Board logo

XP Pro install CD for Dell PC
paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 03:43 PM

I have an old Dell Latitude D610 laptop running XP Pro SP3 that my charming Daughter has stuffed by downloading various online game utilities. The problem is I can't find the original Dell XP install CD so can't perform a fresh install.
I have contacted Dell as I have the original product key on the bottom of the laptop but they won't help as they claim XP Pro is no longer supported by Microsoft, so in turn they cannot send out XP Pro CD's.

Does anyone have an original Dell D610 install CD they can lend or sell me please?

All this because my Daughter got an Ipod for Christmas and I can't install iTunes and fill it full of tunes.

RichardK - 26/12/10 at 04:11 PM

It may have a recovery partition, check this by..

1 Turn on the computer.
During the boot process, a blue bar with www.dell.com appears at the top of the screen.
2 Immediately upon seeing the blue bar, press <Ctrl><F11>.
If you do not press <Ctrl><F11> in time, let the computer finish restarting, and then
restart the computer again.

Cheers

Rich

paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 04:45 PM

Hi Rich I tried that and I now get a blue screen of death message
I think I need the CD if I stand a chance of recovering this laptop. It's not very well at all.

ashg - 26/12/10 at 05:03 PM

think i have got one at work but im not going back until 10th of jan so cant check until then.

paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 05:58 PM

quote:
Originally posted by ashg
think i have got one at work but im not going back until 10th of jan so cant check until then.

Thanks mate if I haven't got it sorted by then I might be in touch.

theconrodkid - 26/12/10 at 06:57 PM

i lent one to a mate,should see him again wednesday if that,s any good.

paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 07:49 PM

quote:
Originally posted by theconrodkid
i lent one to a mate,should see him again wednesday if that,s any good.


Thanks Conrod that sure would be helpful. If you do get it let me know and I will PM you my address. I can then return it with a few beer / tea tokens to cover your costs and time.

bmseven - 26/12/10 at 08:02 PM

Do you have a cd writer and a reasonable internet connection?

paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 09:31 PM

quote:
Originally posted by bmseven
Do you have a cd writer and a reasonable internet connection?

Indeed I do ................................

I've had enough of the torrents you can download though if you are going to suggest going down that route.

jonrotheray - 26/12/10 at 10:10 PM

I have one. Dell, but not specifically for the 610 - Xp plus Sp1.

My daughter is going home to Bath tomorrow.

I could send it with her if you're prepared to pick it up.
Jon

[Edited on 26/12/10 by jonrotheray]

paulbeyer - 26/12/10 at 10:44 PM

quote:
Originally posted by jonrotheray
I have one. Dell, but not specifically for the 610 - Xp plus Sp1.

My daughter is going home to Bath tomorrow.

I could send it with her if you're prepared to pick it up.
Jon

[Edited on 26/12/10 by jonrotheray]


Thanks for the offer Jon but I won't be able to make it to Bath tomorrow due to other arrangements.

Cheers anyway.

bmseven - 27/12/10 at 12:01 PM

quote:
Originally posted by paulbeyer
quote:
Originally posted by bmseven
Do you have a cd writer and a reasonable internet connection?

Indeed I do ................................

I've had enough of the torrents you can download though if you are going to suggest going down that route.


I have a Dell reinstallation CD not specific for your lap top that I have used on many Dell's.

Could write an image and upload for you to DL purely for testing purposes

RichardK - 27/12/10 at 04:37 PM

quote:

I have a Dell reinstallation CD not specific for your lap top that I have used on many Dell's.


Thing must have changed as all the Dells I've worked on are bios locked and you can only use the recovery cd created specifically for that model.

Hope you get it sorted.

Rich

paulbeyer - 27/12/10 at 06:35 PM

I might have it sorted using Clonezilla. I called a workmate and using a VPN tunnel I am currently downloading a Dell D610 XP Pro SP3 image (very slowly). In theory, as the image was created from identical hardware I should be able to reimage my laptop with Clonezilla and use my genuine XP Pro product key.
I'll let you know if it works but it looks like it's going to be an overnight job to pull down the clonezilla image we have on our works server.

McLannahan - 27/12/10 at 08:47 PM

quote:
Originally posted by paulbeyer
I might have it sorted using Clonezilla. I called a workmate and using a VPN tunnel I am currently downloading a Dell D610 XP Pro SP3 image (very slowly). In theory, as the image was created from identical hardware I should be able to reimage my laptop with Clonezilla and use my genuine XP Pro product key.
I'll let you know if it works but it looks like it's going to be an overnight job to pull down the clonezilla image we have on our works server.


Paul - Any Del OEM XP Pro CD will work and not need activating with your D610. If you still get stuck I can send you one - I have loads at work. Having built many many D series laptops - If it has a legit key on the base, it'll be fine and will not need to be re-activated.

paulbeyer - 28/12/10 at 07:11 PM

Hello everyone. Many thanks for all the advice and kind offers of help but I have managed to sort it using Clonezilla and a Dell D610 XP Pro image I downloaded from work.
I had to call the Microsoft product activation line to activate my copy of XP Pro but that was a simple task with the genuine product key on the bottom of the laptop. And the best thing about Clonezilla was the whole job from start to finish was less than 15 minutes.

McLannahan - 28/12/10 at 07:16 PM

Ah, good news!