Computer help forum: Dell Dimension 2400 System Recovery

By "COMPLETE recovery", do you mean starting from scratch, reformatting, then reinstall everything?

The most important part is what items does your brother have at his location?.. Most Dell computers have a a recovery CD that includes the operating system and maybe the various other programs. He should also have a "Resource CD" which includes the drivers for the hardware that came from the factory. The drivers from the Resource CD need to be installed and that could be the reason for the display problem.. Tell us about the EXACT backup CD's that your brother has..

Did he also install other programs such as Microsoft Office (or anything else) that he also needs to install after the standard recovery is made?...

Did he make backups of all his important documents so they can be copied back to the computer after the recovery?

More information please.

Grif

The task isn't that difficult but unlike your HP or Compaq, the drivers usually need to be installed separately after Windows is installed. Since you mentioned 2003 as the purchase date, it's also important to know whether his Windows XP CD has a service pack included and if so, which one.. If it does not have the current Service Pack 2, then he'll need to reinstall SP2 for XP immediately after installing the operating system and drivers..

And if there are Java script issues, installing the most recent java and windows script engine should help with that issue..
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To get you started with the Dell operating CD, you should be able to place the CD in the CD-Rom drive, then restart the computer.. As long as the CD-Rom is set to boot first in the BIOS, you'll see a prompt indicating "Press any key to boot from CD". At the prompt, press the "Enter" key and the process to reformat the machine will begin. You should then be able to follow the steps in the link below:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxphome/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm

Once the operating system is installed, then the "Resource CD" should be used to install all the drivers.. After that, Service Pack 2 should be installed from the internet or from a Service Pack 2 CD.

We'll try to work through it but we still need all that information.

Hope this helps.

Grif

Thanks for the information. My previous instructions still apply. I'll list the steps below:

1. To get you started with the Dell operating CD, you should be able to place the CD in the CD-Rom drive, then restart the computer.. As long as the CD-Rom is set to boot first in the BIOS, you'll see a prompt indicating "Press any key to boot from CD". At the prompt, press the "Enter" key and the process to repartition and reformat the machine will begin. You should then be able to follow the steps in the link below:

http://www.windowsreinstall.com/winxphome/sp2installxpcdoldhdd/indexfullpage.htm

2. Once the operating system is installed, then the "Resource CD" should be used to install all the drivers.. After that, Service Pack 2 should be installed from the internet or from a Service Pack 2 CD. With a fast internet connection, you can download the full Service Pack 2 installer using the link below. Burn it to a CD and have it waiting to install in the correct order we've described:

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=049C9DBE-3B8E-4F30-8245-9E368D3CDB5A&displaylang=en

3. You'll then want to install the items in the Application CD.. Watch that carefully. Some of the items there are simply Dell "junk" (diagnostic stuff) that is not a required installation. If there are actual needed programs on the CD, then install them to your preference.

4. The driver CD for "Reinstalling V.9x "Capable"/56k Telephony Data/Fax/Voice Modem Software for MSWindows" may or may not be necessary.. While installing the various drivers from the "Resource CD" earlier, check to see if there is a modem driver installed at that time. If that's the case, then you probably don't need to install the modem software from this particular CD.

5. The Quick Setup CD for the monitor is normally information only.. Sometimes, there's a .inf driver included but there's really no need to install anything from this CD unless the monitor has problem. It shouldn't.

Hope this helps.

Grif

That's why the "font is overblown". It's also the reason that he can't change the screen resolution. The video driver hasn't been installed yet.. It's on the Resource CD. It doesn't sound like the hard drive is damaged. It simply sounds like your brother doesn't know what he's doing around computers. Even for an experienced user, recovery in this matter will take a few hours..

The missing desktop icons is as designed. The original installation of XP must be "fine tuned" in order to see other icons on the desktop.. Please RIGHT click on a blank area of the desktop, choose "Properties" from the menu. When the Properties window opens, click on the "Desktop" tab, then click on the "Customize Desktop" button. When that opens, place a CHECK mark in the boxes next to "My Computer", "Internet Explorer", "My Network Places" and "My Documents". Now click on OK, then "Apply", then OK.

Next, the resource CD can be simply placed in the CD-Rom while in Windows and it should autorun. It then installs itself and then allows the user to bring up the various driver installers for the machine.. If it doesn't autorun when placed in the CD-Rom, then open "My Computer" that you've now got on the desktop, then double click on the CD-Rom icon. (Or RIGHT click on the CD-Rom icon, choose 'Explore" from the menu.) There should be a "setup.exe" file on the CD to double click on and it will install itself and then show the various drivers..

If he can't run some of these simple types of procedures, it may be necessary to get help to him. Don't blame yourself for your brother's inexperience on a computer.. I've worked with people over the phone where it took 30 minutes to teach someone how to open their e-mail program.. It's now easier, quicker, and cheaper to simply visit those types of individuals and perform the work myself. It's up to you.

Hope this helps.

Grif

The Resource CD is a good but as shown in our discussion in this thread, you'll also need the XP reinstall disc as well.. The list from "MrsDinoDoug" earlier in this thread indicated there were a number of discs shipped with the computer. Here's that list again:

DISCS:

1. Operating System - Reinstallation CD MS XP Home Edition including Service Pack 1A
2. Drivers and Utilities - Dell Dimension Resource CD
3. Application - Reinstalling Dell Tools System Software
4. Drivers and Utilities Reinstalling V.9x "Capable"/56k Telephony Data/Fax/Voice Modem Software for MSWindows
5. Display by Dell E171FPB Color Monitor Quick Setup

In order to install the XP part, you'll need to discs above or something that will serve in it's place. Then you can follow the instructions as given earlier in this thread.. Read the posts please.

Hope this helps.

Grif

which can be downloaded from this link:
http://belarc.com/free_download.html

That will provide you with a complete inventory of your maching and in the case of a Dell it will also tell you what your service tag number is.

If you have any more questions about your specific problem PLEASE start your own thread because often thes old threads just get ignored as a probable glitch of the forum software.

THANK YOU... THANK YOU !!!

Even though it has been 5 years since these were posted... these posts helped me bring my Dell 2400 back up to speed, I was having the same problems as Mrs.DD, and followed your instructions and SUCCESS... again... THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!

Dixie