Question about system recovery

[adamtheman16]

I have searched the web and this forum for the answer I want, but I have not been able to pinpoint it.

I received a Dell Inspiron 1525 from a friend and it has some buggy issues and a bunch of junk on it. I want to just perform a factory restore. I researched how to do it though the advanced boot options, but I am stuck at the part where it wants a username and password in order to proceed.

It had a password on the admin account that she knew, so I was able to log on normally. I wanted to just do away with the password, so I changed the admin account to my name from hers and disabled password protection. When I went to perform the system restore, the only user name selection at the restore window is her name, and it wants a password. I then went and activated password protection and tried it again with the same result. If I know, or changed admin password, why does it still have it in her name? Unfortunately, the password she originally gave me that worked for the admin login does not work for system restore.

I do not know if this is a admin password, or a windows product registration password or what, which is why I am having a hard time finding any information about it.

 

[adamtheman16]

Also, will I require the windows disc in order to perform a system restore. She said she is pretty sure she lost it.

 

[richc46]

Welcome
You should not be required to use the password. Shut down the computer and then on boot press cntrl and then many times and quickly hit f11. If that does not work try the same with just f11. We wish you luck. You do know you will lose your stuff.

 

[adamtheman16]

I'm not worried about losing any data as none of it is mine.

So, instead of using F8 and entering the advanced boot options, I use ctrl and F11...and where does this take me?

 

[richc46]

It should perform a factory restoration. You will be just like the day you took the computer home. You must update and install software etc.

 

[adamtheman16]

Well, CTRL/F11 or just F11 does not do anything.

 

[adamtheman16]

Ok, I figured it out. For whatever reason, the admin name was still my friends name when prompted for the user name and password, but the password was what I had changed it to. So there was still memory of her name as user, but it changed the password to what I had changed it to.