Dell laptop re-install ?

[billybonzo]

Alright people, how do i wipe the hard drive on my Dell 6400 laptop without the disks and the restore partition, which doesnt seem to exist ?

ps im wanting to sell it in its factory state.

Cheers

[Uncle_Meat]

Are you sure the recovery partition is deaded? Go into Control Panel/Admin Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management and check for the hidden partition.

Besides, on some Dells the option to access the recovery partition (usually F11 or CTRL-F11 at BIOS summary screen. Try those first as a matter of course.) is hidden. Go into BIOS (F2) and see if there is an option to "enable recovery" or similar. I can't remember the exact name of it, but for some it is there.

Failing all that, you're nadgered. Flip the laptop over, write down your Microsoft Product Key, borrow the appropriate install disk and format and reinstall the old fashioned way.

[billybonzo]

Originally Posted by Uncle_Meat Are you sure the recovery partition is deaded? Go into Control Panel/Admin Tools/Computer Management/Disk Management and check for the hidden partition. Besides, on some Dells the option to access the recovery partition (usually F11 or CTRL-F11 at BIOS summary screen. Try those first as a matter of course.) is hidden. Go into BIOS (F2) and see if there is an option to "enable recovery" or similar. I can't remember the exact name of it, but for some it is there. Failing all that, you're nadgered. Flip the laptop over, write down your Microsoft Product Key, borrow the appropriate install disk and format and reinstall the old fashioned way.

Cheers UM, ive tried the f11 and it only gives the option to boot from HDD or CD/DVD ETC. In the control panel/ admin tools, it shows

(c:) partition/ basic/ NTFS / HEALTHY.

Does that make any sense ?

Cheers .

[billybonzo]

Ive also checked the BIOS and i cant see anything regarding partitions ?


When you say borrow the "correct install disks" how will i know which are the correct ones? sorry for all the questions but im in no way as computer literate as you my man.

[real red]

He means if you've got Windows XP Home installed, get the Windows XP Home install disks. You might have XP professional for example, or Windows 98 if it's old enough, or a version of Vista if you're a show-off.

[billybonzo]

Originally Posted by real red He means if you've got Windows XP Home installed, get the Windows XP Home install disks. You might have XP professional for example, or Windows 98 if it's old enough, or a version of Vista if you're a show-off.

As in, borrow the disks off somebody who has the same os ?

Sorry for being a dumb ass.

[real red]

Originally Posted by billybonzo As in, borrow the disks off somebody who has the same os ? Sorry for being a dumb ass.

Basically, yes. That won't install any of the extra stuff that came with the laptop though, say for example if it came with MS Works or anything like that.

[billybonzo]

Originally Posted by real red Basically, yes. That won't install any of the extra stuff that came with the laptop though, say for example if it came with MS Works or anything like that.

Cheers Real red, it came pretty much bog standard anyways.