Many things can happen to your computer, from the accidental to the purposeful. Whatever the reason you have decided to restore the factory settings to your Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop, be sure to save your files first, because they will be deleted as part of the restore process. Restoring to factory settings will reinstall Windows, Dell proprietary utilities and drivers, other third party drivers and all default settings.
Step 1
Back up all of your data.
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Step 2
Remove all external peripheral devices, including USB-connected devices.
Step 3
Turn on the computer. If the computer is already on, reboot it.
Step 4
Press and hold “Ctrl-F11” simultaneously when the Dell splash screen appears. The “Dell PC Restore by Symantec” window will appear. Click “Restore.”
Step 5
Click “Confirm” at the warning message stating that all data will be lost. A progress window will appear. Once the installation process has finished, a message reading ”The system recovery process was successful” will appear.
Step 6
Click “Finish.” You have successfully restored the factory settings for Windows XP onto your Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop.
Step 7
Back up all of your data.
Step 8
Remove all external peripheral devices, including USB-connected devices.
Step 9
Turn on the computer. If the computer is already on, reboot it.
Step 10
Press the “F8” key when the computer starts. If you are successful, you will see the “Advanced Boot Menu.” If you see the Windows logo, then you were not successful and you will have to try again.
Step 11
Select the “Repair Your Computer” option and press the “Enter” key.
Step 12
Select the language you would prefer and click the “Next” button.
Step 13
Log in and press “OK.” You must have administrative access to perform this action. Only administrators are able to restore the computer to factory settings.
Step 14
Click “Dell Factory Image Restore.” The “Dell Factory Image Restore” window will appear. Click “Next.”
Step 15
Click the check box that states, “Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system to factory condition.” Click the “Next” button.
Step 16
Click “Finish” when the restore has finished. You have successfully restored the factory settings for Windows Vista onto your Dell Inspiron 6000 laptop.
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