how to reset a dell notebook laptop (no disk drive) to factory settings?

[Gareth]

I've sold a dell inspiron mini v10 running windows xp and i want to reset it to factory settings. and by that i mean everything deleted with nothing left on the laptop other than what it came with when we bought it. i have read things about using a disk to do this but as its a notebook type laptop, it doesn't come with one

[simon]

If the Windows OS is working ok you don't want to do that. There may be no recovery partition anyway. so it may not be possible without a disk.

Just create a new profile and rename the other profiles to .old after disabling them in user manager. if there is a problem do it anyway command line type SFC /SCANNOW that will check for windows errors.

[steve_loir]

Check in the manual for a factory reset. The manual will be on the computer somewhere if you do not have a hardcopy. Or you can download one from Dell.

Many Dells can be reset by pressing Ctrl F11 on startup.

[Dell Inc.]

Hello Gareth,
My name is Krishna and I work for the Social Media and Community Team at Dell. If your restore partition is intact, you should be able to restore your computer's software back to factory settings without using any discs.

For instructions, please visit http://support.dell.com/support/topics/g...egacy=true


Regards,
Dell-Kris K
Dell Social Media and Communities

[Rossana]

Instructions
1
Connect the external hard drive to the computer and backup any essential programs, files, documents, photos or other data on the computer's hard drive as the restore process will erase all the data stored to the disk. Insert the cable from the hard drive into one of the USB ports on the Dell. A folder will appear on the desktop associated with the external hard drive. Copy and paste any of the files you want to save into the folder. Right-click on the hard-drive folder and click "Eject" after you have copied all the files you want to save from the computer. Remove the hard drive's cable

2
Remove any external hardware devices from the computer as they may be damaged during the restore process. Disconnect any scanners, USB drives, external hard drives, flash drives, scanners, printers or MP3 players.


3
Restart the computer and press the "F8" key during the boot process to open the "Advanced Boot Options Menu." Use the arrow keys to select "Repair Your Computer" and press "Enter." The Windows Recovery Environment will open.

4
Click "Next" in the the first System Recovery Options screen and click on " Backup and Recovery Manager." Choose the " Factory Image" in the list of backups (this is the factory default condition) and click "Next." Click "Next" in the Restore System window to begin the restore process.

5
Click the "Finish" button in the "Congratulations" notification that appears to restart your computer with the factory defaults restored.