The Dell Inspiron Mini 10 series of netbooks come with recovery software that can restore your netbook's original factory settings. Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbooks with Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7 can be recovered to the factory settings using a recovery partition on the hard drive. Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbooks with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS can be recovered to the factory settings using a recovery disc provided when the netbook was purchased.
Windows Vista or Windows 7 Recovery
- 1 Turn on or restart your Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook. Press the "F8" key repeatedly when the "Dell" logo appears on the screen to be redirected to the "Advanced Boot Options" menu.
- 2 Highlight "Repair Your Computer," and then press "Enter."
- 3 Highlight the language layout you want to use for your keyboard and click "Next." Enter your username and password if prompted. Click "OK."
- 4 Click "Dell Factory Image Restore," and then click "Next." The recovery software on some Dell Mini systems may require you to click "Dell Factory Tools" followed by "Dell Factory Image Restore" and "Next."
- 5 Click "Next" if you understand the netbook will be restored to its original factory settings. The recovery process will begin.
- 6 Click "Finish" when a message appears saying the recovery is complete. The netbook will restart and boot up to the Windows Vista or Windows 7 set-up screen, where you can begin personalizing your netbook.
Windows XP Recovery
- 1 Turn on the computer. Press the "Ctrl" and "F11" keys at the same time while the computer is booting up to access the recovery software.
- 2 Click "Restore."
- 3 Click "Confirm" to begin the recovery process, which shouldn't take longer than 10 minutes.
- 4 Click "Finish" to restart the computer and finalize the installation. Click "Yes" to restart the netbook again. The computer will boot up to the Windows XP setup screen.
Ubuntu 8.04 LTS Recovery
- 1 Plug an external optical drive into an available USB port on your Dell Inspiron Mini 10 netbook. Insert the Ubuntu LTS disc that came with your netbook and restart your netbook.
- 2 Press the "F12" key repeatedly when the Dell logo appears to be redirected to the "Boot Options" menu.
- 3 Highlight the name of your optical drive, and then press "Enter." Press the "Enter" key again to boot the netbook from the optical drive.
- 4 Select the language your operating system should function in, and then press "Enter." Select the language for your keyboard configuration. Press "Enter."
- 5 Select your time zone, and then press "Enter." Select the option to automatically partition your hard drive. Click "Enter." The partitions will set up. When the process is complete, select "Standard System" to install the standard programs that come with the operating system.
- 6 Type a password for the default administrator account when you are prompted, and then click "OK." Type in a username and password for your user account and click "OK." The installation will complete.
- 7 Remove the Ubuntu LTS disc. Click "Enter" to restart the netbook and begin personalizing your operating system.
