[schultzac10]

I am helping a friend with their PC problems. The PC is a Dell Optiplex GX280 and she is running Windows XP Professional. There is no recovery disc with the PC and no combination of F10/Ctrl+F11 works to get to system restore. I can access system restore but the oldest restore date is only a few days old. Over the years she has acquired enough junk I would just like to wipe it clean. I have the XP Product key but no disc with it. What can I do to start this PC fresh?

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The XP CD that came with the machine.

[diabillic]

The XP CD that came with the machine.

[schultzac10]

I appreciate that, but I said I dont have the disc. Just the product key on a sticker on the PC.

[diabillic]

If you don't have a disc or not able to borrow one from another OEM machine (Dell, HP, Gateway, etc), then you will just have a product key on a sticker.

[joshua dakota]

Ok that was a very lame answer to a genuine post, jesus deli, I believe that u can take the product key code to a repair shop and they can burn a copy of the xp os for you but dont know what the cost may be so look around first Josh

[joshua dakota]

Ok that was a very lame answer to a genuine post, jesus deli, I believe that u can take the product key code to a repair shop and they can burn a copy of the xp os for you but dont know what the cost may be so look around first Josh

[123Runner]

schultzac10

ctrl + F11 is supposed to get you to the Dell recovery option where you would re-image the unit back to factory settings.
Keep in mind that a destructive recovery will wipe the drive and all data will be lost.
If you do not have back ups, then do them now.

The "restore" that you mentioned only restores to a earlier time. This is for getting a unit running again for times when you may have a corrupted program install.

Lets look at computer management to see if a recovery partition exists.
Go to start....
Go to run....
Type in compmgmt.msc and hit the ok key.
On the left click on disk management.
Expand the window to show all the drives.
Take a screen shot and post in your next reply.

123runner

[Alzeimer]

You can use your product with any Xp cd of the model you have (home or Pro) and use it.

If it is a retail cd you will have to manually find and install most of the Dell drivers specific to your machine yourself.

The product key you have is for your machine only and the oem cd that usually comes apart or installed on a recovery partition comes with all the Dell drivers for your PC slipstreamed onto it.

Unless you can find a copy of a Dell XP cd made for the exact model as yours then try to borrow a retail version of XP.

If you can enter XP try to look on your C: drive sometimes there is a folder with the Dell drivers, if you do you can burned them and use them after your fresh install of XP.

If not go to the Dell website for all your specific drivers.

[diabillic]

Ok that was a very lame answer to a genuine post, jesus deli, I believe that u can take the product key code to a repair shop and they can burn a copy of the xp os for you but dont know what the cost may be so look around first Josh

Perhaps you should reread my post.