

I will call dell and ask I guess.

The last dell I worked on came with a OS disk,,,check the box...

[invision]

they no longer come with CDs instead there is a hidden partition on the hard drive you can access, i dont own a dell but it will be a F key you need to press upon powering up.

[Skink]

F11


http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/dsn/en/document?journalid=C5AB8DD88A2C11DBAE96AFFA791B90F C&docid=DC47E7957E35BBC0E030A68F27280D16

[wayoftheleaf]

You people pick things apart like there is no tommorrow. Keeps me on my toes i guess

My computer is from BEFORE they put in that program, and my mother has LOST the disks.

I am going to take it to a computer store and have them drain it and reinstall windows xp and the drivers.


Now here is a new questions.

When I take it to have it drained, will they do it maunally or a machine or a program or what?
either way, will they keep a log of my hard drive?

The main reason I want this computer's hard drive scratched is because my mom had a rather unsavory friend a while back who downloaded limewire and looked up some certain types of videos. I just got on limewire(i use morpheus)and found them. I told mom about them and she said that she let a guy a while back get on the computer at night, and that is the only person she knows that had access to it besides us. I never liked the guy, and he always seemed like a freak to me.
Anyhow, I don't want the cops to be alerted about them if they find them on my hard drive, so I won't take it to a computer store if they do do that. I will just save up my money and buy the disks, or throw the computer in the trash.

I am not going to have my future ruined for what some fucking pervert did on my property, and ill be damned if my mom's ex-husband finds out about it and uses it as an escuse to not allow my sister to live with us.

[Skink]

wipe it all first,,,but at the curent prices it is prob better to ge a new puter... The store is going to sell you a new disk anyways...

[wayoftheleaf]

Naw they do it for 40 bucks.

Ill do it that and save up for a new comp.

[psychocat]

Buy a copy of XP and just follow the instructions man , it will ask you which drives you want to format.
When you install the CD in your drive it will autoboot and it's simple from there on.

KEEP THE DISK AND CODE SAFE.

[RedLocks]

You people pick things apart like there is no tommorrow. Keeps me on my toes i guess

My computer is from BEFORE they put in that program, and my mother has LOST the disks.

I am going to take it to a computer store and have them drain it and reinstall windows xp and the drivers.


Now here is a new questions.

When I take it to have it drained, will they do it maunally or a machine or a program or what?
either way, will they keep a log of my hard drive?

The main reason I want this computer's hard drive scratched is because my mom had a rather unsavory friend a while back who downloaded limewire and looked up some certain types of videos. I just got on limewire(i use morpheus)and found them. I told mom about them and she said that she let a guy a while back get on the computer at night, and that is the only person she knows that had access to it besides us. I never liked the guy, and he always seemed like a freak to me.
Anyhow, I don't want the cops to be alerted about them if they find them on my hard drive, so I won't take it to a computer store if they do do that. I will just save up my money and buy the disks, or throw the computer in the trash.

I am not going to have my future ruined for what some fucking pervert did on my property, and ill be damned if my mom's ex-husband finds out about it and uses it as an escuse to not allow my sister to live with us.
well now ya know why your keys been sticking bwaaaa

[wayoftheleaf]

I installed a new keyboard as soon as I found out redlocks.

Anyhow....

If a computer store drains your hard drive and reinstalls xp for you, do they keep a log of your hard drive, or do they manually check downloaded files on your hard drive?

[Skink]

I installed a new keyboard as soon as I found out redlocks.

Anyhow....

If a computer store drains your hard drive and reinstalls xp for you, do they keep a log of your hard drive, or do they manually check downloaded files on your hard drive?

the prob you face is the dude seeing it visually... there is no record kept,he eraces the hard drive and installs a OS...
Just delete everything befor U go...

[AlwaysBlazed]

You should have just backed up your computer when you got it, I always forget to but I try because otherwise you have to wait like 2 weeks for recovery CDs to come in the mail (if your computer is under warranty still I believe).

sorry in advance if that made no sense

[invision]

if your that concerned about it log into DOS mode, type C:/Fdisk and follow the directiond and it will wipe your hard drive

[fractur]

It's probably not worth reformatting because of a failed WoW install. Why won't the files delete? 4GB being taken up by nothing is not a normal occurance. Be sure to also empty your recycling bin. Also note that Add/Remove programs does not necessarily report program size correctly, especially if you removed the files manually.