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I got a Dell Inspiron 1521 laptop from a local computer store that a buddy of mine works at. When I turned it on I had come to realize it has not been wiped and reverted to factory defaults.

How can revert the machine to factory defaults?

I do not have any of the CDs that came with the machine, all I have is the computer and the power brick.

But if it helps any I can able to get into Windows so I full access to the machine.

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Windows Vista or W7, use F8 at the Dell logo screen at boot time to access the restore function.

If it is XP use Ctrl+F11

This will only work if the restore partition is still present and no one has tinkered with the Master Boot Record.

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Yeah I was able to find the restore partition and it worked like charm. Thanks for the help. – Solignis Jan 10 '11 at 22:55
I would make a "full disk image" (all partitions) of that hard drive, you can use it to restore the system if the hard drive ever dies. – Moab Jan 11 '11 at 3:17
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Do what Moab said, or if you have lost your Dell Restore partition... get your hands on a Dell System Restore disk for this model, boot from that, and it will be fairly self explanatory from there.

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