How to restore my DELL lappie to the factory image?

[jumanji]

Well, DELL M101z (Inspiron 1120) manual says Press F8 when the DELL logo appears, to bring the Advanced Boot Options.

When I do that ( I have tried a hundred times) it does not happen and the lappie merrily goes on to the first screen to select Ubuntu light or Windows 7 - by default boots into Windows 7 after 5 seconds. (This lappie is one of the few that comes with Ubuntu light preinstalled by the manufacturers. So I have not done anything with the MBR)

Here is the screenshot showing the OEM (FAT16), Recovery,System,Linux partitions.

How do I invoke Factory Image Restore?

(When I press F8 just as Windows starts after 5 seconds, I do get the Advanced Boot Options that only brings the usual Sytem Image Restore and not the Factory Image Restore)

 

[theog]

How to use Dell Recovery Partition,make Recovery Disks & how to order Recovery Disks.
Dell - Support

To restore your computer to the original factory installation, follow these steps:

Turn on the computer, after the Dell Logo appears and then disappears repeatedly press the <F8> key until you see the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Are you repeatedly press the <F8>?

 

[TVeblen]

You may need to highlight Windows 7 and then press F8 again:

 

[jumanji]

My lappie does not have DELL Datasafe local. So no possibility of making recovery disks.

1.The only possible thing as per the manual is to restore it to factory image, by repeatedly pressing F8 when DELL logo appears and then select DELL Factory Image Restore and yes I had repeatedly pressed F8 but it does not take cognizance of it and gets on to the next screen.

2. As I said there is only the first screen with Ubuntu Light icon and Windows 7 icon. By default Windows 7 icon is highlighted and after 5 seconds Windows 7 boots. (There is no Windows Boot Manager Screen as we normally see)

If at the time Windows 7 boots I press F8 repeatedly it does take me to the Advanced Boot Options, but the screen that comes is the one we normally get "Restore from a system Image"( an image taken by me) and not "DELL Factory Image Restore" which should be the item to appear in-lieu, to restore it from the recovery partition.

 

[writhziden]

My lappie does not have DELL Datasafe local. So no possibility of making recovery disks.

1.The only possible thing as per the manual is to restore it to factory image, by repeatedly pressing F8 when DELL logo appears and yes I had repeatedly pressed F8 but it does not take cognizance of it and gets on to the next screen.

2. As I said there is only the first screen with Ubuntu Light icon and Windows 7 icon. By default Windows 7 icon is highlighted and after 5 seconds Windows 7 boots. (There is no Windows Boot Manager Screen as we normally see)

If at the time Windows 7 boots I press F8 repeatedly it does take me to the Advanced Boot Options, but the screen that comes is the one we normally get "Restore from a system Image"( an image taken by me) and not "DELL Factory Image Restore" which should be the item to appear in-lieu, to restore it from the recovery partition.

TVEblen hit the nail on the head on this one. Try his suggestion. You want to get to the typical Windows 7 repair screen, which you can do on a multi-OS machine after you move your selection to the Windows 7 option (without actually hitting enter to start Windows) and then hit F8. If you have a different boot options screen, you may have to select the Windows 7 option and hit enter and then IMMEDIATELY hit F8. I know the Windows boot option requires you to select the Windows 7 option, then hit F8, and then hit enter.

 

[TVeblen]

The other thing I'm looking at is "when the Dell logo appears". The logo appears before the BIOS executes it's boot sequence, long before it hands off to the OS.

You could also try repeatedly pressing the F8 key immediately after pressing the power button, or just at the time you anticipate the Dell logo to come up, and continue pressing repeatedly it until the logo disappears.

 

[theog]

Your Recovery Partition looks be OK.

Creating Your System Recovery Discs with Dell DataSafe Local Backup 2.0 | Dell



The Dell doc is dated 2009,
Do you have a download link to your manual?

 

[jumanji]

Yes theog. The setup guide here http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insm101z/en/sg/sg_en.pdf

Pages 55,56 and 57 not applicable since my lappie does not have Dell DataSafe Local Backup. Page 58: Dell Factory Image Restore.

I presume that I should actually get a screen like in the screenshot below, which I am unable to get. (picked up from here )



If I continue hitting F8, as windows starts I do get the usual System Recovery Option " System Image Recovery - Recover your computer using a system image you created earlier " and this is of no use to me.

TVeblen and writhziden may also please note. (Sorry to repeat the same thing again and again but inescapable for a better appreciation of the problem)

 

[writhziden]

Yes theog. The setup guide here http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insm101z/en/sg/sg_en.pdf

Pages 55,56 and 57 not applicable since my lappie does not have Dell DataSafe Local Backup. Page 58: Dell Factory Image Restore.

I presume that I should actually get a screen like in the screenshot below, which I am unable to get. (picked up from here )

View attachment 186110

If I continue hitting F8, as windows starts I do get the usual System Recovery Option " System Image Recovery - Recover your computer using a system image you created earlier " and this is of no use to me.

TVeblen and writhziden may also please note. (Sorry to repeat the same thing again and again but inescapable for a better appreciation of the problem)

Very odd. Have you tried contacting Dell? Perhaps the recovery sequence is different for a multiple boot system. You could try methods for other vendors (Alt+F10, Alt+F11, F4) when the system first powers on.

 

[jumanji]

OK, I am still experimenting. Signing off for the day.

 

[TVeblen]

Yes, we are being a bit thick aren't we. Sorry.

I like where writhziden is going. The typical Dell methods to invoke System Recovery on other systems is to press F10 or F11, and on some it is CTRL+F11.
You do this straight away - before the logo.

And if it were me I would be using the command prompt from System Recovery to root around inside that recovery partition to try and find an executable file, using DOS commands.

 

[theog]

May 2010 P/N 7R3VH Rev. A00

You will require the following to create the system recovery media:
Dell DataSafe Local Backup
USB key with a minimum capacity of 8 GB or DVD-R/DVD+R/Blu-ray Disc
NOTE: Dell DataSafe Local Backup does not support rewritable discs.

When I do that ( I have tried a hundred times) it does not happen and the lappie merrily goes on to the first screen to select Ubuntu light or Windows 7 - by default boots into Windows 7 after 5 seconds. (This lappie is one of the few that comes with Ubuntu light preinstalled by the manufacturers. So I have not done anything with the MBR)

Also the manual for Windows only install. May be a out of date manual.

 

[writhziden]

I was just reading through the manual for that product, and I noticed the following: "Dell Factory Image Restore may not be available in certain countries or on certain computers"

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/insM101z/en/sg/sg_en.pdf

See pages 55-59

 

[theog]

Yes, that manual looks odd.

 

[jumanji]

Yes, this manual is dated May 2010.

An attendum sheet dated Dec 2010 that came with my printed Manual says about Ubuntu light installed, its features and how to enable/disable it as a startup option.(Ubuntu Light can be invoked from Windows Start Menu).

I got the lappie in March 2011 from Dell, U.S.A. through a friend in U.S.A. and not Dell, India.

I disabled Ubuntu from the Startup Option so that it boots straight into Windows and tried F8 on power-on DELL logo. Still no joy.

A reading of the manual indicates that where they provide the Dell DataSafe Local Backup in the lappie to make the recovery disks, a recovery partition may not be there. If not, one has to use the Dell Factory Image Restore from the recovery partition.

Curious, I explored the Recovery partition. (screenshot). The Recovery folder in it contains 1. System 32/Recovery/ReAgent.xml and 2. WindowsRe/boot.sdi and winre.wim.



So I believe the necessary stuff for restoration is there. Or am I wrong?

 

[writhziden]

jumanji, I believe this applies to your above post Guide to Making a Dell System Restore DVD
Especially the part about the factory .wim file

Edit: see post #4

 

[jumanji]

^ good reference though dated but beyond my comprehension. From an user's perspective restoring to the factory condition should only be a click-through process not requiring him to know anything about WAIK,WinPE, imagex .wim and all that jazz.

As TVeblen rightly guessed and stated it is a preboot process (just like F12 brings the bootmenu). The repeated F8 press during this stage, should actually boot into recovery partition and invoke the WinRE. For some reason it is not doing that though winre.wim and boot.sdi are present in the recovery partition.

After the first run in March/April 11 and the initial windows setup, I had indeed imaged the complete hard drive with Paragon Recovery CD booting from a pendrive. Restored my lappie to that virgin state and tried. Again no joy. So something was amiss even as it was delivered and I failed to check it.

So unless someone gives a categorical fix for this, I shall now put it in the backburner. Even if the suggested fix mucks up the recovery partition, it shouldn't matter for I can always restore it from the backups.

 

[Mark Phelps]

Just a thought ... presuming the 5GB partition contains Ubuntu Lite, did you shrink down your Win7 OS partition to install Ubuntu there? IF so, the restore may be failing either because (1) that partition is there (where Win7 SHOULD be), or (2) the Win7 partition is too small.

If you really want Win7 back, you could try removing the Ubuntu Lite partition, resizing Win7 to fill the space -- and then seeing if the Restore works.

 

[jumanji]

Nope, Ubuntu Light came preinstalled. I have not done any crime.

Another thought that is running in my mind. Whether the Boot Manager will automatically failover to Windows RE when Windows 7 is unable to boot and not until then.

 

[theog]

Nope, Ubuntu Light came preinstalled. I have not done any crime.

:roflmao::roflmao: