Reinstall Windows on a Dell Laptop

[Adcadet]

Hey gang,
Got back from vacation, during which I used my old Dell Inspiron 8200. The battery is pretty well shot, which is not surprizing I guess, seeing as how it's 4.5 years old. But it's still a useful machine, though large and clunky for sure. I also realized that I've got a lot of crap software installed. I'm sure it came with a "rescue" CD of some sort, although finding it would be hard. I punched in the service ID into Dell, which lists a bunch of updates but nothing that will let me format and reinstall the OS. It does have a Windows sticker on the bottom complete with a product key for Windows XP Home. Can I just throw in a WinXP Pro SP2 disk and enter in the Home key, or is the Pro and Home totally difference CDs? Does anybody know if Dell allows one to download a "restore" disk of some sort?

 

[Adcadet]

Dell uses "PC Restore by Symantec"....starting in 2004, but my system was made around 2002.

And, just to be clear, I really don't want all the Dell crap back on my computer. I just want a decent OS. Well, I'll settle for Windows

 

[Mercutio]

Pro is a different disk.
Suggest you grab a copy of TinyXP to make your old laptop work like new.

 

[Chewy509]

As Merc mentions, XP Pro and XP Home are different CDs. However you can grab any XP Home CD and use that (or just use the app that Merc mentions).

I'm sure there are plenty of XP Home ISOs floating about on the 'net, just grab one of those and ensure you have all your driver disks handy (or downloaded drivers on CD).

PS. Dell can/will ship you a CD restore set, but will cost a few $.

 

[Adcadet]

Does anybody know if the Dell laptops (circa 2002) had a hidden partition?

 

[Mercutio]

Yes.
Try f11 or shift f11 or control f11 or something like that, if it hasn't been wiped.

 

[Adcadet]

Mine does not have a hidden partition. Hmmmm...makes me wonder if I reinstalled Windows a few years ago, perhaps around 2003.