Format Hard Drive

wesley0721

New Member
My C: drive is in the "red" and I was told that I need to format it and reinstall Windows Vista. I can't seem to find the Vista Installation Disc. I don't remembering getting one when I purchased the laptop; I have a Dell Insprion 1520.

How do I get this disc?

Also, do I need to format just the c: drive or the d: drive also?
 

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My Computer

If the OS came preinstalled, you can get one at cost. In lieu of that most computers have a recovery partition that will restore to factory specs. Usually an f key at boot.
You can find out how from your manual or online.
Factory specs is just like a new install.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS420
    Memory
    6 gig
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD3650 256 MB
    Sound Card
    Intergrated 7.1 Channel Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell SP2009W 20 inch Flat Panel w Webcam
    Hard Drives
    640 gb
    Cooling
    Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell USB
    Mouse
    Dell USB 4 button optical
    Other Info
    DSL provided by ATT
Your computer does have a Restore partition.

Boot your computer and when the Dell Logo appears press and hold down the Ctrl+F11 key and it should come up with a different screen. There you can choose to restore your computer to original factory settings.

***CAUTION***
Restoring you computer will delete everything you have added when you started using the computer. It is advisable to make a backup of your documents, files, folders, pictures, songs etc. on an external drive.
Once the computer has been restored, it will be exactly the same way you got it from Dell the first time. You can uninstall program which you don't use and you might have to install program which did not came pre-installed with the computer and you want it there.

Make sure that you have all program product codes backed up also. If you would like help with backup, make sure you ask us before you reinstall!

Richard
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell XPS 420
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Quad Q9300 2.50GHz
    Motherboard
    Stock Dell 0TP406
    Memory
    4 gb (DDR2 800) 400MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon HD 3870 (512 MBytes)
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1 x Dell 2007FP and 1 x (old) Sonic flat screen
    Screen Resolution
    1600 x 1200 and 1280 x 1204
    Hard Drives
    1 x 640Gb (SATA 300)
    Western Digital: WDC WD6400AAKS-75A7B0

    1 x 1Tb (SATA 600)
    Western Digital: Caviar Black, SATA 6GB/S, 64Mb cache, 8ms
    Western Digital: WDC WD1002FAEX-00Z3A0 ATA Device
    PSU
    Stock PSU - 375W
    Case
    Dell XPS 420
    Cooling
    Stock Fan
    Keyboard
    Dell Bluetooth
    Mouse
    Advent Optical ADE-WG01 (colour change light up)
    Internet Speed
    120 kb/s
    Other Info
    ASUS USB 3.0 5Gbps/SATA 6Gbps - PCI-Express Combo Controller Card (U3S6)
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