restore disc

georgesky01

hi i have a new dell comp with windows xp installed on it
but i didn't get a restore disc with the comp, could anyone tell me how to make a restore disc
cheers

MercilessKiller

If you bought the dell comp from DELL, and had no windows cd with it, ring up dell support and tell them they'll send one.

georgesky01

will they charge me for it?

MercilessKiller

Nope

When you purchased your Dell you purchased a valid Windows XP license with it. Thus they should have provided you with the disk which allows you to reinstall windows on thesame machine.

I just bought a machine myself and got the disk ya see.

Someone had a similar problem in the past and they just rang up and nicely asked for the disk which Dell sent. As long as you have a valid serial code you should have no problems.

If the machine came with XP Pre loaded, there should be a COA (certificate of authenticity) stuck to the machine somewhere with a serial code on. That's all you need. If dell wont send you a copy pm me and i'll burn you one. This is perfectly legal as you have the serial code

georgesky01

my son has a windows xp disc so no real problem there, it's really the restore disc that i need you know the one that resets the comp to the way that it was when i recieved the comp

MercilessKiller

I assume when you received it it had a fresh install of windows on it? All the extra software was dell preloaded sponsored software... I didn't get these on a disk, just pre loaded! And to be honest I formatted straight away as it clogs up a lot in the background!

Make sure your son's xp disk is the same version (i.e pro/home sp1/2 etc...) a

Inserting that windows disk allows you to format your pc, and reinstall windows fresh exactly how you should see a new computer

There are always good free variations of pre loaded software. just post what your looking for and freebies are always around

basill

I think there might be an option tucked away in the start menu, maybe under dell programs, to burn your own recovery disks.
You will need as OS disk and one with all your system drivers on it would be handy, although you can get your drivers from the Dell site.
B

georgesky01

thanks to everyone for their replies

youreds

georgesky01 wrote:

my son has a windows xp disc so no real problem there, it's really the restore disc that i need you know the one that resets the comp to the way that it was when i recieved the comp

If it's a Dell PC, you won't get a 'restore' CD as such, in that it returns your PC to exactly as it was. You should have an Operating Sytem CD & a Drivers & Utilities CD, both of these will say in big letters "ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER"

The OS CD in in fact just an XP installation CD (that will only install on a Dell, without that activation malarkey).

To restore, slap in the CD, switch on PC & hit F12 (boot menu) & select CD Rom drive (or DVD), you will then go through a fresh XP install.

PM me for more details, I sell shedloads of these Dells in my day job & have done this many a time.

Youreds!