Using The Operating System Installation Media - Dell XPS M2010 Owner's Manual

Enabling System Restore
If you reinstall Windows XP with less than 200 MB of free hard-disk space available, System Restore is
automatically disabled. To see if System Restore is enabled:
1 Click the Start button and click Control Panel.
2 Click Performance and Maintenance.
3 Click System.
4 Click the System Restore tab.
5 Ensure that Turn off System Restore is unchecked.

Using the Operating System Installation Media

Before You Begin
If you are considering reinstalling the Windows XP operating system to correct a problem with a newly
installed driver, first try using Windows XP Device Driver Rollback. See "Using Windows XP Device
Driver Rollback" on page 120. 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 "Using Microsoft Windows XP System Restore" on page 122.
NOTICE:
Before performing the installation, back up all data files on your primary hard drive. For conventional
hard drive configurations, the primary hard drive is the first drive detected by the computer.
To reinstall Windows XP , you need the following items:
• Dell Operating System Installation Media
• Dell Drivers and Utilities Media
NOTE:
The Drivers and Utilities disc contains drivers that were installed during assembly of the computer. Use the
Drivers and Utilities disc to load any required drivers, including the drivers required if your computer has a RAID
controller. Depending on the region from where you ordered your computer, or whether you requested the media,
the Drivers and Utilities media and Operating System installation media may not ship with your system.
Reinstalling Windows XP
The reinstallation process can take one to two hours to complete. After you reinstall the operating
system, you must also reinstall the device drivers, virus protection program, and other software.
NOTICE:
The Operating System installation media provides options for reinstalling Windows XP. The options can
overwrite files and possibly affect programs installed on your hard drive. Therefore, do not reinstall Windows XP
unless a Dell technical support representative instructs you to do so.
1 Save and close any open files and exit any open programs.
2 Insert the Operating System installation media. Click Exit if the Install Windows XP message
appears.
3 Restart the computer.
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Reinstalling Software