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Reinstalling Drivers and the Operating System 307
4
Click the
System Restore
tab.
5
Ensure that
Turn off System Restore
is unchecked.
Reinstalling Microsoft
®
Windows Vista
®
and Windows
®
XP
Windows Vista
The reinstallation process can take 1 to 2 hours to complete. After you reinstall the operating system, you
must also reinstall the device drivers, virus protection program, and other software.
1
Save and close any open files and exit any open programs.
2
Insert the
Operating System
disc.
3
Click
Exit
if the
Install Windows
message appears.
4
Restart the computer.
When the DELL logo appears, press <F12> immediately.
NOTE: If you wait too long and the operating system logo appears, continue to wait until you see the
Microsoft
®
Windows
®
desktop; then, shut down your computer and try again.
NOTE: The next steps change the boot sequence for one time only. On the next start-up, your computer boots
according to the devices specified in the system setup program.
5
When the boot device list appears, highlight
CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive
and press <Enter>.
6
Press any key to
Boot from CD-ROM
.
7
Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the installation.
Windows XP
NOTICE: You must use Windows XP Service Pack 1 or later when you reinstall your operating system.
Before You Begin
If you are considering reinstalling the Windows XP operating system to correct a problem with a newly
installed driver, first try using Windows XP Device Driver Rollback (see "Using Windows XP Device
Driver Rollback" on page 303). If Device Driver Rollback does not resolve the problem, then use System
Restore (see "Restoring Your Operating System" on page 305) to return your operating system to the
operating state it was in before you installed the new device driver.
NOTICE: Before performing the installation, back up all data files on your primary hard drive. For conventional
hard drive configurations, the primary hard drive is the first drive detected by the computer.
To reinstall Windows XP, you need the following items:
•Dell™
Operating System
media
•Dell
Drivers and Utilities
media
NOTE: The Drivers and Utilities media contains drivers that were installed during assembly of the computer. Use
the Drivers and Utilities media to load any required drivers.