How do I reformat my Dell using recovery partition?

Question

My E310 Dimension Dell computer is in need of a hard drive sweep. It has an internal HD instead of the disks needed to reformat the computer back to its original state, and I forgot how to do it. I know you need to input a button at the start up screen, but I don't know which.

Help plz, thank you

Answer 1

This really depends on what operating system the system shipped with. This link will display instructions for both XP and Vista: http://support.dell.com/support/topics/g...

As per the link, if the system shipped with XP you will just need to press Ctrl and F11 at the Dell screen when the computer first turns on.

If the system shipped with Windows Vista:

"Restart the computer. To do this, click Start, click the arrow next to the Lock button, and then click Restart.

As the computer restarts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.

Note: You must press F8 before the Windows logo appears on the screen. If you press F8 after the Windows logo appears, the Advanced Boot Options menu does not appear on the screen. If you do not see the Advanced Boot Options menu, restart the computer, and then repeat this step until you see the menu on the screen.

Press the (Down Arrow) to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.

Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.

Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.

Click Dell Factory Image Restore.

In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.

Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.

Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.

When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer."

Please note that these types of restores will remove everything that has been installed/added (programs, data/files etc.) on the computer. These types of restores can be performed as many times as you like.

I hope this helps.

Answer 2

Every computer is different, but im pretty sure its f10. If not its f2 or f12.

good luck, if you dont get it go to the dell website.

Answer 3

As soon as you see the dell logo hit F-12.  It will then give you a boot menu at the bottom should be the recovery partition option.