"Repair Your Computer" option not working (restoring factory backup)

[gogregerson]

"Repair Your Computer" option not working (restoring factory backup)

I have a Dell Studio 1440 with Win 7 home premium 64bit. I want to use the built-in recovery but after pressing F8, I click on Repair Your Computer and Windows 7 begins to load instead of going to the recovery GUI. I am trying to restore the system to it's factory settings and it had worked approximately two years ago but now it won't. I do not have a recovery disc because there is no optical disc in this machine.
Any Suggestions?
After reading previous threads I opened the elevated command prompt and ran c:\bcd.txt and got:

Windows Boot Manager
--------------------
identifier {bootmgr}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
description Windows Boot Manager
locale en-us
inherit {globalsettings}
default {current}
resumeobject {044b56e0-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
displayorder {current}
toolsdisplayorder {memdiag}
timeout 30
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {current}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows 7
locale en-us
inherit {bootloadersettings}
recoverysequence {044b56e2-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
recoveryenabled Yes
osdevice partition=C:
systemroot \Windows
resumeobject {044b56e0-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
nx OptIn
bootstatuspolicy IgnoreShutdownFailures
Windows Boot Loader
-------------------
identifier {044b56e2-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
device ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\winre.wim,{044b56e3-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
path \windows\system32\winload.exe
description Windows Recovery Environment
inherit {bootloadersettings}
osdevice ramdisk=[\Device\HarddiskVolume2]\Recovery\WindowsRE\winre.wim,{044b56e3-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
systemroot \windows
nx OptIn
winpe Yes
Resume from Hibernate
---------------------
identifier {044b56e0-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
device partition=C:
path \Windows\system32\winresume.exe
description Windows Resume Application
locale en-US
inherit {resumeloadersettings}
filedevice partition=C:
filepath \hiberfil.sys
debugoptionenabled No
Windows Memory Tester
---------------------
identifier {memdiag}
device partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
path \boot\memtest.exe
description Windows Memory Diagnostic
locale en-US
inherit {globalsettings}
badmemoryaccess Yes
EMS Settings
------------
identifier {emssettings}
bootems Yes
Debugger Settings
-----------------
identifier {dbgsettings}
debugtype Serial
debugport 1
baudrate 115200
RAM Defects
-----------
identifier {badmemory}
Global Settings
---------------
identifier {globalsettings}
inherit {dbgsettings}
{emssettings}
{badmemory}
Boot Loader Settings
--------------------
identifier {bootloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
{hypervisorsettings}
Hypervisor Settings
-------------------
identifier {hypervisorsettings}
hypervisordebugtype Serial
hypervisordebugport 1
hypervisorbaudrate 115200
Resume Loader Settings
----------------------
identifier {resumeloadersettings}
inherit {globalsettings}
Device options
--------------
identifier {044b56e3-12ae-11df-adcc-df06ce43f584}
description Ramdisk Options
ramdisksdidevice partition=\Device\HarddiskVolume2
ramdisksdipath \Recovery\WindowsRE\boot.sdi

 

[nckfrtg28]

Do you still have the recovery partition still? Also is it hidden?

 

[gogregerson]

Do you still have the recovery partition still? Also is it hidden?

That I don't know. How or where do I look to find out?

 

[nckfrtg28]

Do you still have the recovery partition still? Also is it hidden?

That I don't know. How or where do I look to find out?

Go to Disk management and see if their is a drive called recovery. If you do make sure it has a drive letter. If you don't have a drive called that then that recovery option won't work.

 

[gogregerson]

It looks like there is not a drive letter. How do I assign one?

 

[nckfrtg28]

Okay now you would need to set a drive letter for it. Left click on it and hit "change drive letter and paths" and then try the recovery option.

 

[gogregerson]

All right, it is now assigned (D). I'll reboot and try it out.

 

[gogregerson]

So, I tried it again and no dice. I used F8 on bootup and got the advanced boot option page. I selected "Repair Your Computer" and hit enter. The next screen that came up showed "Windows is loading flies..." then it went to the Windows 7 startup and logged me in. No repair screen.
What do I do now?

 

[Britton30]

Hi gogregerson, the Recovery Partition does not need or require a drive letter. It has been left off so Windows won't try writing to it and damaging it. Remove the drive letter.
When you are booting up, on the POST screen there should be a list of keys to press for options. Using F8 gets you into the Windows repair options, not Dell's. Usually for a Dell you press F11 or F10 to access the recovery area. This will also reinstall all factory bloatware.

A better option which has been used successfully is http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/151566-reinstalling-windows-7-a-6.html#post1300819. Save all of your personal data to some external device first.

 

[nckfrtg28]

Has windows ever be re installed before on that computer?

 

[gogregerson]

Has windows ever be re installed before on that computer?

No, Windows has not been reinstalled.

 

[gregrocker]

Make sure you are following the steps exactly in Restoring Your Dell Computer´s Software to the Factory Settings .

If you have lost the Dell Recovery options on F8 System Recovery Options menu then you can try to restore the link this way: Dell Recovery Partition - restoring F8 link

If this fails you can create a boot manager to try to boot the Recovery partition as shown here: http://www.sevenforums.com/installation-setup/225633-accessing-my-restore-partition.html#post1905326

If these all fail then you can order Recovery Disks from Dell, or get a superior Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 - everything you need is in the link.