If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
I don't know if I was clear in a previous post, but I want a clean reformat
and reinstall on a Dell Dimension 3000. I haven't bought a Dell in years and this is a friend's unit. I'm just getting into their method of loading an XP OS, and as I stated before, I can't boot from the system created OS backup CD-rom (no matter how often I change the BIOS settings). I"m not even sure the MS site download for creating a set of floppy boot disks will work with Dell's series of tools and utilites. All I want is a nice simple install with a set of programs of my choosing and none of Dell's utilities (and spyware). (Please excuse the crosspost. After reading the Dell forums and seeing how many experienced users have problems with this Dell interface, boot up OS disks and OS setup), I thought it might be useful to have as many responses as possible for future net searches). Whatever happened to the days when you would load your own OS and they provided the disks. Can you request it? Don't they charge extra for the bloated utility and restore partition load they send out now? Please don't tell me that McAfee's memory intensive, resource heavy software suite is pre-loaded, too? |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
FDISK from a win98 boot disk. Delete everything.
Then just put the XP cd in, reload windows, and start from scratch. Download the drivers from dell when you are done. www.bootdisk.com has boot disk for all boot media. wrote: I don't know if I was clear in a previous post, but I want a clean reformat and reinstall on a Dell Dimension 3000. I haven't bought a Dell in years and this is a friend's unit. I'm just getting into their method of loading an XP OS, and as I stated before, I can't boot from the system created OS backup CD-rom (no matter how often I change the BIOS settings). I"m not even sure the MS site download for creating a set of floppy boot disks will work with Dell's series of tools and utilites. All I want is a nice simple install with a set of programs of my choosing and none of Dell's utilities (and spyware). (Please excuse the crosspost. After reading the Dell forums and seeing how many experienced users have problems with this Dell interface, boot up OS disks and OS setup), I thought it might be useful to have as many responses as possible for future net searches). Whatever happened to the days when you would load your own OS and they provided the disks. Can you request it? Don't they charge extra for the bloated utility and restore partition load they send out now? Please don't tell me that McAfee's memory intensive, resource heavy software suite is pre-loaded, too? |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
|
#5
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
DJ , the stuffed mechanician, sent out:
FDISK from a win98 boot disk. BWHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHA! You ****witted ****. What if the machine has, say, NTFS partitions that are logical drives on extended partitions? Then what, **** for ****ing brains? Delete everything. Then just put the XP cd in, reload windows, and start from scratch. Download the drivers from dell when you are done. www.bootdisk.com has boot disk for all boot media. wrote: I don't know if I was clear in a previous post, but I want a clean reformat and reinstall on a Dell Dimension 3000. I haven't bought a Dell in years and this is a friend's unit. I'm just getting into their method of loading an XP OS, and as I stated before, I can't boot from the system created OS backup CD-rom (no matter how often I change the BIOS settings). I"m not even sure the MS site download for creating a set of floppy boot disks will work with Dell's series of tools and utilites. All I want is a nice simple install with a set of programs of my choosing and none of Dell's utilities (and spyware). (Please excuse the crosspost. After reading the Dell forums and seeing how many experienced users have problems with this Dell interface, boot up OS disks and OS setup), I thought it might be useful to have as many responses as possible for future net searches). Whatever happened to the days when you would load your own OS and they provided the disks. Can you request it? Don't they charge extra for the bloated utility and restore partition load they send out now? Please don't tell me that McAfee's memory intensive, resource heavy software suite is pre-loaded, too? -- alt.usenet.kooks - Pierre Salinger Memorial Hook, Line & Sinker: September 2005 and April 2006 ObHint: Just because you argue with a notorious ****wit netk0oK, it does not necessarily follow that you are not also a ****wit netk0oK. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
"DJ" wrote in news:1156052966.690649.133210@
75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com: FDISK from a win98 boot disk. Delete everything. Then just put the XP cd in, reload windows, and start from scratch. Download the drivers from dell when you are done. www.bootdisk.com has boot disk for all boot media. I'm going to try that. The only thing that worries me is this recreated Dell OS system disk. If I can't boot up now from it and the autorun feature only activates after boot up, who's to say I'll be able to do a reinstall. Can someone check their XP OS disk and see what file BIOS recognizes at bootup that allows it to boot from the cd-rom? |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions andrestore points!?
you still dont get it,
the hidden boot sector on the cd rom is missing. it is not bootable. you cant do what you expect. you need to boot from a windows cd to install it. get another cd, or try making it again. wrote: "DJ" wrote in news:1156052966.690649.133210@ 75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com: FDISK from a win98 boot disk. Delete everything. Then just put the XP cd in, reload windows, and start from scratch. Download the drivers from dell when you are done. www.bootdisk.com has boot disk for all boot media. I'm going to try that. The only thing that worries me is this recreated Dell OS system disk. If I can't boot up now from it and the autorun feature only activates after boot up, who's to say I'll be able to do a reinstall. Can someone check their XP OS disk and see what file BIOS recognizes at bootup that allows it to boot from the cd-rom? |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
Yes, you have to understand that if you don't want nothin of the Dell O.S.
installed, then you need to get / buy a Window CD from the store. If you use the Dell OEM Windows CD's, you will get all that stuff you are trying to avoid. But any unwanted software can be unistalled later. Some PC's have a hidden partition that has a dos restore program. This hidden program then instructs you to provide the cd's in numerical order so that the system partition can be rebuilt. To access the hidden partition, you need to press somekind of f key during the booting. The instructions should be found at the Dell site. If you simply cannot get beyond the cmos/bios screen, then you need to obtain emergency boot up disks from another computer. Then use them to repair or setup your harddrive. If by chance the hidden drive was wiped away, you may want to download the restore program from dell via another pc that can help restore the hd with the cd's. But I think it is unlikely that the hidden drive was wiped away, as an "extra and specialized effort has to be made to do this. As a temporary fix, you could use another windows cd to setup the computer. Because you should not activate it, you will have a limited number of times that it is usuable before it stops functioning. This can provide you with the ability to get the harddrive back into its original state with the OEM you have..... (If you use this method, be sure not to be connected to the internet when installing someones elses cd to repair your oem version) Hopes this provides additional fyi with everyone elses...... wrote in message ... I don't know if I was clear in a previous post, but I want a clean reformat and reinstall on a Dell Dimension 3000. I haven't bought a Dell in years and this is a friend's unit. I'm just getting into their method of loading an XP OS, and as I stated before, I can't boot from the system created OS backup CD-rom (no matter how often I change the BIOS settings). I"m not even sure the MS site download for creating a set of floppy boot disks will work with Dell's series of tools and utilites. All I want is a nice simple install with a set of programs of my choosing and none of Dell's utilities (and spyware). (Please excuse the crosspost. After reading the Dell forums and seeing how many experienced users have problems with this Dell interface, boot up OS disks and OS setup), I thought it might be useful to have as many responses as possible for future net searches). Whatever happened to the days when you would load your own OS and they provided the disks. Can you request it? Don't they charge extra for the bloated utility and restore partition load they send out now? Please don't tell me that McAfee's memory intensive, resource heavy software suite is pre-loaded, too? |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions andrestore points!?
DatabaseBen wrote:
Yes, you have to understand that if you don't want nothin of the Dell O.S. installed, then you need to get / buy a Window CD from the store. If you use the Dell OEM Windows CD's, you will get all that stuff you are trying to avoid. But any unwanted software can be unistalled later. Some PC's have a hidden partition that has a dos restore program. This hidden program then instructs you to provide the cd's in numerical order so that the system partition can be rebuilt. That is total crap. The Dell OEM CDs are effectively the same as any retail CD with possibly some Dell drivers and installation info so that it doesn't need to be activated. To access the hidden partition, you need to press somekind of f key during the booting. The instructions should be found at the Dell site. If you simply cannot get beyond the cmos/bios screen, then you need to obtain emergency boot up disks from another computer. Then use them to repair or setup your harddrive. If by chance the hidden drive was wiped away, you may want to download the restore program from dell via another pc that can help restore the hd with the cd's. But I think it is unlikely that the hidden drive was wiped away, as an "extra and specialized effort has to be made to do this. As a temporary fix, you could use another windows cd to setup the computer. Because you should not activate it, you will have a limited number of times that it is usuable before it stops functioning. This can provide you with the ability to get the harddrive back into its original state with the OEM you have..... (If you use this method, be sure not to be connected to the internet when installing someones elses cd to repair your oem version) Hopes this provides additional fyi with everyone elses...... I just nobody believed any of it. Bob |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
Yeah, I can't believe how little is known about Dell. Dell XP is XP.
Period. "Bob Levine" wrote in message news:rh1Gg.3702$E_.851@trnddc06... DatabaseBen wrote: Yes, you have to understand that if you don't want nothin of the Dell O.S. installed, then you need to get / buy a Window CD from the store. If you use the Dell OEM Windows CD's, you will get all that stuff you are trying to avoid. But any unwanted software can be unistalled later. Some PC's have a hidden partition that has a dos restore program. This hidden program then instructs you to provide the cd's in numerical order so that the system partition can be rebuilt. That is total crap. The Dell OEM CDs are effectively the same as any retail CD with possibly some Dell drivers and installation info so that it doesn't need to be activated. To access the hidden partition, you need to press somekind of f key during the booting. The instructions should be found at the Dell site. If you simply cannot get beyond the cmos/bios screen, then you need to obtain emergency boot up disks from another computer. Then use them to repair or setup your harddrive. If by chance the hidden drive was wiped away, you may want to download the restore program from dell via another pc that can help restore the hd with the cd's. But I think it is unlikely that the hidden drive was wiped away, as an "extra and specialized effort has to be made to do this. As a temporary fix, you could use another windows cd to setup the computer. Because you should not activate it, you will have a limited number of times that it is usuable before it stops functioning. This can provide you with the ability to get the harddrive back into its original state with the OEM you have..... (If you use this method, be sure not to be connected to the internet when installing someones elses cd to repair your oem version) Hopes this provides additional fyi with everyone elses...... I just nobody believed any of it. Bob |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Fresh install on E1505 is worth it | journey | Dell Computers | 19 | May 10th 06 04:39 PM |
Disk defragmentation - is it worth it? | Rob Nicholson | Storage (alternative) | 56 | February 24th 06 11:52 PM |
Will DriveImageXML and Dell hidden partitions | prizm1 | Storage (alternative) | 10 | November 24th 05 04:40 PM |
Software to backup the operating system on drive C | Brian | Storage (alternative) | 18 | October 22nd 04 01:24 AM |
OK to disable sys restore point for other partitions? | sammy | Storage (alternative) | 2 | April 7th 04 01:42 PM |