How do I reformat my laptop?

WildStriker

New Member
Hi,

I'm having problems with explorer.exe on my laptop and I want to reformat my laptop to factory settings. How do I reformat my laptop? If it helps, I have a dell inspiron 6400.

Comments will be appreciated.
 

My Computer

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
If you have the CD's to re-install to factory settings that would be beneficial because you could boot-and-nuke it then put windows back a clean driver :)

If you do not have the CD's and you plan on using the back-up partition then just do a system restore and you'll be good to go.

Either way will work however, in either case please back-up your files...
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    HP
    CPU
    Intel Neo
    Memory
    2GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intergrated Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    10.1
    Screen Resolution
    1280 x 800
    Hard Drives
    160GB
    PSU
    Power Adapter
    Case
    It's special, it flips open :)
    Keyboard
    Acer
    Mouse
    Touchpad
    Internet Speed
    Down: 16mb/s Up: 1.6mb/s
    Other Info
    I killed my HP Laptop :'(
If you have the CD's to re-install to factory settings that would be beneficial because you could boot-and-nuke it then put windows back a clean driver :)

If you do not have the CD's and you plan on using the back-up partition then just do a system restore and you'll be good to go.

Either way will work however, in either case please back-up your files...

Can I ask how you use the back up partition and system restore?
 

My Computer

Hello WildStriker,

This link from Dell on how to do a factory restore and back up your files during it may help.

Dell - Technical Support

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2,
    4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2,
    8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system,
    Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam,
    HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn,
    APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI,
    Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Graphics card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce 940MX
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Here is the short version:

· Save all your important files.

· Unplug all the devices and drivers from your CPU (except the keyboard and the mouse), including your printer, camera and memory stick.

· Shut off the computer and then turn it on, or simply restart it.

· As soon as you see the Dell logo at the start keep on hitting the F8 key repeatedly. Do not stop until you see the screen that says "Repair your computer." There will be other options too but chose this option and hit Enter.

· Next you will see a prompt window giving you options to select the keyboard layout select from the drop-down menu "US" and click "OK."

· On the next screen you will be asked to select the user ID and the password of your Windows Vistaaccount. Select your user account, but make sure your user account has administrative functions. Type in your password. If you don't have a password, leave it blank and click "OK."

· Now you will come to a window with multiple options. Choose the one at the bottom that reads, "Dell Factory Image Restore." By clicking "Dell Factory Image Restore" , it will generate an operation that will take about 45 minutes to complete.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dell
    CPU
    Q6600
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP w2207h
    Hard Drives
    2x250GB HDDs
    1x60GB OCZ SSD
    6 external disks 60 to 640GBs
    Other Info
    Also 1xHP desktop, 1xHP laptop, 1xGateway laptop
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