Computer complete system recovery for a dell dimension 3000?

Question

i a trying to do a complete system recovery so it is like brand new when i first bought it its my dell dimension 3000 but it isn't working correctly it wont wipe the hard drive and wont do a system recovery but when i want to install windows it wants to install it where it alrady is all though it should alreaady be wiped out note that u can not log on it erased enough to make sure of that but would unplugging ur hard drive several monthsago matter and where should we go from here any help would be greatly appreciated we have the disc and everything we have restored it ar a previous time so we are j ust confused maybe step by step instuctuions anything please

Answer 1

k, where i think you're getting crossed up is after the install disc looks for a previous windows install and it finds the one thats already there..

at this point you can press escape, which should bring you to the drive selection screen.. make sure the c drive is highlighted, press D, then follow the other directions to remove the partition.. repeat as needed with any other unwanted partitions. if the C drive was the only partition, you should be able to hit enter, it will ask how you want the drive formatted (ntfs quick is generally the fastest), and let it go to work. follow whatever prompts come up along the way and you should be fine..

make sure you have that dell driver disc in case the XP disc doesnt have them all.. then be prepared for a load of updates