Re: Windows Vista Ultimate Dell OEM Utorrent
Demetria Dobbin
I'm having real trouble in restoring my Dell Inspiron 530 to factory settings. I've done this before on other machines with ease, but this one is proving really difficult. I'm running Windows Vista. Reason for reformatting is the machine is starting to run really slowly. Virus checks etc show nothing so I think it's just time for a cleanup.
If the Dell recovery partition is corrupted and unuseable you will have to do a manual install. There is no Dell "recovery" disc, just the Operating System DVD and the Drivers and Utility disc that you note you have. There may be some updated drivers on the Dell downloads, but use the supplied disc initially and then if you want to upgrade any drivers download and install them AFTER everything is working properly again. I530 Vista Downloads
HERE is the Dell manual install procedure. Before you do the actual complete reinstall, back up your user data to either an external hard drive or to CD's as part of the procedure is to reformat the hard drive. (DO NOT skip the Intel chipset drivers install sequence as that is key to a successful install).
My question is; is restoring the machine to factory settings the same as reinstalling Windows Vista? I have already done this once and it left a 'backup' of the old version (called windows.old) on the system. Leads me to thinking that just reinstalling Windows isn't enough?
The proper "reinstallation" is to reformat the hard drive and reinstall everything, not just install Windows on a different folder or over top of an existing install as the same problems can still be there.
The "correct" and required install sequence for a successful install (disconnect any peripherals before starting) is (1) Install Windows (2) Install Dell System Software (3) Install Intel Chipset Drivers (4) Install Device Drivers such as the Dell Sound Drivers (not some other sound drivers), Video, ethernet, etc. After the install and all is working you can then reinstall your peripherals (e.g. printer) and install the applications programs (Programs must be installed they can't be copied over like user data).
What would be the standard procedure to reformat to factory settings with a system set up like mine? (where you cannot access F8, Cntrl F11). I'm curious as to how Dell expect you to reformat without being able to access these. I'm pretty confident the .wim file isn't corrupted (I haven't gone near it since I bought the computer) so how would one go about being able to use that file? It's effectively useless without being able to access it through Windows or through F8/F11. as far as I can see.
WERE DO I GET THE CHIPSET DRIVER DISC, ALL I HAVE IS THE WINDOWS VISTA, DELL DRIVERS AND UTILITIES DISC PLEASE HELP ME, IM HAVING THE SAME PROBLEM AND IM NOT VERY GOOD ABOUT THIS STUFF, SO I DONT WANT TO SCREW UP. YOU SEEM TO KNOW WHAT YOUR TALKING ABOUT.AND WHAT DO TOU MEAN BACK UP USER DATA. PLEASE CONTACT ME < ADMIN NOTE : Email id and phone no removed per privacy policy >
sjwmobile and firebird, I, too, have the same computer as sjwmobile, but I have a windows 7 upgrade disk as well. My biggest problem is my wmp12. No matter what I do in 'turn off and on features' my wmp12 will not rip cd's or hold music in the player. It always has to search to find my music. I got the windows 7 to be able to listen to my music in the family room with the big stereo. (Yes, it was cool when it worked.) Now over half of my music is gone and I can't get the player to rip, so I want to do a clean install. Is it safe to assume that I need to start with the windows vista disk and THEN put in my windows 7 upgrade, or can I start with the upgrade? I'm very new to this and I just don't want to mess it up as the whole family enjoys the computer and I don't want it to be down too long. Thanks for any help you can give
Thanks for all of the info! I finally have everything backed up and the things downloaded to my external hard drive, so I am going to attempt to do this tomorrow afternoon! Wish me luck and I'll let you know if I was successful!
I have a Dell Inspiron 531, we have been using it for years, however over the last couple of years we have not used it. It has windows vista installed I am wanting to upgrade it to Windows 10. So I took a hard drive that had windows 10 on it and installed just to make sure everything would work with the hardware and all. Everything did work just fine.
I have downloaded the windows 10 iso and I have a windows 10 product key that I can use for it. I created the dvd to install it with however the computer will not boot with the dvd. I created it on a different computer and with the one I am wanting to upgrade. Every time I try to boot from dvd it says there is no boot device available. There is no potions in bios to boot from usb. any ideas on how to get this to work?
You generally need to pick up a used Win8 or Win7 computer to get anything acceptable or purchase a entirely new system based on a modern platform. Practically speaking, the odds are generally not on your side.
The problem is drivers go bad after 2-3 releases due to age and depreciated APIs and any Vista driver is officially 4 OSes old at this point. Hardware age and API depreciation is the primary problem with going beyond 2-3 releases.
Now the question is will Windows 10 at least install in some crippled state but none the less boot up. If it does try installing the driver in compatibilty mode. If that doesn't work well maybe Windows 7?
@aactech The issue is W7 is dead as of 1/14/2020 so it'll be a short lived victory with 7. I'm just skeptical it will even work reliably. Win10 needs PAE (since Win8 BTW), which I think these 531's have so that isn't an issue. Exceptions are a thing as you found out, but you got lucky.
I still think it is worth a try once he gets his BIOS boot settings sorted out. You never know with Windows, until you try. I'm still blown away by the DELL Inspiron 6000 notebook I upgraded. I mean it is 15 years old! His DELL desktop is only 11 years old. I just love the challenge of reviving "ancient" computers. If Windows installs its generic video driver then that simplifies the whole process. My only "failure" was the HP/Compaq Presario SR1820NX which is 13 years old.
I must take exception to your "...W7 is dead as of 1/14/2020.." comment (in the friendliest way possible) as I believe they are really only marketing statements from MS. Lots of third party security software even protects Windows XP as long as the signatures are updated!
From a professional standpoint if it self implodes you're the one at fault - no thanks. On the other it's fair game to warn the OP that it generally doesn't end well but it may work AND to save their key until they see it holds up for a while (1+ months).
My comment on the W7 EOL date reflects more with internet use. If you keep it offline that's fine BUT don't put it online unless you absolutely have to. The extended support companies like Avira and Google provide don't last forever.
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