Need Help With Win. 7

I would also recommend a Clean Install.. You are correct, I do not have any Windows 7 disc's. Recovery Partition on the HDD,?? where would I look..

I looked into doing a System Restore, only goes back to about a month..can't locate anything back later..

So where would I locate the Recovery Partition, to do a Clean Install..

 

The Dell inspiron 537s does have a recovery partition which can be reached by pressing Ctrl + F11 immediately after booting the computer.

After pressing Ctrl + F11 you should be offered two options. One will be For a destructive recovery. This option will return the computer back to the factory state. (All personal files and programs will be erased)

The second option will recover the computer and leave the personal files intact.


The option you need is the Destructive recovery

Press CTRL + F11 straight after booting the computer and follow the instructions given.

If there is anything you are not sure about, please ask...

 

I have rebooted this machine at least half dozen times, keep clicking CTRL + F11 I do not get what you are showing..Get the normal page showing what you want like safe mode, repair, etc..

Is there any other way of getting to the Destructive Recovery.

 

I don't have a Dell in front of me so cannot test this...But what I would suggest is choosing the Repair option from the screen you see.

Try this and let us know how it goes..

 

Tried the Repair. Get a screen giving me three choices, yet I can not do anything with either one of the choices.. Keeps telling me something missing.

 

Try hitting F12 at boot..

 

Does it tell you what is missing? If we cannot get that to work you may have to contact Dell and get a recovery disk from them. You will probably need to copy all the information on the stickers on the computer.

On the other hand it may be possible to get the missing (file, whatever) It seems like the recovery console may have been corrupted in some ay.

 

Windows failed to start Hardware or Software changes might be the cause.

info: the boot selection failed becuase a required device is inaccessible.

Right now I'm doing a backup to a DVD

Will wait till I see Debbie and see if she has the Restore Disc..

Or like you say get one from Dell..

 

That message leads me to believe that it is looking for a disk. To the best of my knowledge Dell did not supply a disk but has a recovery partition.

I am curious what your disk management shows.
Simply right click on "computer" on your desktop and select mange from the menu. When a new window opens select disk management from the choices on the left. Please send us a screenshot when it comes up. Thanks!

 

Sorry I see you already have. That does confirm the likelihood that there is no disk.

Since I have never used a dell recovery console I am not at all sure that I am on the right track here but can you go into your bios (setup) option and make certain that the boot or startup sequence is set so that the first item is the HDD rather than the cd/dvd drive.

Please keep in mind that you have done that in case you need to revert to a disk.

 

How do I get into the BIOS

 

I believe that F2 is the proper key for most Dell's. Just press it when the Dell splash screen comes up. It will also tell you on that screen which key top press of course by the time you read it you will be past it :snckr:

 

Sorry Barry F2 got me nothing, all the Bios says is Disable Enable, cannot get in to files..

I have contacted Dell Support requesting a Restore Disc. See if I get one..

 

You probably already know this, but just in case you don't....

When in the Bios you will not be able to use the mouse. But you can navigate through the different options by pressing the arrow keys on your keyboard. You can go from right to left or up and down.

To select an option press the Enter key on your keyboard.

For example you should be looking for the option "Boot Sequence" or maybe "Boot Order". Use the arrow keys to go to this option and then press the Enter key.

Then use the arrow keys again to select HDD. The methods of moving items in the boot menu alter from bios to bios, but they are often moved either up or down by using two of the F keys (Maybe F5 and F6). Sometimes items can be moved by using the PgUp and PgDn keys.

In any case it will tell you which method to use on the screen.

After making changes follow the instructions for saving the changes you have made. (This is often the F10 key)