Re: In plain English - how do you wipe these Dell partitions and restore points!?
- From: "Steve W." <no@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 21 Aug 2006 00:00:56 -0400
optech290@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx wrote:
Bob Levine <robjlevin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in news:rh1Gg.3702$E_.851
@trnddc06:
That is total crap. The Dell OEM CDs are effectively the same as any retail CD with possibly some Dell drivers and installation info so that it doesn't need to be activated.
Great. Now everything I read and responded to in the previous post is worthless!
Has anyone here ever rebooted from a Dell Dimension 3000 (recreated or restored using the Dell utility) OS disk?
Btw, the Dell system is programmed to remove the option to create the disk right after you burn it!
OK. Here are the OS restoration options that Dell has offered to home buyers in the US.
1 - Early Dell machines included a MS labeled OEM CD. This was the OS WITH NO OTHER ADDITIONS. They included CDs for the applications that were installed on the machine from the factory. These were also labeled by the respective manufacturers. So if you bought a machine with Windows 98 that had MS Office on it you got an MS branded OS disc, MS Office on CD(s) and a Dell drivers and utilities disc. That disc included any dell specific hardware drives and any trial software that was offered. If you wanted a clean system you do an FDISK and boot from the OEM CD and you have a machine running Win 98. They also did have a section of the drive that could be activated using the ZZTOP command which COULD restore the machine to complete OOB IF it didn't get corrupted or written over during normal use. It was not very reliable once the machine had been used for a couple weeks or so. This is why most people never knew about it and it was seldom used once a machine left the plant testing area.
2 - The next generation (like my Dim 8200) That were sold at the end of sales for ME came with a DELL LABELED system recovery disc. HOWEVER that disc is nothing special, it is MS Windows ME WITH a DELL folder added during install. That folder has in it the hardware drivers needed for the OS to function on the machine without a problem. NOTHING ELSE. I also received a full oem version of Office on CD as well as DVD software, a couple games and another DELL branded disc labeled System utilities. On that disc are the testing utilities and other Dell added software that on a NEW OOB system would be preloaded. The utilities are the same ones that are in the hidden partition on the drive. Want a clean OS only system FDISK and boot from the DELL recovery disc. You get a machine with ONLY ME on it. Some of these machines also had the ZZTOP command option BUT it was basically useless once the machine was used.
Part of the deal with the end of sales of ME for this period was that Dell would send you a copy of Win XP FREE as soon as it was available. I have mine still in the box. It consists of a DELL Labeled OEM XP Home disc, a dell Utilities/Drivers disc that has any updated drivers I would need for the machine to operate. Included was a full version of the DVD software for XP, an update CD for Office and a couple other updates for games. The XP disc is BIOS coded, It will install on a Dell box with NO ACTIVATION NEEDED. If you wanted to do an upgrade they included instructions which basically said toss the disc in the drive and follow the prompts. If you wanted a clean install of XP you just backed up your work, FDISKED the drive, dropped the XP disc in and installed XP, setting up the options as you went along. This disc like the ME disc would put a Dell folder in the tree BUT it has nothing in it until you use the Utilities/Drivers disc to load in the correct hardware drivers. They go in that folder. You end up with a bare XP Home machine. This disc WILL also install on a NON Dell machine ILLEGALLY, and it will require activation.
3 - The generation after this (starting with the 8250) included the same OEM XP disc in Home or Pro as they sent out earlier, EXCEPT they slipstreamed in the drivers so you didn't need to use the utilities disc unless you wanted to install them. These machines also had the hidden partition with the utilities on them which was blown away when you formatted the drive. On these machines you Formatted, dropped in the XP labeled disc and followed the prompts. When done you had a machine a bare OS on it. The applications were included on separate discs and you installed them as well. The software was ALL OEM so you didn't get books or manuals with them, those were included electronically or OTW.
4 - Later machines to present. (believe it was around the same time as XP-SP2 was released) Dell no longer includes the OS CD with the machine for free. It is now a 10 dollar option to buy the disc when you first configure the machine to order. Instead they have a utility included with the machine that allows you to burn a copy of XP for yourself as a backup. This is a one shot item that vanishes once you burn a copy. However if your burn fails OR the HD is DOA or you lose the CD Dell will USUALLY sell you a copy if your machine isn't that old. The Burned copy is the same as what they will sell you except the later disc may have some updated drivers depending on hardware sold at the time. Either one will install on a Dell box and give you a bare XP install, without needing to activate it. They still include application software and a utilities disc.
The last I had heard the OS discs were still included on the business side. Don't believe they had the burn it option.
Now contrast these options with Compaq/HP.
They offered 2 restore options for home buyers.
1 - a True restore disc that installed the OS AND all the factory bloatware. No option for an OS only install unless you bought a retail copy. Lose the discs and they would sell you a new set for about 25 bucks. They did include CDs for games and some apps if they were NOT MS products.
2 - Current option is to burn your own restore disc, which also includes all the factory crap. Failed burn? They will sell you a restore disc for about 35 dollars or so.
For businesses they would include the OS CD for a fee.
--
Steve W.
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