F6 Drivers for Dell Dimension 5100
Justin
This is one of the Dells where they don't provide you with the CDs or
DVDs - just some sort of partition.
I want to do a CLEAN install of Windows XP Media Center 2005 edition -
the OS that came with the PC.
Is that even possible?
Do I have to order a DVD from dell for $40?
Daave
> Hi Folks, I have a Dell Dimension here that needs to be reformatted.
> This is one of the Dells where they don't provide you with the CDs or
> DVDs - just some sort of partition.
> I want to do a CLEAN install of Windows XP Media Center 2005 edition -
> the OS that came with the PC.
> Is that even possible?
I believe so. But you would need to obtain a generic MCE installation
disk of XP first. If you are able to do this, then you can get all your
drivers here:
But if you can't get this disk, hopefully you can restore from the
hidden partition. If you can do this, then you should uninstall the
trialware and crapware.
> Do I have to order a DVD from dell for $40?
No. Then again, if there is something wrong with the partition, you
might need to do this.
Justin
There is no recovery partition.
The recovery install files are integrated int he primary partition -
which have been infected with everything.
This is why I use a Mac.
Windows pays my salary but I use OSX to get work done.
Why does Dell do this? Save a whole $0.10 by not including a DVD?
Ben Myers
FWIW, enough Dell buyers have complained about the lack of
restore/install media that Dell has begun including the Win 7 install
DVD and driver CD with new systems it ships. My client with the Dell
laptops that won't connect to her US Robotics router got all the media
and did nothing special to get it, AFAIK.
If they choose not to provide the media, then they need to provide a
program to copy the restore partition to a DVD (or two or three) in a
format that can be used to reinstall. Lenovo does this, and the program
is there full time, i.e. it does not give the choice when you first
power on the computer and never again... Ben Myers
Daave
> On 12/28/2009 6:11 PM, Daave wrote:
>> Justin wrote:
>>> Hi Folks, I have a Dell Dimension here that needs to be reformatted.
>>> This is one of the Dells where they don't provide you with the CDs
>>> or DVDs - just some sort of partition.
>>> I want to do a CLEAN install of Windows XP Media Center 2005
>>> edition - the OS that came with the PC.
>>> Is that even possible?
>>
>> I believe so. But you would need to obtain a generic MCE installation
>> disk of XP first. If you are able to do this, then you can get all
>> your drivers here:
>>
>> http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/driverslist.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=gen&ServiceTag=&SystemID=DIMENSION%205100&os=WW1&osl=en&catid=&impid=
>>
>> But if you can't get this disk, hopefully you can restore from the
>> hidden partition. If you can do this, then you should uninstall the
>> trialware and crapware.
>>
>>> Do I have to order a DVD from dell for $40?
>>
>> No. Then again, if there is something wrong with the partition, you
>> might need to do this.
>>
>>
>
> There is no recovery partition.
> The recovery install files are integrated int he primary partition -
> which have been infected with everything.
In your original post, you said there was "some sort of partition."
Check the disk structure. There should be a hidden recovery partition,
separate from the partition with the infection. Pressing Ctrl+F11
immediately after turning on the PC should get you there.
Otherwise, contact Dell and purchase the correct media.
Yes, I agree with you it's a hassle!
Justin
Gotcha.
unfortunately its too late for me - the machine I'm woerking is about
fouryears old and the client can't afford another one. I'm going to
post about another problem in afew minutes.
I downloaded an install DVD via torrents - which I hate doing.
Not only that but Media Center absolutely sucks. buggy, unstable and
just plain pathetic.
I keep an OEM serial number from discarded machines for this reason.
Justin
It was not a recovery partition - I don't know what it was but at ten
megs it wasn't anything usable.
Daave
Yeah, 10MB is small. Perhaps that was the diagnostics partition. The DSR
partition is around 4GB, I think. You did check Disk Management, right?
In the event you somehow missed it and it does exist (I doubt it,
though), here is some helpful info:
http://www.goodells.net/dellrestore/fixes.htm
I assume the Dell had originally shipped with this partition and the
user deleted it along the way.
It's a shame you don't know someone who has a Dell-branded XP MCE
installation disk; that would be perfect.
If Dell is of no help, it looks like restoredisks.com is selling that
particular restore disk for $35.99. Then again, I don't know if it is a
branded XP reinstallation disk or an inferior PC restore disk.
Oh, and I just checked Ebay. There are two Dell DVDs for sale there. One
is for $26, including shipping. The other is going for $15 plus
shipping.
Father Justin
The drive is 80GB, the main partition is 75GB and change.
I love Dell. They gave him a slip of cardboard saying DVD media is
unneccessary.
The user didn't delete anything, the machine has been going for the past
four or so years and doesn't have the technical knowledge do do that.
Its out of warranty so contacting Dell is out of the question.
I got WinXP MCE off IRC - burned the DVD and scanned it with AVG and on
my mac with ClamXAV - its clean. That's what I used. I don't care how
many laws I broke thats the way it goes.
Daave
At first I thought, there is your 5GB hidden recovery partition!
Then I remembered a drive marketed as 80GB in reality is closer to
76.3GB (because marketing practices equate 80GB with 80,000,000,000
bytes). So if the main partition is 75GB and change, the remainder isn't
enough to contain an image of the main drive as shipped. The user
probably received instructions to create his own recovery media.
> I love Dell. They gave him a slip of cardboard saying DVD media is
> unneccessary.
> The user didn't delete anything, the machine has been going for the
> past four or so years and doesn't have the technical knowledge do do
> that. Its out of warranty so contacting Dell is out of the question.
Even if the PC is out of warranty, I'm fairly sure Dell would sell you
or the user a disk Someone else with experience could confirm or refute
this.
> I got WinXP MCE off IRC - burned the DVD and scanned it with AVG and
> on my mac with ClamXAV - its clean. That's what I used. I don't
> care how many laws I broke thats the way it goes.
Definitely less expensive than purchasing a DVD. :-)
I doubt you broke any laws. It may be technically illegal to *upload*
copyrighted intellectual property. But what you did is no different than
what I had suggested -- obtaining the installation media. The user
obviously has a license to run XP MCE on that particular Dell. My
biggest concern would be to avoid malware. Hopefully your AVG and
ClamXAV scans will suffice. It would be nice to compare the MD5 hash
value of this download with the MD5 value of an .iso of a known legit
copy of the DVD. I wonder if anyone here has a database. I have a
handful of Dell installation CDs (but these are XP Pro and Home, not
MCE). I wouldn't mind sharing the MD5 hashes if someone asks.