need help resetting my computer to factory settings

By soonert2002
in Microsoft (Windows)

 Share

Recommended Posts

Rookie

soonert2002

Posted
Posted

Something happened to my computer and it will not let me download pictures form my camera anymore. I have tried to insert the memory card and hooke the camera to the computer with the usb cord and nothing happens. I think my kids may have deleted a drive or something. Is ther any way to reset the computer like nothing has ever happened?

Rookie

soonert2002

Posted
  • Author
Posted
we need more information,

1, what brand and model computer and how old is it

2, do you still all the CD's or DVD's that came with it brand new?

3, What Operating system is installed? Windows? XP-Vista?

its a dell dimensions e521 amd 64 windows vista. I think I have all the cd's or DVD's I would have to dig for them but I will. It is a about 2 years old.

If you think the change to your computer was made recently, try using System Restore. Choose a restore point of a time that you think was before the change, if you have restore points that go back far enough.....

I have tried that but it will only let me go back to the 4th of june and I think this happened sometime in may.

Enthusiast

systemx

Posted
Posted
Something happened to my computer and it will not let me download pictures form my camera anymore. I have tried to insert the memory card and hooke the camera to the computer with the usb cord and nothing happens. I think my kids may have deleted a drive or something. Is ther any way to reset the computer like nothing has ever happened?

1. Turn the computer on.

2. Keep hitting the F8 button on the keyboard after you have turned it on.

3. A menu will appear, scroll down and select "Repair your computer".

4. Choose your language and key in your username/pass if needed.

5. Select Dell factory image restore and follow the instructions.

This will reset your computer back to the factory settings, if you still have the recovery partition on the harddrive.

Grand Master

+Warwagon MVC

Posted
  • MVC
Posted

When you say you've inserted the memory card, do you mean you've put the card in a "card reader" and plugged it into the computer? If the answer is yes i'd recommend trying different usb ports on the computer. What happens if you try plugging something else USB into the same usb port does that work?

You may also want to try to open the device manager up and drop down human interface devices and see if anything appears when you plug in your camera or card reader. If something does appear, you may want to try to uninstall that particular device. Then unplug and plug the device in question back in.

One more question, can you see the pictures on your camera that are on your card? Could it be your card is corrupted?

All I've got for now.

Rookie

soonert2002

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you want to restore your comp to factory settings, you'll have to use the CDs which Dell provided you upon the computer's purchase. All you have to do is run that CD and it should restore your comp to factory settings.

I have the following cd's, photo explosion, operating system alreasdy installed on your computer. and, drivers and utilities DVD for reinstalling dell dimensions and dell xps computer software. Thats all ive got.

When you say you've inserted the memory card, do you mean you've put the card in a "card reader" and plugged it into the computer? If the answer is yes i'd recommend trying different usb ports on the computer. What happens if you try plugging something else USB into the same usb port does that work?

You may also want to try to open the device manager up and drop down human interface devices and see if anything appears when you plug in your camera or card reader. If something does appear, you may want to try to uninstall that particular device. Then unplug and plug the device in question back in.

One more question, can you see the pictures on your camera that are on your card? Could it be your card is corrupted?

All I've got for now.

Where would I find devise manager? I can look at the pictures on my camera but it will not open the window that has always said to import those pictures. I don't know what a card reader is. Ihave always just put the card directly into the computer or have used the usb cord from the camera to the computer and a window pops up to import pictures until now.

Grand Master

zhangm Supervisor

Posted
  • Supervisor
Posted

To open the Device Manager, open the Start Menu and type:

devmgmt.msc

Then hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter at the same time. Allow the program to run with admin privileges.

Alternatively, open the Start Menu. Right-click "Computer" and select Manage. In the left hand pane, you'll see an entry to access the Device Manager.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.

  • Posts

    • Nvidia 610.62 driver lands with big bug fixes and Empulse support

      By LoneWolfSL · Posted

      Nvidia 610.62 driver lands with big bug fixes and Empulse support by Pulasthi Ariyasinghe There is a new driver available for Nvidia GeForce hardware owners, and it's carrying a whole lot of bug fixes. The WHQL-certified 610.62 Game Ready driver is also adding support for Empulse. Empulse lands from 1047 Games. That may be familiar to first-person shooter fans, as this is the studio that has been behind Splitgate and the Splitgate: Arena Reloaded sequel. This latest FPS entry will land into early access on June 24, and it will have support for DLSS 4.5 with dynamic multi-frame generation and Nvidia Reflex on day one. FIXED World of Warcraft: Gaming stability improvements [5563205] FIXED Apex Legends: Occasional visual corruption after extended gameplay [6239327] FIXED Users may observe DLSS settings being grayed out in certain games after updating to display driver 610.47 [6262805] FIXED Improved gaming stability in multi-monitor configurations when using V-SYNC with DLSS Frame Generation [6158481] FIXED Resolved an issue that could cause jittering or ghosting in some DirectX 11 games when Smooth Motion is enabled [5937897] FIXED Resolved an issue that could cause some games to crash when launched with Smooth Motion enabled [5466398] FIXED [Ada] Resolves a frame pacing issue on certain monitors when G-SYNC is enabled [6226972] FIXED Resolved an issue that prevented the EDID from being read on certain monitors causing them to be identified as "NVIDIA NV-Failsafe” [6005508] FIXED Resolved an issue where certain monitors would not wake from sleep mode [5806798/5635230] FIXED General stability improvements when the system fails to create a new allocation [5449920] Nvidia has only listed a single open issue for this release: “Prefer Maximum Performance” Power Management Mode may not be applied correctly [6007998] The NVIDIA 610.62 driver is now available for download from the NVIDIA app. For those who want to download it directly, standalone links are here. Here are the official release notes (PDF).
    • Meet the browser: Firefox Next

      By _neutrino · Posted

      You could do that in the last 2 updates as well.
    • Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are once again selling at their lowest price

      By Fiza Ali · Posted

      Bose Ultra Open Earbuds are once again selling at their lowest price by Fiza Ali Amazon is once again offering the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds at their lowest price ever with a limited-time 33 percent discount on their original MSRP, ahead of Father's Day. So, you may want to check it out if you are looking for a gift or if you have been wanting to upgrade your device. The earbuds feature an open-ear design and Bose's OpenAudio technology that should deliver high-quality sound while helping keep audio private. The earbuds also support Bose Immersive Audio, which creates a spatialised listening experience designed to place sound around the listener for a more engaging experience. In terms of wireless connectivity, the earbuds features Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), A2DP audio streaming, HFP, AAC, and SBC support. Furthermore, they are compatible with Bose SimpleSync technology, allowing pairing with compatible Bose smart soundbars and speakers. They are also compatible with the Bose App for setup, customisation, and software updates. Moreover, they offer an IPX4 water-resistance rating that should provide protection against sweat and light splashes. When it comes to the battery performance, the Bose Ultra Open Earbuds should provide up to seven hours of battery life on a single charge while a full recharge should take approximately one hour. Specifications Detail Fit type Open-ear Noise cancelling No Microphone Built-in Wireless Bluetooth (A2DP, HFP, AAC, SBC, BLE) Multipoint Yes; 2 devices simultaneously Charging interface USB-C Earbud size 0.73"x0.67" x 1.07" (0.014lb) Case size 1.65"x2.56" x 1.04" (0.097 lb) Materials PC-ABS plastic, metal, silicone, gold plating App support Bose app; adjustable EQ, SimpleSync Audio tech OpenAudio, immersive/spatialized sound Bose Ultra Open Earbuds: $199 (Amazon US) - 33% off Good to know This Amazon deal is U.S. specific, and not available in other regions unless specified. We only use first-party seller links (at the time of article publishing); ensure that you purchase from a first-party seller link only. Check out Today's Deals on Amazon | or our recent tech deals. Become a Prime member (for Students or SNAP) via Neowin Get Prime Access - Prime for half price (for qualifying Medicaid, EBT, SNAP) Subscribe to Prime Video, Audible Plus, Music Unlimited or Kindle Unlimited via Neowin As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases.
    • Mozilla highlights Firefox Nova 2026 redesign and more upcoming features with new roadmap

      By Gus. · Posted

      After enabling it in about:config, customize, density, compact; the toolbar/address bar gets smaller vertically. I enabled Nova, I notice the tab bar/title bar is a bit larger vertically now? Everything always becomes a waste of space.
    • Microsoft's Copilot Cowork now generally available with usage-based billing

      By pradeepviswav · Posted

      Microsoft's Copilot Cowork now generally available with usage-based billing by Pradeep Viswanathan Back in March, Microsoft first revealed Copilot Cowork, a new agentic AI experience in Microsoft 365 Copilot through which users can assign tasks to AI to complete in the background. After testing the service with a limited set of customers in Research Preview for a few weeks, Microsoft announced the general availability of Copilot Cowork to customers in the Frontier program on March 30. Today, Microsoft announced the general availability of Copilot Cowork worldwide for Microsoft 365 Copilot customers. The company also highlighted that Cowork became the fastest-growing feature in the history of its Frontier program. Unlike regular Copilot Chat, Copilot Cowork can run complex, long-running, multi-tool tasks from start to finish in the cloud by using organizational context through Work IQ. When compared to Claude Cowork, Microsoft claims that Copilot Cowork will be 30% to 40% cheaper on average with its Microsoft 365 connector. For now, Copilot Cowork runs on Anthropic models, including Opus 4.8 and Sonnet 4.6. However, Frontier customers can now use GPT-5.5. Microsoft also announced Cowork 1, a secure fine-tuned model coming in the next few weeks, which is designed to handle everyday Copilot tasks at a lower cost. To access Copilot Cowork, a Microsoft 365 Copilot user subscription is required. Usage is billed separately through Copilot Credits, based on model use, context retrieval, tool calls, and runtime. Pay-as-you-go pricing is set at $0.01 per Copilot Credit. To offer IT teams full control over usage costs, Microsoft provides spending limits, usage alerts, user-level controls, reporting, and prepaid usage plans for organizations. Usage-based billing begins today. However, Frontier customers who used Cowork between March 30 and June 16 will not be billed until July 1, 2026. The Microsoft 365 Copilot app now includes a toggle to enter the full Cowork experience. Microsoft is also adding partner plugins, with Enosix, Harvey, LSEG, Miro, monday.com, Moody’s, Morningstar, S&P Global Energy, and TeamsMaestro available now. Adobe, Atlassian, Box, Canva, Databricks, and others are coming soon.

  • Recent Achievements

    • One Year In
      Console General earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Year In
      Twozo Technologies earned a badge
      One Year In
    • One Month Later
      Twozo Technologies earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      Twozo Technologies earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Veteran
      branfont went up a rank
      Veteran

  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      511
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      190
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      109
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      89
    5. 5
      Nick H.
      71
    Show More

  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!