Girlfriend lost her recovery cd for Inspiron 640m

Hi - I've been trying to sort out my girlfriends inspiron which is running v v slowly (loads of spyware, viruses etc). I really wanted to do I fresh installation of XP but my girlfriend thinks she threw away the relevant cd ('well, I've never needed any of those cds before!).

I've rung Dell UK but its out of warranty so they wont send a new one. Currently on hold to technical support to see how much it will be to order a new one (15 mins so far!).

However, I was wondering whether there is any easier/cheaper way to get the recovery cd? I think I have a friend with a normal XP home cd but this would be difficult to get hold of plus I assume I would have to find all the drivers (don't want to spend too much time on this). Another alternative which was suggested was to do a System Restore but when I load it up it only allows me to select dates from October (the only restore point in October is one I created a few days ago before I started trying to uninstall a load of stuff).

Any advice would be much appreciated especially on how to get hold of this cd?

 

Drivers are easy, they are all on the site for easy download.

The copy of xp thing is a bit more tricky, only other option than straight out buying one.....is the normal obtaininggggg a copy.... if you get my drift

 

Thanks piker - actually I think I can my hands on a genuine copy of XP so will just use that. Should I download the drivers before I re-install or just do it online when its done?

 

Have you tried Dell PC Restore by Symantec? (Pressing CTRL+F11 on boot up/See user manual)

 

No - what is that?

 

Just tried it and nothing happened?

 

Using Dell PC Restore by Symantec
NOTICE: Using Dell PC Restore permanently deletes all data on the hard drive and removes any applications or drivers installed after you received your computer. If possible, back up the data before using PC Restore. Use PC Restore only if System Restore did not resolve your operating system problem.
NOTE: Dell PC Restore by Symantec may not be available in certain countries nor on certain computers.

Use Dell PC Restore by Symantec only as the last method to restore your operating system. PC Restore restores your hard drive to the operating state it was in when you purchased the computer. Any programs or files added since you received your computer—including data files—are permanently deleted from the hard drive. Data files include documents, spreadsheets, e-mail messages, digital photos, music files, and so on. If possible, back up all data before using PC Restore.

To use PC Restore:

1. Turn on the computer.

During the boot process, a blue bar with www.dell.com appears at the top of the screen.

2. Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press <Ctrl><F11>.

If you do not press <Ctrl><F11> in time, let the computer finish starting, and then restart the computer again.
NOTICE: If you do not want to proceed with PC Restore, click Reboot in the following step.

3. On the next screen that appears, click Restore.

4. On the next screen, click Confirm.

The restore process takes approximately 6–10 minutes to complete.

5. When prompted, click Finish to reboot the computer.

NOTE: Do not manually shut down the computer. Click Finish and let the computer completely reboot.

6. When prompted, click Yes.

The computer restarts. Because the computer is restored to its original operating state, the screens that appear, such as the End User License Agreement, are the same ones that appeared the first time the computer was turned on.

7. Click Next.

The System Restore screen appears and the computer restarts.

8. After the computer restarts, click OK.

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Sorry about the slow reply, Dell's website was giving me trouble.

 

How do I find out if I've got Dell PC Restore by Symantec?

 

Sorry posted at the same time - thanks

 

Off the top of my head I can't think of an easy way to check. All Dell PCs come with it in the US--and since what I pasted was out of a European user manual I would assume that most European Dells do too. The only reason I could see it wouldn't have it has if it had been removed at some point to save space.