I have an older Dell desktop, and am facing the same situation. The computer did not come with a restore disc, only a card that mentioned Dell PC Restore. I was given similar info on the Dell site, about using an F key at startup to access the PC Restore functions. I was unable to do this, even after several tries. I researched the problem, and found that the "partition that contains PC Restore is probably corrupted". So I have to agree with Adam, it is a frustrating hassle. As for your question in the OP, I would like to know the answer myself. I wait with anticipation. In the meantime, I have considered installing a Linux distribution as the OS, instead of XP.

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Briant Holley
Prentiss Presbyterian Church (PCA);
Husband to Barbara, Father of Alexis, Justin, and Lacey
Silver Creek, MS