BleepingComputer.com: Reinstalling Vista

My Dell Inspiron 531s is about 2-3 years old and has really slowed down and I'd like to reinstall it. I use ccleaner and malawarebytes and defrag and this doesn't really speed it up. Need a fresh start. What do I need to do this? I've done this on two other computers in the past but want to make sure I do it correctly. I have a 1.5 TB external harddrive so I would need to back up. Thanks

This post has been edited by kingarthur2: 10 January 2012 - 08:28 PM

You seem to know as just after backing up all files and then look for the recovery partition or do a factory restore for a fresh OS.

Hello kingarthur2,

To elaborate on what jhayz said:

• Backup any important documents, photos, music onto your external drive.
• Download your system's owner manual - 212 pages (pdf) from here.
• Arrow down to page 95 : Using Dell PC Restore and Dell Factory Image Restore
• Skip down to page 96: Windows Vista: Dell Factory Image Restore and follow the steps listed.
• Note: All data on the hard drive will be deleted with this method.
• After the recovery finishes, immediately update your antivirus software then download all Microsoft Vista updates including SP2 and beyond.
• Update Java, Flash Player, Acrobat Reader, QuickTime Player, and Internet Explorer to their latest versions.
• Avoid randomly surfing the web until all updates have completed.

Good Luck.

Thank you. Did it and now installing virus, microsoft office, etc...lets see if it works better...I know it will!

Ok. Computer is running faster but one problem that was happening before I reinstalled was when I restarted, it would never make it to the Dell screen. It would beep, beep twice and keep doing this, never booting up. I would hold down the power button and it would turn off. Do this a few times and it would eventually start up. Then, after running for a few minutes, it would freeze. Today after installing the new vista updates, when it went to reboot one time, it did it again. I again held down the power button. Then started it up again and its been running fine for about an hour here. Any suggestions would could cause a boot issue, even after I've reinstalled? Thanks! Also, I can never get back to my post on bleeping computer without having to go back to my email THEN clicking on my link. Is there a spot where I can go to my post after logging on? Thanks

Beep codes for the Inspiron series here : http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/inspd530/en/OM/HTML/trouble.htm
Run diagnostic utility for the memory stick or remove one stick as documented for the 2 beep codes.

I removed all 4 memory sticks and put 1 in at a time and the computer is running fine (just not as quick since only 1 GB of ram installed instead of 4). It boots up now and doesn't beep twice like it used to nor does it freeze after it boots up. Could someone tell me where I can run a memory diagnostic test on the memory and cpu? Would I need to put all 4 sticks back in or do the test with only 1 stick at a time. Currently, I've got 1 stick in there for a day to see if 1 triggers the issue. Thanks

If you wanted a more strenuos test, you could test one memory module at a time, following the procedure below.

Go to Memtest86+ and download the "precompiled Iso" file here.

• Unzip the file and burn the iso file to CD. (See how to:)
• Make sure your computer is set to boot from CD/DVD drive first. (See how to:)
• Boot the computer with Memtest86+ CD.
• The program will auto start. Allow it to run through at least 7 "passes" (over night would be better) or until it registers any errors.
• The test can be stopped as soon as an error is reported.
• To isolate the problem module should you have more than one memory chip, test each chip, one at a time, in the slot closest to the CPU.
• If a memory chip tests bad, then retest that chip in a different memory slot.
• Remember, any errors can mean a bad memory stick or bad memory slot on the motherboard.