need help resetting my computer to factory settings

By soonert2002
in Microsoft (Windows)

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soonert2002

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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?

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soonert2002

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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

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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.

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soonert2002

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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

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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.

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