Does Dell have restore from partition?

[Dave D]

I'm going to reinstall widows for my neighbors daughters computer. She's got it contaminated with a bunch of crap and it would be easier at this point to do a reinstall of the os. Problem is they don't have the original cd's they got with the computer.

 

Can you restore a Dell from a partition like you can with HP's? And if I can't is there a way to find out the motherboard model # from within Windows so I can at least find out what chipset drivers I need?

 

I know they'd be better off with just windows and not all the Dell bloatware but I'm trying to save them some cash.

 

Thanks

 

I realize I could do a windows system restore but this computer is so screwed up I wouldn't trust what I'm restoring to.

[Mudcat007]

I have a new Dell and it didn't even come with a restore CD. There is a restore icon on the desktop, so I assume it is set up to restore from the partition.

[phaeton]

Computer OEMs are moving to this schtick now:

 

You buy the computer, it has the ISO files on the hdd for you to burn your own copy of the restore disk(s).

 

Sounds good on paper, but:

 

1) You only get once chance to do it- once the burning is complete, either success or failure, the iso gets deleted from the hdd.

 

2) The end user typically doesn't get any notification (or at least any obvious notification) that they need to do this.

 

Somewhere in the Start menu, i think in System Utilities there might be an unintuitive entry for "recovery" or "restore". Basically a small application that knows where to find the ISOs and the ability to step you through the burning process.

 

You can still order the restore disks from the manufacturer, but it's for a silly handling fee of about $20-$40, plus waiting for them to show up. You have to jump through a lot of hoops talking to the folks in Bangalore to prove you're a legit customer.

 

But it can be done. I've pulled it off with some HPs and a Sony. I don't know if Dell has gone to this approach yet or not, but I have ordered replacement media for a customer who lost theirs once.

 

Good luck.