need help please

hi all, i recently bought a laptop second hand and everything (folders etc) still has the other guys username on it, also i keep getting errors when trying to download things which im guessing has something to do with administrative uses.iv tried renaming the user but some folders are still showing as james, iv also added a new user in my name but what i want to do is totally delete this other user name and set up on my name as if iv just bought the computer new, is this possible?
when i download things it wont let me save to c/users/john (me) but asks if i would like to save it in c/users/ james instead and it quite annoying.
when i tried to delete the new username i set up, its wiped all my files too (music etc).
any help is much appreciated

john

Hello John, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You could do a factory recovery to restore the laptop back to factory conditions. The link from Dell below can help show you how to. Be sure to backup anything that you do not want to lose first though.

Restoring Your Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings | Dell

Hope this helps,
Shawn

thanks for the reply shawn, this sound like exactly what i want to do. theres nothing on here i want to keep as everything iv transfered from my old computer has gone. all the folders are there but they are empty, possibly not visible under new user? but i can transfer them again not a problem.
anyway, i tried what you suggested, i pressed f8, then i get a list - repair my computer, start in safe mode etc, when i select repair my computer it loads to log in screen, put my password in and it just loads up as normal. nothing happens.
any ideas?

john

You might see if you may be able to create a set of factory recovery discs that you could use to do a factory restore with instead.

Using the Dell

or

Creating Your System Recovery Discs with Dell DataSafe Local Backup 2.0 | Dell

just as i finished posting my last reply i had a box pop up which was creating a backup. im guessing has something to do with it as i havnt requested a backup.
In my computer, next to OS(C i have RECOVERY(D, this is where the backup was saved. i dont know if i can do anything from there.
if i make a backup now to restore like you said on disc etc, wont it just restore the user as it is and put me back to where i am now or will it actually restore to factory condition?
sorry if im being stupid just havnt got a clue when it comes to computers.

john

The backup should be optional, but it's only for the files (ex: music, pictures, etc...) in your user folders.