Factory Resetting my Alienware PC Running Windows 7

No, in no case do you ever need to pay to Factory Recovery or do the vastly superior Clean Reinstall Windows 7.  You only need a working Recovery partition or the Product Key on COA sticker under battery or on bottom of laptop.

It should prompt on the BIOS splash screen which key to press to Factory Recover which is not the same as System Restore, usually F11 or F8 and similar to this:  How to restore your Windows 7 computer to factory settings | Dell US .

But this reinstalls all of the bloatware which is not nearly as good as doing the Clean Reinstall Windows 7 using the Product Key which should be on the COA sticker on the bottom of laptop or under battery.  Follow the steps in the link and you'll have the best possible install that will stay that way as long as you do.

Feel free to ask back any questions and let us know how it goes.

Someone recently gave me their PC and I would like to factory reset it. However, due to a lot of complications, I have not yet found a way to do this without spending over $100. Here are the complications:

The farthest back restore point that exists on the system is March 3rd 2017, which does not reset the PC to factory settings. I tried clicking "show more options," but no more options appeared. So I can't use restore points in order to reset my PC.

I do not have the Windows installation disc, so I cannot reinstall windows in order to reset my PC.

I do not have a Windows 10 product key, nor do I have a Windows 7 product key. This means if I try to download either of the operating systems onto a disk or external drive, I will have to buy a product key, which I do not want to do.

I cannot think of anything else. Do I really have to pay in order to reset my PC?

Hi,

Using Restore points are not how you do a recovery to factory settings.

There is a Recovery partition imaged onto your hard drive by the manufacturer to do what you want to do.

What is and How to use AlienRespawn | Dell US

1. What is AlienRespawn?

The AlienRespawn software is a tool that comes preinstalled in all Alienware computers which will help you to safely backup and recovery your information to protect it from data loss or simply to restore the computer to the original factory settings.

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Or you can also borrow the exact same Retail Windows 7 Edition DVD and use your Product Key to reinstall.

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Or you can use this for preinstalled or Retail Licenses

Download the correct ISO file and make your own disk and use the Product Key that is on the COA Sticker.

https://www.heidoc.net/joomla/technology-science/microsoft/67-microsoft-windows-iso-download-tool

And here are instructions on how to burn ISO images to disk:

http://www.snapfiles.com/get/ISORecorder.html

Then do a clean install:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/1649-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

The COA sticker is either on the underside of the Laptop or in the Battery Compartment.

With a Desktop it is either on the side, rear or top of the Computer Case.

Using the downloaded ISO file Method may require phone Activation.

If it does require phone Activation, do not follow the Auto Prompts, but hold on for a real person to explain to as to what has been done for re-installation purposes

"How to Activate Windows 7 by Phone"

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/18715-activate-windows-7-phone.html

The above method also will require you to go to your Computer Manufacturer's website > Support and Downloads Section > locate your Model Number and Operating System > then download and install the latest Drivers for it.

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Using the USB method in conjunction with the above Windows 7 download:

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/2432-usb-windows-7-installation-key-drive-create.html

"How to Get and Use the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool"

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/31541-windows-7-usb-dvd-download-tool.html

Cheers.

Unfortunately, my windows product key was removed from my CPU. Well... that, or, I can't find it. I've look on all six sides of my PC but I could not find anything that looked like a COA Sticker

My PC's files do not contain AlienRespawn. However, I will try using the recovery partition to reset my CPU.

So this isn't a laptop where it could be under battery?  What is the exact full model number and Dell Service Tag code off the sticker on the PC? 

If you cannot boot the Recovery partition following the link I gave you earlier, you can try to manually set up a dual boot to trigger it following Boot Recovery Partition using EasyBCD.

If nothing else works then you can try to either generate Recovery media or order it for a small cost from Dell following Dell Media Recovery Options | Dell US