How do i restore my dell to factory settings?

look for the Restore cd it came with. put it in and reboot the computer. it will guide you through. (oh, and if you do a format & restore, you will loose everything you have not backedup... pics, docs, etc...). Dell also gives you a drivers cd, that is for after the restore process is done. They may give you an apps cd too, you will want to pick and choose which apps to put on.
 
cant find the restore cd. I want to delete everything from my hard drive and just get it back to how it was wen i bought it. ive got so many viruses and spyware on it, its just rediculous
 
that should restore yoru computer (Windows), but without the drivers cd, you may or may not be able to get all your drivers up again, (depends also if you have Internet access to download any missing ones after the restore).
 
damn the cd aint working it say it cant run because the cd is an older versioon of windows than that on my computer. Has it got anything to do with microsoft Service Pack 2
 
Go to your bios (press "del" as the computer starts up) and change the the order of your boot devices so that the cd rom is your first boot device.
 
ok so im now in the setup process. Theres only 1 partition to which i can install it on and that 1 has all my file s on it already. i can only install a new windiws on this partition. how can i delete this partition and create a new partiotn and install it on that?
 
You already have your files backed up right? When you restore your hard drive back to the origianl setting its going to over-write everything. Just tell it to install windows on the partition you already have, and it should format it and install, or maybe it will ask you first.
 
If you really want to be absolutley sure your personal stuff is gone, just format the drive at least twice, or use some software called Wipedrive.
 
ahhh i just finished installing windows and all my file on c drive are still there. Wot can i do to delete everything, and just have it to how it was wen i bought it?
 
you did a restore without formatting. you need to do a format and restore, some manufacturers cd's call it a destructive or advanced restore.
 
Im guessing your using the Dell cd, with windows on it. See if you can select an advanced option to format your drive, otherwise you can do so through dos.
 
Create a MS-DOS boot disc type [format C:] that will delete every thing on your C drive. Type D:\CD-ROM letter hit Enter, Then type SETUP.EXE to start windows installation.
 
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