I've done it before but can't remember how. I have a partition on my laptop and Windows 7 is installed on the D drive. I've also dumped a load of photos on there as well as the C drive was getting full. (I guess I may need to get rid of them fro the D drive before reformatting right?) Anyway, I want to get the machine back to how it was when I bought it. Everything is backed up. I've looked around online (there are TONS of pages about it) but most of them talking about inserting the CD. Well I don't have one and don't need one as it's installed on the partition right? If you could either tell me how to do it or point me to a link that does, I'd be very grateful.
You say everything is backed up but did you also backup your photos on D? Because everything will most likely be deleted.
What you are looking at is a factory reset/restore - check your laptop's manual - it is supposed to start with a key press during startup (may also be showing which key when you start the PC).
My Computer
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Build
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64 SP1
CPU
AMD Phenom 2 1090T
Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-890FXA-UD5
Memory
2x8GB Kingston HyperX Fury Black 1600Mhz Unganged
Graphics Card(s)
MSI GTX 970 Gaming 4G
Sound Card
Realtek On-Board HD 7.1 Audio / Logitech G35
Monitor(s) Displays
3xAcer GD245HQ
Screen Resolution
1920x1080
Hard Drives
Samsung 850 Pro 512GB SSD - OS /
WD Caviar Black SATA 3 - 1 TBx2 - Dynamic RAID 0 /
WD Caviar Green SATA 2 - 640GBx2 - Dynamic RAID 0 /
WD Caviar Green SATA 2 - 640GB - Internal Backup /
Seagate Barracude SATA 3 - 3TB - External Backup/ Sync
PSU
HighPower 1000W
Case
Cooler Master HAF 932
Cooling
Noctua NH-D14
Keyboard
Logitech G19
Mouse
Logitech G500
Internet Speed
100/4 Mbit Cable (100GB quota)
Antivirus
ZoneAlarm Extreme Security / MBAM Pro / MBAE Free / SAS Free
Fill out your System Specs, especially the manufacturer and full model number of the PC. With that we can check the online Users Guide to see how to start the restore to factory state.
My Computer
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Lenovo IdeaCenter 450
OS
Windows 10 Pro X64
CPU
Intel Quad Core i7-4770 @ 3.4Ghz
Memory
16.0GB PC3-12800 DDR3 SDRAM 1600 MHz
Graphics Card(s)
Intel Integrated HD Graphics
Sound Card
Realtek HD Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
HP 22" LCD
Screen Resolution
1680 x 1050
Hard Drives
250GB Samsung EVO SATA-3 SSD
2TB Seagate ST2000DM001 SATA-2
1.5TB Seagate ST3150041AS SATA
