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    nighthawk117's Avatar
    nighthawk117 Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Nov 16, 2008, 02:28 AM
    Complete memory wipe and restore to factorysettings without original disk
    Hello I'm new to the whole computer thing my brother gave me his old laptop and I want to restore it to its original factory state deletion of all files but my problem is that I don't have the windows xp disk so I can't re install windows xp how do I wipe all files while still keeping the current windows operating system on the computer thanks for your time
    JBeaucaire's Avatar
    JBeaucaire Posts: 5,426, Reputation: 997
    Software Expert
    		  
    #2

    Nov 16, 2008, 02:32 AM

    Well, you're going to make us ask, huh?

    OK, what is the make and model # of the laptop? Most laptops have a recovery partition built into the laptop, unless a previous owner removed it.

    On my laptop, pressing F11 (or maybe F10... Fsomething) tapping F11 when I first turn on the laptop brings up the Recovery Console and I can use the options in there to do a Factory Restore.
    Zayne S Halsall's Avatar
    Zayne S Halsall Posts: 71, Reputation: 5
    Junior Member
    		  
    #3

    Nov 16, 2008, 05:24 AM

    May not be relevant to your situation, but if System Restore is enabled on your computer, you may get some mileage out of it in this circumstance:

    Windows XP System Restore Is Easy to Use

    Another option is to just uninstall all applications you don't want and delete your brother's user profile (generally in C:\Documents and Settings). Not 100% factory clean, but a close second without further information on your setup.
    JBeaucaire's Avatar
    JBeaucaire Posts: 5,426, Reputation: 997
    Software Expert
    		  
    #4

    Nov 16, 2008, 10:01 PM

    System Restore only goes back a few months, probably not appropriate use for this OP's question.
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