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Dell System Restore Vista

Dell System Restore

Restoring Your Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings

This article is for Microsoft Windows Vista:

Dell has designed two new backup and restore programs, see below for the details:

Dell Inspirons, Studios, and XPS Systems use DataSafe Local Backup 2.0 as the PC Restore/Factory Image Restore option as of April 22, 2009.

Dell OptiPlex, Latitude, Vostro, and Precisions use Dell Backup and Recovery Manager as the PC Restore/Factory Image Restore option as of May 26, 2009.

Step 1: Backup important files & Data

  • Click , and then click Control Panel.
  • In the Control Panel window, click System and Maintenance
  • and then click Back Up and Restore Center
  • Under Back up files or your entire computer, click Back up files
  • If the User Account Control window appears, and you are prompted for an administrator password or a confirmation, type your password, or click Continue
  • On the Where do you want to save your backup? page, choose the location in which to save the backup. To do this, click either  On a hard disk, CD, or DVD or  On a network, and then specify the location.
  • If you select a hard disk, be sure to save the backup to an external drive such as a USB key or USB hard drive.
  • Click Next

Step 2: Remove non-essential peripherals

Except for the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, remove all external peripherals including:

Note:

An external peripheral is a device that connects to a port on the front, side or back of the computer, like a printer or memory key.

  • Scanner
  • Printer
  • Modem or Network cables
  • Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)
  • USB flash drive or other external Hard Drive
  • Any other external devices (e.g., USB-attached devices)
  • Remove the computer from the docking station, if you are using one.

Step 3: Restore the computer’s software to original condition.

Notice: Restoring the original factory image erases ALL existing data. This includes files, folders, programs, drivers, E-mails, photos. Before performing a PC Restore, back up all personal files. If you do not back up your personal files, the data will be lost.

1    Turn on the computer.

2   As the computer starts, press <F8> on the keyboard until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.

Note:

You must press <F8> before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press <F8> after the Windows logo appears on the screen, the Advanced Boot Options menu will not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen.

3    Press the <Down Arrow> on the keyboard to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press <Enter>.

4    Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.

5    Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.

6    Click Dell Factory Image Restore.

7    In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.

8    Click to select the Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition check box.

9    Click Next.

The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.

10    When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

The software is now installed as it was when the computer was first received.

Step 4: Restore your personal files and data from backups

1      Click then click Control Panel.

2      In the Control Panel window, click System and Maintenance and then click Back Up and Restore Center

3      Under Restore files or your entire computer, click Advanced Restore.

4      On the What do you want to restore? page, click  Files from a backup made on a different computer and click Next

5      Locate the backup you created earlier by browsing to it now. If you saved the backup to CD(s) or DVD, insert that disc now.

Once the backup is located and selected, click Next

6      On the Select the files and folders to restore page, click Restore everything in this backup then click Next

Backup will restore the files to your computer. If you are restoring from a removable drive and used more than one blank disc, Backup will prompt you to enter the next disc in the set as necessary. Depending on the number of files and their sizes, this process may take several minutes.