Dell Laptops - Restore factory settings

Before restoring factory settings on a Dell laptop,take a backup of all data and restart the system. There is no separate recovery disk shipped with Dell laptops; it is possible to restore the default configuration for Dell laptops through the BIOS settings menu. There is an option to restore the Dell Factory Image in the menu that will restore factory settings for the laptop. Once the system restoration starts, the drive will get formatted and the system software will be restored to factory condition. Once it is done, the laptop has to be restarted and other hardware device drivers or anti-virus software have to be installed manually. 

Intro

Here are the main steps to restore your Dell laptop to its factory settings. Depending on the model you own, the the procedure may vary slightly. 

Steps

Restore the computer to the default factory configuration 
Note: 
When you restore the computer to the default factory configuration, all data on the C drive is deleted. Before performing this procedure, back up any personal files. If you do not back up these files, the data will be lost.

1. Restart the computer 

     To do this, click Start, click the arrow next to the Lock button, and then click Restart.

      2. As the computer restarts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.

  Note: You must press F8 before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press F8 after the Windows logo appears, the Advanced Boot Options menu does not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen.

 Press the Down arrow to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.

Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.

 Log in as a user who has administrative privileges and click OK.

Click   Dell Factory Image Restore.

In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.

 Check the box saying Yes, reformat the hard drive and restore system software to factory conditions.

Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.

 When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

Restore to factory default settings for windows 7 and vista

                                                Vista or Win 7

If your operating system is VISTA / Win 7, press the F8 key when you see the Dell logo. It will take you to the advanced boot menu options, which include 'Repair your Computer'. Select that option and enter your password if asked, then you will see a list of options like 'system restore' and 'command prompt'. The last option says 'Dell PC restore', or something along those lines. Select that option and follow the instructions on the screen. 
If in both cases, the Factory default doesn't work, then your laptop's factory image defaults partition has vanished (i.e., been corrupted / deleted). In this case you will have to reinstall the operating system with the CD or DVD shipped along with the laptop. Follow the link below to install windows XP Pro on your own.

       Start the computer.

          As the computer starts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the  screen.

       Press the down arrow to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, then press Enter.

            Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.

            Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.

            Click Dell Factory Image Restore.

           In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.

          Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.

                       Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.

                       When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

Restore to factory default settings windows xp

                                           Windows XP

If your operating system is XP, press the CTRL and F11 keys simultaneously when you see the Dell logo after turning on the laptop, and follow the instructions on the screen.

 Put the computer on.

When the Dell screen appears, press and hold the CTRL and F11 key simultaneously on the keyboard, then release them both at the same time. The Dell PC Restore by Symantec window appears.

Click the Restore button or press the key to highlight Restore and press the key.

A caution message appears, advising that all data will be lost.

Click :

the Confirm button, or press the key to highlight Confirm and press the key.

The Progress window appears. Once the process has begun, Dell PC the restore usually takes only 8 to 10 minutes to complete. When the restore is complete, the message 'The system recovery process was successful' appear.

Click the Finish button or press the key to highlight Finish and press the key.

The computer will restart. 

DELL - Restore to factory default settings

Dell Inspiron users may encounter the need to restore default settings. Restoring

default settings in Dell laptops is quite complicated without proper guidance. The

paragraphs below will discuss the various laptop computer shortcut keys which control

the hardware which relates to this issue. There are hundreds of operating systems out

there, such as Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows XP, and this method of restoration

can be applied to most of them. Keys like F8, F11 and CTRL will be used to bring back

the default settings. The process should only take 10 minutes maximum.