Restore factory settings [Solved/Closed]

Hi I bought my new latop Dell inspiron 1525 using os vista in October and would like to restore it to it's origional factory settings, however I have been unable to do this as I have been told a number of different actions to try by PC performance and none of them work: First I was told to press f8 on a reboot then select repair my computer so I pressed f8 and there was no option to repair my computer; Second I was told to restart and press f12 insert a blank dvd and boot using cd/dvd which would create a boot disc which in turn would restore to factory settings, after choosing boot from cd/dvd my laptop just restarts as normal without creating a boot disc; I was then told to burn recovery (which was on a small drive D:) to disc first then boot from cd/dvd which has no effect again windows starts normally.........so being nosey I had a look around this recovery file and found a setup icon that said factory restore when I clicked on it, I got the message ERROR: the factory image could not be found please reinstall using the operating system media dvd.

any help on this would be fantasic as I am now at my wits end.

Hi I bought my new latop in October and would like to restore it to it's origional factory settings, however I have been unable to do this as I have been told a number of different actions to try by PC performance and none of them work: First I was told to press f8 on a reboot then select repair my computer so I pressed f8 and there was no option to repair my computer; Second I was told to restart and press f12 insert a blank dvd and boot using cd/dvd which would create a boot disc which in turn would restore to factory settings, after choosing boot from cd/dvd my laptop just restarts as normal without creating a boot disc; I was then told to burn recovery (which was on a small drive D:) to disc first then boot from cd/dvd which has no effect again windows starts normally.........so being nosey I had a look around this recovery file and found a setup icon that said factory restore when I clicked on it, I got the message ERROR: the factory image could not be found please reinstall using the operating system media dvd.

any help on this would be fantasic as I am now at my wits end.

I have Sony VAIO NR11 Z/S running Vista Home Premium I just wonderd if anyone could help me getting it back to factory settings. please e-mail me.

many thanks.

Hey,
I am trying to restore my HP Laptop with Vista Home Premium, back to factory settings... I have already used the recovery manager. When I click system restore, and then click next, all it does is reboot. It will not start the recovery program. It just simply restarts my computer. I have NO idea what I am doing wrong but any help would be GREATLY APPRECIATED!!!

HI I HAVE A DELL LAPTOP AND ONE DAY IT JUST SHUT OFF SO IN ORDER TO GET IT BACK TO FUNCTION I HAD TO REBOOT THE WHOLE THING I TOOK IT TO GEEK SQUAD TO GET THE DATA BACKED UP AND THEN REBOOT THE COMPUTER AS I FOUND OUT GEEK SQUAD GAVE ME ABLANK DISK WITH NO INFO. NOTHING IN IT I PAID $200.00 THEY LOST THE CHARGER FOR MY COMPUTER AND THEY DIDNT BACK UP MYDATA WHEN I TOOK THE DISK BACK THEY TOLD ME THEIR COMPUTER HAD JUST BROKE DOWN AND COULD NOT RETRIEVE MY INFO. I HAD ALREADY REBOOT MY COMPUTER DOES ANYBODY KNOW IF I CAN GET ANY OF MY FILES OR AT LEAST MY PICTURES AFTER REBBOTING THE COMPUTER I HAD THOUSANDS OF PICTURES THAT I NEED CAN SOMEONE HELP ME IF THEY HAVE AN ANSWER . AND DO NOT TAKE YOUR COMPUTER TO GEEK SQUAD EVER THEY DONT TAKE RESPONSABILITY FOR ANYTHING

Once you restore it will it erase what is already saved on the computer? I have hp vista and i want to restore my audio card. Any ideas? I update to the pack 1 and lost my audio

WHILE I TRYING TO HIT F8 HOLD CLT ITS GIVE ME MSG DAT SYSTEM FAIL TO GO RECOVERY.. CAN YOU PLZ TELL ME HOW CAN I FIXED MY PROBLEM I BOUGHT UNTOUCH BUT WITHOUT WARRANTY DELL INSPIRON 1525 LAPTOP BEFORE WHEN I INSTALL THE VISTA HOME PREMIUM EDITION IT DOING GODD SINCE I CONNECTED THE EXPTERNAL BLOUTHOTH MY SYSTEM FACING PROBLEM . TILL NOW PROBLEM IS WHEN I TURN THE SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME I MEANS TO SAY WHEN I DONE MY WORK TODAY AND I SHUTDOWN AND THEN TRY TO TURN ON TOM OR OFTER 2 HOUR THE SYSTEM KEEP BUSY THERE WHILE DAT WINDOW LOGO LOADING AND KEEP BUSY NOTHING MOVE FORWARD .. WHEN I TURN OFF AND THEN TURN ON THEN ITS WORK LIKE A NORMAL NOW IF WANT TO RESTART 100 OF TIME IT WILL WORK NORMAL NOTHING GIVE ANY PROBLEM .. ..

CAN YOU PLZ HELP ME I'M TIRED OF DAT TO HOW CAN FIXED DAT .. PLZZ

Best idea - INSTALL LINUX

I recently restored the factory settings on my hp laptop, but only the core components of vista seem have to been installed; it can not remember prefrences, settings, install updates; etc. anyone know how to fix this?

WHILE I TRYING TO HIT F8 HOLD CLT ITS GIVE ME MSG DAT SYSTEM FAIL TO GO RECOVERY.. CAN YOU PLZ TELL ME HOW CAN I FIXED MY PROBLEM I BOUGHT UNTOUCH BUT WITHOUT WARRANTY DELL INSPIRON 1525 LAPTOP BEFORE WHEN I INSTALL THE VISTA HOME PREMIUM EDITION IT DOING GODD SINCE I CONNECTED THE EXPTERNAL BLOUTHOTH MY SYSTEM FACING PROBLEM . TILL NOW PROBLEM IS WHEN I TURN THE SYSTEM FOR THE FIRST TIME I MEANS TO SAY WHEN I DONE MY WORK TODAY AND I SHUTDOWN AND THEN TRY TO TURN ON TOM OR OFTER 2 HOUR THE SYSTEM KEEP BUSY THERE WHILE DAT WINDOW LOGO LOADING AND KEEP BUSY NOTHING MOVE FORWARD .. WHEN I TURN OFF AND THEN TURN ON THEN ITS WORK LIKE A NORMAL NOW IF WANT TO RESTART 100 OF TIME IT WILL WORK NORMAL NOTHING GIVE ANY PROBLEM .. ..

CAN YOU PLZ HELP ME I'M TIRED OF DAT TO HOW CAN FIXED DAT .. PLZZ

to restore compaq back to original factory settings-- when starting up, hold the F11 key down, this will bring you to the screens to start reformatting

let me know if you need anything else

Restoring Dell to Factory Settings (tried and tested directly from Dell Support because the F8 'repair your computer' did not work

1. Shut down computer after inserting Windows OS disc (Dell disc)
2. Power laptop on, hitting F12 when the Dell flash screen appears
3. Select CD ROM DRIVE from the list that appears
4. Press any key when prompted
5. Laptop will likely appear to be loading (Windows loading bar)
6. Select Language, Time, Keyboard settings. Select Next
7. Do not select ‘Install Now’. Instead select ‘Repair your computer’ at the bottom left
8. Select 'command prompt' box.
9. Select command prompt box.
10. (after each step, press the enter key to get to the next step)
a. type: path=d:\windows;d\windows\system32
b. type: d:
c. type: cd tools (note the space)
d. type: pcrestore
11. The Dell Factory Image Restore page should come up. Follow onscreen instructions but when it asks to repair any problems select ‘no’ then ‘finish’.
12. A load bar will appear dictating progress for the restore, this step should take roughly 15-20 minutes.
13. Once the restore is complete, your laptop will restart and the original Windows Vista set up screen will appear. Follow the onscreen prompts to completion.

Windows Complete PC Recovery
Restores the contents of your hard disk from a backup. Windows Complete PC Backup and Restore is not included with Windows Vista Starter, Windows Vista Home Basic, or Windows Vista Home Premium. But if you have the system tool that is in your computer that has a system recovery on your hard drive. it is easy to do. Find the system restore in your tools menu thin skip the restore prompts and do a recovery. I hope this works for you. I have used this a few times.

The Iceman

Hey folks a thing to remember when doing these restores is before you do all that shut your system down and remove the battery then trty to restart the computer. In the cases I have seen where the monitor wouldnt load that usually if not always works.

If you have a dell computer which is after September 2005 with XP on it. You need to press Ctrl + F11 as soon as the system starts. If you have the Dell computer with Vista installed on it then you need to press F8 to reach to Advanced Boot Menu. There you need to select the option Repair your computer. Then you need to select the keyboard layout (Type 1 and then press enter). Then log in on your user account (Make sure that is an Administrator Account). Then choose the option Dell Factory Image Restore.

If you have the HP Computer then the Recovery has two option one is Destructive Recovery (Data Loss) and Non - Destructive (Data Back-up). You just need to Press F11 as soon as the computer restart. Then follow the on screen instruction and choose the option accordingly.

This is easy. Tap F8 on your keyboard until a screen you do not see on start up pops up. Once there use your arrows to highlight repair your computer. You should now have a list of System Recovery Options. You can try many of these options before taking the drastic step of restoring from an image but if you are sure that is what you want to do, then click Dell Factory Image Restore and follow the prompts. Then you should be all set
For other support topics check out www.bestcomputersupport.webs.com

I followed the instructions and do not see Dell Factory Image Restore. It is not an option for me? Any suggestions?

I am trying to restore my computer to factory fresh also... it is a VPR Matrix Model 1600 Windows XP

hii
i have dell inspiron 530
i tried pressin crl. and F11@ same time but it doesnt work
when i press F8 there is no such a option as repair my computer.
plzz someone hekp me

if you have a compaq or hp just strt up and as soon as you see the compaq or hp logo press f11 then follow instructions