NOTE: Depending upon your configuration, you may need to select Dell
Factory Tools, then Dell Factory Image Restore.
If that still doesn't work, try setting the system recovery partition active then boot, see if the recovery process starts. You should be able to do this from Disk Management.
Press
Window key + R, type
diskmgmt.msc and press
Enter.
Note which partition is currently active then right click on the recovery partition and select
Mark partition as Active.
Leave Disk Management open for now.
Make the current Active partition inactive as follows:
Open a Elevated Command prompt and enter the following commands:
diskpart
list vol
select vol # (where # is the number of the volume that is currently Active)
inactive (this resets the Active flag)
exit
exit
Now refresh the Disk Management window by clicking on it then pressing the F5 key. Verify the Recovery partition is Active and no other partitions are Active. If okay, close Disk Management then reboot and see if Recovery starts. If not and if nothing boots then you are going to have to make the original partition Active again. Since nothing will boot you will boot a Vista or Windows 7 install DVD and take the Repair path to open a Command Prompt. Then repeat the diskpart command as above only set the original partition Active and make the Recovery partition Inactive. This should put you back to where you started.
If none of this works, is there a good COA sticker with the install key on it still on the computer? If so then you can do the following:
If you do not have a Windows Vista installation DVD, you can download a legal copy with SP1 integrated from here:
Download Official Windows Vista RTM with SP1 Setup Files (32-bit and 64-bit).
Only Windows Vista Ultimate with SP1 (X64 or X86) download is available, but if, during the install, you do not enter the product key
when initially prompted for it (which you must have to use the download), then you will be prompted to select the version of Vista you
want to install. You can activate once the install is done.
You do need a valid installation key, which should be on the COA sticker on the computer, to activate the installation.
Windows Vista Home Basic
Windows Vista Home Premium
Windows Vista Business
Windows Vista Ultimate
Downloaded the Vista X64 or X86 files.
X64: You must be running on a 64bit (X64) system to create a 64Bit install DVD or flash drive
install.wim
boot.wim
X14-63453.exe
X86:
install.wim
boot.wim
X14-63452.exe
Double click on
X14-63453.exe or
X14-63452.exe. It extracts all the files into a Vista sub-folder.
Downloaded
Windows Bootable Image Creator zip then extract the files to a folder.
Open the folder and run
WBICreator.exe
Click
Next
Select OS Type:
Windows Vista
CD/DVD Label:
VistaX64 or
VistaX86
Setup Location: The Vista folder created when you double clicked on
X14-63453.exe or
X14-63452.exe.
Output Path: Somewhere with enough free space to hold the .iso file that will be created (X64 = 3,837,112KB, X86 = 3,013,816KB).
Click
GO.
When done a
VistaX64.iso or
VistaX86.iso file will be created in the Output Path you chose.
You can use the .iso as input to a burner program like
ImgBurn to create a Vista Install DVD, or you can use it as Input to
Universal USB Installer – Easy as 1 2 3 to create a Vista install flash drive.
I created a X86 flash drive and used it to install a clean copy of Vista Home Basic on my HP DV2200 Laptop. Worked great using the key on the COA sticker of the laptop.
Remember to use the X64 or X86 version of Vista you currently have.
Note: You may need to download drivers for the computer from the manufacturers web site so I would suggest getting the Network (LAN and Wireless) and video/VGA drivers ahead of time so you can install them as soon as you finish installing Vista.
