Proper way to create a REFORMAT disc on a Dell Win7 desktop?

[gdtrfb]

Hi all, I have a new Dell XPS desktop with Win7, and coming from XP I am somewhat confused about how to go about making a disc to reformat if necessary. There is this thing called "dell datasafe" on my computer, but it seems like some kind of stupid service that stores your pictures and such online, amongst some other things that aren't so clear. Anyway, I made a "recovery media disk" (took 2 dvd-R's) but I am not certain if this is what I really need. It claims to reset the computer to "factory conditions" whatever that is supposed to mean.

Bottom line is, what I would like to be able to do in the event of a catastrophic virus, etc, is to COMPLETELY 100% REFORMAT my computer, similar to the way you delete the partition, create a new partition, and reinstall Win XP. I do not care one bit about saving files, pictures, and all that sort of thing - I just want to be able to do a clean sweep in the event that I need to.

So, did I do the right thing by making these disks with "Datasafe?" Or what?

 

[hedwar2011]

Hi all, I have a new Dell XPS desktop with Win7, and coming from XP I am somewhat confused about how to go about making a disc to reformat if necessary. There is this thing called "dell datasafe" on my computer, but it seems like some kind of stupid service that stores your pictures and such online, amongst some other things that aren't so clear. Anyway, I made a "recovery media disk" (took 2 dvd-R's) but I am not certain if this is what I really need. It claims to reset the computer to "factory conditions" whatever that is supposed to mean.

Bottom line is, what I would like to be able to do in the event of a catastrophic virus, etc, is to COMPLETELY 100% REFORMAT my computer, similar to the way you delete the partition, create a new partition, and reinstall Win XP. I do not care one bit about saving files, pictures, and all that sort of thing - I just want to be able to do a clean sweep in the event that I need to.

So, did I do the right thing by making these disks with "Datasafe?" Or what?

Yes, DELL Datasafe is the name of the program that controls the Recovery DVDs and the hidden partition on your computer (if you don't know about it the better) in the event you need to do what they call a PC Restore using a key sequence when the computer fails. Keep in mind, that if you ever experience a hard drive failure, that option will no longer be available from the hard drive but you will still have the recovery DVDs to accomplish the same thing.

 

[te100]

go to control panel click backup restore and on the left you will see two options create image or repair disk

 

[hedwar2011]

go to control panel click backup restore and on the left you will see two options create image or repair disk

That is a way to do it but that is merely going to create a backup of their personal files, etc.

The recovery disks that were created should suffice (I used to work for DELL for about 3 1/2 years) and was there when they first implemented the PC Restore functionality on their computers. They are the recommended method, if possible, because of the customization that DELL performs for their driver loads, etc.

 

[te100]

the create image will create an image of the hd so you can restore the os correct?