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System Recovery Options
Operating System Reinstallation
Before You Begin
If you are considering reinstalling the Windows
operating system to correct a problem with a
newly installed driver, first try using Windows
Device Driver Rollback. If Device Driver
Rollback does not resolve the problem, then use
System Restore to return your operating system
to the operating state it was in before you
installed the new device driver. See “System
Restore” on page 43.
NOTICE: Before performing the installation,
back up all data files on your hard drive. For
conventional hard drive configurations, the
hard drive is the first drive detected by the
computer.
Use Operating System Reinstallation media only
as the last method to restore your operating
system.
To reinstall Windows, you need the following
items:

Dell Operating System

• media
Dell Drivers and Utilities
• media
NOTE: The
Dell Drivers and Utilities
media
contains drivers that were installed during
the assembly of the computer. Use the
Dell Drivers and Utilities media to load any
required drivers. Depending on the region
from which you ordered your computer,
or whether you requested the media,
the

Dell Drivers and Utilities

media and

Operating System

media may not ship with
your computer. Alternatively, you can also
use the Dell Factory Image Restore as it
contains all the drivers that are available
on your computer.
Reinstalling Windows Vista
The reinstallation process can take 1 to 4 hours
to complete. After you reinstall the operating
system, you must also reinstall the device
drivers, virus protection program, and other
software.