RCL_Burco
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Reformat computer with Vista.
We have a computer with Vista Ultimate and it needs to be reformatted but we don't have the disk. This computer is a Dell and it was preloaded with Vista so we probably didn't get the disk to begin with and there is no Utility partition. I have other versions of Vista, such as Vista Business and Vista Enterprise but neither disk can be recongnized by the computer. I would rather have XP Pro on the computer but the computer doesn't recognize it either. Any help would be much appreciated.
ASKER
Yeah, I tried this earlier but there is a password on making changes in the BIOS and I don't know what it is.
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There is a recovery partition on your computer (unless you have reformatted it at some stage in the past) The reason you cant see it is that it is hidden. The information given by darr247 is correct.
Have you tried inserting the disc and running setup from inside windows? Not that you would be able to do that with the xp disc as windows cannot be downgraded. But it would at least tell you if you have a problem with the DVD/CD drive
Have you tried inserting the disc and running setup from inside windows? Not that you would be able to do that with the xp disc as windows cannot be downgraded. But it would at least tell you if you have a problem with the DVD/CD drive
ASKER
I guess I over looked the first rule in IT, check the obvious first LOL! I put in a new DVD drive we had here and it works!
Thanks.
Thanks.
Usually when XP can't see drives I change it from AHCI mode to IDE mode and reload the disc and it finds the drive. Though realize doing this will mess up the data on the drive so you might want to do a backup first.