System Recovery Media

Hi guys. I have a question re the 2 System Recovery Media DVDs that I created when I first got my 17R last year. Are these discs used to create a factory shipped C drive on my laptop, or are they used to recreate the hidden recovery partition? I don't have any problems with my laptop at the moment, but I'd just like to understand how they are used. I've searched all over the net looking for an answer but haven't found anything relevant. The little green setup booklet is a bit cryptic on the subject. It does say that the discs can be used following drive failure, but it doesn't actually state what they do. So are they used to recreate the recovery partition which can then be used to recreate the C drive, or are they used to recreate C directly? If it's the latter does that mean there would be no way to recreate the recovery partition if it was somehow lost? Hope this makes sense!

Richie

 

If you are simply creating system recovery disks, then these will most likely hold a number of tools to help repair your system in the event of a serious malfunction (i.e. system folders become corrupted). However, if you created a system image then you should be able to re-install all the software and settings that were in place at the time the image was created. So, if your HDD fails completely and no longer works, then you want a system image (recovery disks are useless). If your HDD still works, then the recovery disks could be very useful.

 

I believe the recovery disks should restore the entire disk to the factory configuration, not just one or two partitions. I've never made the Dell disks, though, so not 100% sure.