Reinstall XP on Inspiron 1100?

I'm an old guy, disabled, scraping by on Social Security, so I rely on hand-me-down hardware and electronics.

Due to chronic health issues, I have trouble sitting up for very long at a time, so I depend on a laptop that I can use while lying in bed as my main link, via the internet, to the outside world.

For the last year or more I've been using a third-hand Inspiron 1150 laptop, but a few weeks ago, after flickering for months, the light in the screen finally went dead.

To replace it I've received from a FreeCycler an Inspiron 1100 (I know! A step backwards, but it's in good condition and beggars can't be choosers, can we?).

It already has Windows XP Home installed on it, but I think I would probably be wise to wipe the hard drive and do a clean install of XP, so as to start out with a clean registry. So, my first question, is, do you think that's a good idea? Or should I just try to make do with the OS that's already installed on the machine and hope for the best?

But, if you would recommend a clean re-installation of XP, the next question is, which version of XP to use?

The donor of the Inspiron 1100 didn't include an OS CD with it. However an online computer friend from a BBS mailed me a CD with a violet label:

OPERATING SYSTEM
ALREADY INSTALLED ON YOUR COMPUTER
Reinstallation CD
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Service Pack 2

For distribution only with a new Dell PC
P/N MW879​

The label says "only for a new Dell PC

So I fear that it wouldn't work on my "new" laptop.

Does anyone out there know if that version would work on my Inspiron 1100?

 

You should use the version of XP that's noted on the CoA on the bottom of the laptop. Using any other version is technically illegal unless you have your own key - in which case you can use whatever version of XP associated with your key.

 

Thanks, Commander Wolf, for that speedy reply!

I'm looking at the bottom of the Inspiron 1100. There's a sticker labeled

"Windows XP Home Edition"
Dell ​

that has at least four different numbers on it:

A bar code followed by: O5D481

Product Key: [Way too long for me to type with my poor eyesight]

Another bar code with this number immediately beneath it:
00043-495-197-98608-73061

A number printed vertically along the left edge of the sticker:
X08-73061​

Does that give us the info we need to identify "the version of XP that's noted on the CoA"?

If so, then how would you recommend I go about obtaining that version? I've tried emailing the person who gave me the Inspiron laptop, but she's not replied yet.

Do you know if the 1100 even included a reinstall disk as part of the retail package? I just noticed a red "REFURBISHED" sticker on the bottom of the machine, so it may be anyone's guess whether a reinstall CD was included.

I wouldn't want to do anything illegal. I had assumed that a license for the OS was included with the machine, since it had the XP sticker on the bottom of it.

The CD I have of the Dell version of XP has a label on the envelope saying: "The COA on the bottom of your computer contains the product key code, which may be required to complete the operating system setup."

So, even though the CD says that it's for a Dimension 4500 PC, do you think it will work on an Inspiron 1100 laptop? Or do I need to find a CD specific to my laptop?

 

Yes, your COA matches the version (XP Home Edition) on your CD, so it's legal. Note "PC" means both desktops and laptops.

However, despite its label, the CD does not contain any Dell drivers, so you'll need to visit support.dell.com and download any drivers specific to the 1100. Do that beforehand because you might not have inet access until the drivers are reinstalled--you know, the old "chicken-and-egg" problem. Download them, put them on a flash drive, reinstall XP, then install drivers from the flash drive.

Visit support.dell.com and the drivers you'll need are in the sections for chipset, audio, video (Intel driver), input (Synaptics driver), and network (Broadcomm driver). If equipped with modem and/or wifi card, also download the appropriate driver for whichever brand/model of the card you have. If the existing XP is working, it may help to look in Device Mgr to identify those devices before nuking the existing XP.

FWIW, I might mention that since the 1100 shipped with XP there's a chance it included a factory restore ("DSR") partition. When the computer boots, do you see a "blue-bar" screen similar to the image below? It displays briefly (~2 secs) between the BIOS POST screen and the XP splash screen. If so, that means the computer shipped with DSR, which would get you back to factory state quicker than reinstalling from CD, would already include the Dell drivers, and would also include any software Dell shipped with the system (such as DVD player or CD-burning apps).

If you see a "blue-bar" screen, try DSR first. If not, proceed with a CD reinstall.

 

Thanks, dg1261, for that encouraging info!

I just booted the 1100 and it went straight to the XP splash screen.

Could there be a setting I could change so that it would show me that BIOS POST screen?

Or is there a way to dig around from the command prompt to look for that hidden partition?

 

If no blue bar, you probably don't have a DSR partition. It would have been standard on all Inspirons as originally shipped, but yours is refurbished so it was likely reformatted somewhere along the way, in which case all bets are off.

The DSR partition was a special partition on the hard drive, so had nothing to do with POST--ergo, there are no relevant settings in the BIOS.

You can check definitively for a hidden partition by using Disk Management in XP ("Start", right-click "My Computer", select "Manage"). Click "Disk Management" in the left pane and look at the schematic bar graph in the lower-right pane. If you have a DSR partition, it will be revealed as an unidentified 3-5 GB partition with no drive letter at the very end of your hard drive (right edge of graph). If you don't see that, you definitely don't have DSR, so reinstalling from CD would be your only recourse.

 

Hi dg1261,

I followed your instructions and used that "Disk Management" utility to look at the partitions on the refurbished Inspiron 1100: No evidence of that DSR partition.

So, before I go ahead with installing XP on it, I'd like your opinion of a couple of other options that have crossed my mind:

1. The Inspiron 1150 with the dead screen, has a lot more memory than the 1100. Would it be possible transfer the screen light from the working 1100 into the 1150?

2. What are the odds that the hard drive from the 1150 would work in the 1100? Rather than reinstall XP on the 1100, couldn't I just transfer the hard drive from my old 1150 into my "new" 1100? That way I could avoid the nuisance of installing drivers, re-installing all my software, and updating XP.

 

That's not easy to do. I don't know if the parts are compatible, but even if they are, screen parts around the backlight and inverter are often glued or taped together, making it difficult to separate pieces. I don't recommend it unless you're willing to accept the prospect of ending up with two non-working laptops.

I haven't worked with those models, but that should be pretty straightforward. Both take IDE drives, so a straight-across swap should work. It appears both use a lot of the same drivers. Looks like the chipset and video drivers are different, but that should be easy to update after the swap.

 

Well it has been my experience that if you just swap out the drives then you will reward yourself with a BSOD as the chipset is different and windows will load up the drivers from the previous laptop. The caveat is if the chips are of the same “family” it may work but there is no guarantee. The OS has no problems with being put into a clone of its previous home but if you try to put it into a different environment (so to speak. IE different chipset and video) it more than likely will bluesreen and now you are stuck as you may not even be able to boot it into safe mode.
How about looking at this another way…. The original laptop had what you said was a “flickering screen” that is the hallmark of a failing inverter. These can be found for your specific model on EBay for less than $5.00 and there are videos out there that show you how to replace it on your specific model. This would be the most cost effective and perhaps the easiest way out IMHO.