How to Restore Dell Windows 7 Computer to Factory Settings 

I spent countless hours watching other tutorials that didn't work. I could have saved so much time if I'd found this one sooner. Was able to follow it exactly. Thank you!

Thanks Steve. I can't believe it took me about 10 Google searches to find such a simple walk through, and finally you told me exactly what I needed to know.

Getting old laptops cleaned up and rebooted to loan out during this whole corona virus mess. All classes have been moved to online learning and a lot of families weren't prepared. Luckily I have 4 old laptops lying around. This video helped a ton! Thank you!

THANK YOU. I HAVE BEEN WATCHING VIDEOS FOR HOURS AND NOTHING WORKED UNTIL NOW, This is my 2nd time and I forgot how. Thanks so much!!

Thank you so much for the walkthrough! I got my moms old Dell computer for Christmas, and didn't know how to restore it to factory settings and finally got fed up with all my mother's stuff on my computer, as well as it being slow, and I tried calling Dell customer support and they wanted me to pay a "one time fee" which I can't because I'm broke until Thursday. So finally I came across this video and I'm all set! Thank you again!

Thanks! I went to Microsoft web site, Dell web site and all I could find there were generic answers with very little details that were practically useless. Your video is what put me on the right track.

This was spot on for what I needed. Thank you so much. I have this old computer that I stopped using because it was so slow, and with your help, I can now use it without all of those annoying interruptions.

Brilliant Thanks. I work on Windows server all day long, and had no idea how the dell recovery worked for home users. This saved me a whole bunch of time.

Thank you! I got all the way to the part where you said if it doesn't have that last option to restore that we would need a Dell CD but the wording was just a little bit different so I went ahead and clicked it and it was what I needed... It said Dell Factory Image Restore for those that might also have this issue. So far it's working, It's reformatting the hard drive and restoring the factory image right now.

Thank you so much for this very informational video! I bought an Inspiron Mini for my kids back in 2011 and it stopped working in 2012. It just wouldn't boot up anymore and had been kept in my storage until today. I have just finished restoring it and it is now working as fast as when it was brand new!!! You are a BIG HELP Sir!

Thanks so much for this video. I was so frustrated, my laptop had issues and would not even download important updates. Nice to start fresh again. Dell( and you) made it easy for us!

Wow Thanks for this video! It really helped me because my windows 7 laptop was infected with malware and we didn't have anything special on it so we did what you did. AWESOME!

Wow, what a cool video, I have a question. I am still be a bit affraid and doubtful about restoring my computer to factory settings. Is it possible to restore my Dell computer Windows 7 Ultimate back to factory settings without a Windows 7 CD and using this Dell Backup recovering program that you suggest? If if restore my computer to Factory settings without an actual Windows 7 CD will my current Windows 7 be destroyed and deleted by the factory restoration process?

Thank you so much for this tutorial. I was able to restore my old Dell Laptop before giving away. I didn't have to wait for my son to do it either.

Thank you so much I was able to set the Dell up like a new one. The window where you said stop for you will not be able to achieve the restart looked different but I choice what looked to be right even if the wording was a little different and the icon was not the same. It worked very similar so that's great!! Thanks

finally something that helped, i look through all of these useless sources and this man helps in less than 10 mins

...your video still helping people to this day, thank you!

Thank you so much for this video. It saved me a lot of hassle and worked fine for my Dell Studio (two years older than your example).

sweet thanks man.. finally was able to factory reset my Dell laptop, had it for months just sitting around. didn't know how to do it, but now I do thanks man.

Thanks Guru. my laptop was very slow I used it for more then 2 years. I tried for factory restore but can not find the factory reset. your video help me a lot. Thanks

Hi GuruBrew I need help to know if this dell laptop is junk already, have window error fail to star. a recent hardware or software have made change or something like that. already try this video with no luck, try to run save mode and got the same error..

How long did you take for this action? 2 hours? Less or more? Thanks in advance.

I keep getting launch restart repair(recommended) and I choose that but it just sits on the blue screen what should I do to get my computer working properly?

Huge thank you!!! I've been trying to revive my 2010 laptop got months now. I was told that I needed a disk. Thanks for not taking your video down!

I don't have the last option to restore it says unknown 🤦 this is my daughter's when she used to go to her dad's. We want to restore to factory settings. Please help

I have an Acer Win7 and am now getting endless error messages. Will this procedure above fix that and will it also erase over any hidden viruses that may have infected my PC?

Does this erase all data/files/photos/ etc on the laptop? My keyboard is not working after checking all the software and replacing the keyboard so I’m considering trying a reboot.

I have two partitions on my laptop. C and D drive. Do I need to backup D drive too if i want to factory reset my laptop. The operating system is on C drive.

All the drivers and preinstalled applications will return as they were when new.. Thanks for the comment

Finally! Someone straight to the point!! Thank you sir!!

2020 , thank you saved me from buying a laptop!!! Thank you once again.

i bought my Dell inspiron 15 1545 Window 7 running 64 bit , my friend upgrade to Window 7 Ultimate running 32 bit right now , can i restore my computer to the factory like you ? so i can run it 64 bit again ? please let me know thanks .

Thank you so much for this video. I've restored Dell computers before but never with these options so I was confused. Again, thank you.

Thanks so much, my computer was really slow and had so many viruses ... this really helped my Laptop and now is increadibly fast, I suggest people to try this if they are I'n the same situation as myself.

Question: I did as you directed in the video and I have the same Laptop that you worked on and I was wondering why my system restore isn't working right and I tried everything I could think of and another thing is background from Bing isn't changing like it use to. I was wondering if you could help me.

Hey Steve. AKA GuruBrew, I have an Acer laptop with Vista as the OS. I couldn't use your video "How to Simply Restore an Acer Laptop PC to Factory Settings" because my OS is too old (as you mentioned in the video about XP and Vista). Anyway, I got the computer second-hand from a family member, so its full of un-needed files and maybe some viruses. Do you know of an easy way I could restore it to factory settings? Thanks so much, Luke AKA S.T.I.W.T.

I know this is an old video but it is a good one I just want to add a few suggestions: 1st. run some kind of CHKDSK on you hard drive to make sure its worthy of restoring. 2nd. Look for the Dell create your own restore media. Most Dells have this option. 3rd Just for giggles use a key finder to find all your keys for software including windows 7. Sometimes they are different than whats on the case.

thank you. do I need to save anything prior? I bought this laptop new in 2015 only to discover the warranty expired in 2013 - IN THE BOX. Dell warranty starts once they ship it from the factory. I had no idea......now I would like to sell it but need to reset it. any advice. DELL wanted to charge me $180

Thank you. Your video saved me having someone to fix. PC is back to its original self. Very helpful

hey GuruBrew i have a problem i did everything u did on the vid but the thing is that mine just stays at 1% i wanted to know whats wrong or what can i do any advice ?

Hi I followed all your direction and once I got to the part where you have to check dell restore option. It kept telling me that I haven't selected a parameter but there wasn't no parameter there and I couldnt do anything else. Can you help or give a tip?

Hey! I would like to know if You could do what you just did, if you no longer have windows installed on the hard drive! Thanks!

thank you so much for posting this video. I was able to restart my laptop without going to any store for help. hope you have an awesome time😁

You just saved me 120$ for software warranty from dell. You the man!

Brew what if you forgot the password to login to the recovery management. is there any other work around besides the recovery disk?

6:30 .. may I ask.. after you finished 'factory setting'.. how did you get that Window 7 Home Premium 'dialog box came up ?

Thank you so much as a gamer and not having a gaming laptop my laptop has been slow and gotten viruses and other stuff from torrenting so this was really helpful now my laptop works like a dream :)

Hi GuruBrew, when I select the "repair your computer" selection it just simply brings me to the normal log in screen that it would if you were just simply going use your computer nothing else comes up. I have a 531 inspiron dell pc. If you could help I would appreciate it thanks.

I can't find your video on resetting a windows 7 system when I don't have the CD installation disk. i don't have the bottom option on the "system recovery options" menu.

Thank you so much my computer is running like new please keep doing this to help other people.

You where great I know nothing about computers and I did it thanks to you. You're instructions are as clear as water lol. Thanks again new sub.

Hi, I have only one doubt. If I restore my system like this, will it affect on my E drive & F drive?? b'cause both drives are coming around 500 GB, so I can't back up it. please give me a favorable replay.

After i press Repair my Computer and the prompt of System Recovery Options pops up it will no longer let me move my mouse?? Any suggestions on how to fix this problem or get around it? Also it will not let me just simply press enter not sure if it let's me use keyboard anymore as well.

are drivers included if you system restore your computer? or do i have to install it manually?

is it will remove the whole data from my computer or just C drive will be formatted? actually i have an issue with webcam....imaging devices is not showing in device manager of my dell vostro 3560 laptop...what should i do??

What exactly would happen if I preserved new or changed files? Would it keep what I already had on the computer and restore the computers files and programs?

Hi, Love your channel, can you tell me how to stop someone who is using RalinkAPS to access my internet and another router. It is slowing down my band width and I am in need of help in this.

Is this format all disks or only c drive please reply

Sinior, My computer doesnt have the One Program om the Bottom the one that tales you to The restore area. It only has the commander and the other but that one is missing. What do i do?

Hey GuruBrew, i love your videos. i have a problem with logging in my desktop. I have a admin account but don't have a password, and somehow i can not get through it why? Every time i press ENTER it says "The User Profile Service service failed the logon. User profile cannot be loaded". And I am running Windows 7 Home Premium. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

I have a dell inspiron zino hd, I start the computer and tap the F-8 key and it brings me to the "repair the computer" screen. Once I've clicked on enter, The screen says, "windows is loading files". At this point It goes to the main screen where I would sign in the the computer. I don't have the repair disk either. Where do I go from here? Thank you in advance.

my hard drive that failed and I replaced it but I didnt have a restore disk so dell sent me one. Installed and upgraded to windows 10...all good so far. But I have two issues and I assume it has to do with drivers but I'm not sure. The touchpad doesn't work at all (external mouse is fine) and secondly the screen and computer does not go to sleep after the time I have set within the laptop. Any suggestions?

I have an hp mini that runs on windows xp. What he's your video on how to reset dell laptop with windows 7 back to factory out of box settings and performance. The video was very helpful and it was successful it's like I have a brand new laptop again I want to to the same for my hp mini nextbook it runs on windows xp can you help thank you.

Do you have a video on how to use the repair disk for when I get it from Dell? Could you please send me the link to that video?

I used Dell DataSafe Restore in my desktop and everything was doing exactly on the video until I clicked restart. After shown the dell, Setup is preparing your computer for first user screen was not came up. The screen is black and was not booted. Please help me.

Absolutely wonderful! I can now donate my Dell Inspiron Windows 7 Home Edition. Thank you for your kindness and for sharing your wisdom! 💜🙏

I have a dell desktop(dell precision T3600). I’m not getting a repair page when I press F8. Is it a different F key?

will this restore work with any dell laptop with win 7? is the process the same with win 8? i subscribed to your channel

thanks! you really saved me the time and money to see a computer tech.

Hey GuruBrew would this delete C: and D: on my Dell or just the C: partition (I'd like to keep my D: intact). Thanks in advance

Guru I have an inspiron and its amazing but I just have too much crap in their so I want to factory reset. I did this on my last computer. On my inspiron 1545 I get the repair your computer option so I press enter, but then it does the loading files thing then it just boots up normally. It just skips all the repair crap.

Subribe button SMASHED. This guy knows his stuff and this really worked. Its so conveinent that this was exacly what i needed. Dell inspiron with windows 7 home premium. Love these vids!

will have some form of sharing recovery partition Inspiron Mini 1012, we would greatly appreciate you could answer.

I have a Dell Inspiron 1545 Laptop, Windows 7 Home Build 7601, Service Pack 1. I have taken this in for repair, and it still doesn't work right. I would like to wipe it out and start all over again. This computer does not have the Recover option, only the Repair option. I heard you say that I would need to find a recovery disk. Where can I get one? I also have all the original disks that came with the computer. Can I use the Reinstallation DVD for this purpose?

Thank you very much for your video; it's very helpful. What can I do if my mini laptop does not come with a DVD drive to run the restore CD from Dell?

On my computer when I come to the blue page that says Choose a recovery tool, I do not have the last option that is one your computer. I have the first five tools but that is all. Please tell me what to do?

Just want to add a few recommendations. Dell DataSafe Local Backup should be uninstalled and the latest version of Dell Backup and Recovery should be installed before restoring to factory settings. I would also recommend making the recovery USB as a just in case. The Recovery USB made with Dell Backup and Recovery version 1.7.1.2 or later has some fixes which Recovery USBs made from earlier versions don't have. One important fix is the ability to install on a drive smaller than the original. This is very important when going from a 1-2 TB HDD to a 128-256 GB SSD.

Thank you, Steve! I have only done this before with the CD/DVD method. You helped with using the stored image. All the best, John

This is really annoying the F8 Repair Your Computer just boots straight into Windows! I did make a restore image to 4 DVDs when I got the thing, that boots to the restore screen but no datasafe option, restore from DVD image doesn't seem to work either!

Hi GuruBrew, My laptop has the Repair PC button but it doesn't have the dell datasafe local backup thing. What do i do?

I click repair comp and it just goes with normal startup help!

How can u reset your laptop but backing it up first can u do a video on that with the exact same laptop you used in this video

Is this the best way to go if you a newbie to computers and you get this ransomware virus that is going around now?

hey guru brew my computer doesn't shows the emergency fix which is the last one. what should I do

would you happen to know how to download the webcam program that one had? i do not know its name but it did exactly what youre doing. video recording dual videos of the screen and you at the same time. thanks

Hi, It really helps most of us. But i'm facing a problem while restoring factory settings in my DELL Windows 7. when system restarted, it navigates me to SET UP WINDOWS and here system is struck while setting some options as JOIN A WIRELESS NETWORK (for example) and i cannot proceed further. Could you please help me how to proceed further and/or alternative ways to get my laptop back to work.. :( :( Thanks alot...

Great video! I’m leaning towards a restore not a reset, been reading on the difference between both and what I want to go with… i dont mind if everything is wiped out except for my outlook and Adobe that came with the device. I’m hoping there is a choice in the restore points that is at that time. Not sure if that’s would be on the computer when the system is “born” or shorty after the fact when there is a purchase and they install those two options. I would like to restore the device and then DL windows 10 from 7. I don’t really want to pick and choose files to uninstall one by one, would like to get it to the point when I took it out of the box and fired it up with outlook and Adobe. Any feedback would be appreciated. I already removed files that I wanted to save just want to get back to when I got it, get W10 on there and then select programs I want on there. I have Inspiron 5547

Hey GuruBrew, U just earnt another sub!! I was wondering, is there any risk with this before i do it? Thanks

THANKS SO MUCH FOR LETTING ME KNOW ABOUT HOW TO RESTORE MY DELL INSPIRON B130 BACK TO FACTORY SETTINGS. LUCKILY I HAVE THE CD THAT I ORDERED TO BE ABLE TO DO IT. THANKS AGAIN!

you really saved me from smashing my laptop lol thank you very much great video

For my fell Inspiron 9300 running XP and to restore it the instructions were to hold CTRL+ F11 at the dell loading screen but it doesn't take me to the restore partition menu? What's going on

I have a Dell Latitude E6430. That option isn't there for me. And I don't have the disc because I bought it from someone. Any suggestions on how to fix?

Thanks for the video Steve. I'm wanting to restore my laptop to resell. So I don't want my name or username in the system recovery for the new owner to have to mess with. How do I get rid of every bit of information of my ever owning the laptop?

Hi, i want to try this method because i send my laptop to the shop for changing the hdd and windows recover but they put Windows 7 Ultimate but my original windows is Windows 7 Home Premium. I have a question if i do will i get back my original Windows 7 Home Premium?By the way it is a Dell Inspiron n110

i need your help i have 2 rootkits infected i want to restore it back to factory settings but i dont have dell datasafe is there any way you can help ?

I desperately need your help. After clicking Restore computer . not open any menu of options and simply start the computer normally . what should I do? please help me!

hello GuruBrew. I have a problem and i hope u gonna help me,frst my english is nost soo god so i hope u will understand me :( ...i have system recovery media on local disk D: and is steel there as a folder of 12gygabit and i never add - deleted or modified in any case...just before some days i install windows 8.1 in local disk C: and normally i formated but locak disk D: i didnt tuched at all ...but i dont like Windows 8.1 so now wen i restart my pc and i pres F8 to go on system recovery media as i did before its not any more there i mean its not showing me nothing...so i install one windows 7 and i tryied again with f8 but still nothing but my system recovery media is still on local disk D: so please tell me is posible that i recovery me system again how did before ?

Hello can u please help me,used a Dell so recovery USB key on my Dell xps studio desk top win 7 - now have a black screen with white message upon start up which says insert ur Windows install disk which I don't have,just before this issue had a message Windows boot mgr so decided to use the recovery USB key so this is where I am now.need my computer badly and can't afford a 179 dollar Dell help call,will see if Dell can send me a disc unless you can reply,thank you

I am trying to do a factory reset on a Dell Studio 1737 with Windows 7... that last option on recovery tools does not appear...what can I do?

ok so i started the factory reset. and it started. and then my screen says No signal but my PC is still running. i dont know what happened. if its still resetting. or it crashed.