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#1
I'm trying to factory reset my Laptop
I have a problem with my Dell Inspiron 15 that I bought in 2012 and lately it has been sluggish and slow so I plan on getting a new laptop sometime soon. I want to sell the current one and use that $ to go towards my new one but I don't feel comfortable selling it to a stranger without completely restoring it to factory settings.
This is where the problem comes in, I am getting the error "Windows 7 failed to start, Status: 0xc000000f". I searched it online and it seems to be effecting others by not allowing Windows to start up normally and log in. The difference is that I am able to login to the computer just fine to the home screen desktop and continue using it like normal.
I factory restored it multiple times in the first two years of owning it but its been three years since I last restored it to factory settings and in that time it seems Windows has gotten damaged some how. Dell computers come with a factory image that, in order to get to, needs to be accessed through advanced boot options (pressing or holding f8 when the manufacturer logo appears at startup) and selecting "repair your computer". When I select it however, I get the error message "Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause" and at the bottom of the screen it says "Status: 0xc000000f". I cannot do anything but restart the computer.
Another problem is that I no longer have the Windows installation disc that came with the computer that would easily fix this issue and unfortunately the optical drive of the laptop no longer works, though I do have an external one I have been using. Even though the Install disc is missing, I do have a Windows 7 system repair disk that I made but so far, nothing has worked from using it.
I suspect the damage to Windows occurred when I upgraded to windows 10 for free during the 1 year period between July 2015 - July 2016. I immediately reverted back to windows 7 when I learned that my audio hardware was incompatible with the Windows 10 OS. If someone could help me get to the "repair your computer" menu so I can access the factory image, I would be so grateful.