how to reinstall vista without a cd?
Hey Basil, my Dell Inspiron 1525 has been having problems lately and I cannot get past the "Microsoft Corporation" screen. I have tried booting in safe mode and I still get stuck at this screen. I lost the CD but i may still have the case it came in with a product key on it. So is there anyway to get past this microsoft screen? Is there anyway to re download vista if I have my product key? If not, please tell me a way that I can reinstill vista without my CD. I have Vista 32 bit premium home edition if it matters. Thanks.
July 5, 2011
2 Comments • Newest first
Since you can't access the vista partition, you might want to boot from an external device to try and back up your files.
When your computer starts (cold boot), press F2 (when you see the dell logo) and a setup page should appear. There should be clear instructions on
how to change the boot priority for your laptop - change it so that the laptop looks for an external device (ex. USB flash).
Now, you need an external device to boot from.
You can get Ubuntu [url=http://www.ubuntu.com/download/ubuntu/download]here[/url]
Once you're done backing up your files, restart your pc, press F8 as soon as the logo appears and choose 'repair' to restore your laptop to factory default.
(this will erase all personal data so beware)
All DELL systems are preloaded with a recovery partition in the hard drive; you do not need to reinstall with a Windows boot disc. Be wary when restoring a computer to the factory default settings because it will delete the things you installed or stored and it irreversible. Backup your files if you can boot into "Safe Mode" or if you get lucky with the normal boot. You can do this by restarting your computer and repeatedly pressing F8 (or pressing it once during the BIOS screen) and selecting the desired mode. It is also possible to backup files by removing the laptop hard drive and connecting it to the SATA connector of another computer, which is typically a desktop PC. Otherwise, a local PC repair shop can backup files for you and even do the complete "Factory Restore" for you.
DELL's "Factory Restore" can be accessed in the F8 BIOS menu or by pressing CTRL + F11 repeatedly on a restart or pressing them once together during the BIOS screen.