Restoring pc I am trying to restore my e-machines T2542 with the restoring discks sets. After completing the process it calls for a set-up process and stops in the "name the computer" step which I tryied to skip in other subsequent tryes... with no results... I just need to restore my old desktop to its orininal set.

1 Turn on the computer.
2 When the Dell splash screen appears during the computer startup process, press and hold <Ctrl> and then press <F11>. Then, release both keys at the same time.
3 In the Dell PC Restore by Symantec window, click Restore. Alternatively, press <Tab> to highlightRestore, and then press <Enter>.
4 When a warning message appears stating that all data will be lost, click Confirm, or press <Tab> to highlight Confirm and then press <Enter>.

The Progress window will appear. Once the restore process starts, Dell PC Restore by Symantec usually takes about 8 to 10 minutes to finish.

When the restore process is complete, the following message will appear:
The system recovery process was successful.

Try restarting...when the eMachines splash screen appears (e)...press Alt+F10 at the same time...this is the method I learned about when my eMachines recovery management would not complete the restoration process...mine is a desktop pc...but give it a try and see what happens.

Hi! Welcome to www.fixya.com.
Click "Start" and then "All Programs."
2Click "Samsung," and then click "Samsung Recovery Solution." Click "Samsung Recovery Solution" again to launch the Samsung Recovery Solution program.
3Click "Restore," and then select "Complete Restore."
4Click the empty circle to the left of "Complete Initial Status," and then click "Next." The computer will automatically restart.
5Click "Agree" when the licensing agreement appears on the screen.
6Click "OK" after the computer restarts to begin the restoration process. When the process is complete, a dialog box will appear on the screen telling you the process is complete and that you can click "OK" to restart the computer. Click "OK." When the computer restarts you can begin setting up Windows.


Read more: How to Restore Factory Settings on a Computer System ' eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/how_7213487_restore-factory-settings-computer-system.html#ixzz1Sb728twX

Hope this resolution fix the problem on your computer.Thanks for contacting Fixya. Bye for now.

I posted the previous solution :)
You can name your machine what ever you like I would keep it simple and not include spaces to avoid confusion. The last machine I rebuilt I named after my dog "Ollie".

1. While most Dell desktops respond well to "System Restore," which restores the Windows operating system, occasionally a computer may need to be restored to factory settings. This is usually done as a last resort and is usually due to viruses that can't be removed. While you should try "System Restore" on your Dell first, resetting the desktop to factory settings is an option. This is done through a PC restore by Symantec. Be aware that not all Dell desktops have this ability, and before proceeding with this option, you should call Dell tech support
   
   

2. Make copies of all things on your PC you want to save, such as photos, documents and other installed programs. Resetting your PC to factory settings will erase all data on the hard drive. It will erase anything that you installed on your computer after you received it.
   

3. Restart your computer.
   

4. As the computer is turning on, you will see a blue bar that says "Dell.com" across the top of your monitor. At this time, press the Ctrl and F11 keys simultaneously. If you wait too long, you will miss the opportunity to do this and will have to restart your computer again.
   

5. Click the "Restore" option when the next screen appears.
   

6. Click "Confirm." The PC will begin its resetting process. This process takes approximately 10 minutes.
   

7. Click "Finish" when the process is complete. Allow the PC to restart itself. Do not restart it yourself since it needs to run through its boot program.
   

8. Click "Yes" to allow the computer to restart. When it does, it will be at original settings, and you will see the "End User License Agreement" screen. Click "Next." The System Restore screen will appear, and the computer will do another restart.
   

9. Once it does another restart, click "OK." You have now reset your Dell desktop to factory settings.
   

If I could be of further assistance, let me know. If this helps or solves the issue, please rate it and give a testimonial for my response.

Thanks, Joe

I’m happy to assist further over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/joe_8b8c2cd6ce148309

Resetting a consumer desktop/laptop to factory settings is fairly straight-forward. Follow the steps below to reinstall the OS and drivers.
Before beginning, here are the items you will need:
A. Computer/laptop B. Microsoft Windows OS CD/DVD
1. Power on your computer. 2. Insert the Windows OS CD/DVD in to the optical drive. 3. Restart the computer and boot from the CD/DVD when prompted. 4. Follow the installation prompts to complete the install. 5. Once completed, eject the CD/DVD and perform a Windows Update to update the system and any drivers you may be missing.

Most of the HP Notebooks are shipped with recovery partitiona d you can restore to factory settings uisng teh recovery partition.

Perform ing Full System Reocvery will completely remove the data on the hard drive. Hence it is recommended to take the back up of the important data present in the Notebook before perform ing the Full System Recovery.

1. Restart the notebook.
2. At the Compaq logo, press F11 to initiate the Recovery options.
3. The PC Recovery screen will be displayed. Select PC Recovery and
press Next.
4. In the next screen, click OK to access the Recovery menu.
5. You will receive a screen explaining the System Recovery Process.
Click Next to continue.
6. Once the Recovery process is completed, you will prompted to either
restart or turn off the computer.

Different manufacturers have different set of keys... Try F11 when starting up machine, or if you can into windows look for recovery software in 'all programs'

Hi there,from the sounds of it this lovely little excercise is due to the hard drive failure,either that or no OS - XP disk is dead or damaged.
If you have the original restore disks from the 3680.
You could try reinstall and test from there,If your contents were important then try to remove hdd take to another computer and see if the drive recognises on the other machine,
If it allows access ,copy all your settings and documents straight away because it could die shortly,hopefully not tho....
Once the back up of your docs and settings and hdd back in your computer then use the restore disk to revive your machine,
This process wipes the C Drive and does a complete reinstall of all the required softwares and in the correct order too...
It should take 15-20 min to load onto the machine and about 40 minutes to reinstall all the RESTORE to Factory Defaults Settings.
Just let it do this process from start to finish and it should eject disk when done and reboot by itself.
when it starts up again it will be back to the windows activation screen and the ready to start loading up if your have the original restore disc,
Once your happy with it and its working,

CREATE A RESTORE POINT

How do I create a restore point?
START>ALL PROGRAMS>ACCESSORIES>SYSTEM TOOLS>SYSTEM RESTORE<Select NAME this as

"FRESH INSTALL JAN 2009"

This will help you return to the point when everything was working,
If you should'nt encounter any more problems,

There may be a Hidden Partion on your hard drive that may allow you to restore from that.Then all thats needed doing is the bios settings will need to be changed to select the XP CD on bootup or the hidden partion on bootup then select save and reboot,It should be straight forward from there.

Just about finished,

Dont for get to do your windows updates for SP2 and then turn off the update functions.

And BACK UP the new install to DVD blank so you can restore
any other time you have issues

I hope this helps but that should cover itn for you,
If you need more help please let me know.

Thanks Misterdj

hi philipQ

Did your laptop come with restore CDs?, if it did, then i suggest you to a complete system restore. and see if the problem is solved.

i am always here
Thanks
RAhUL