sockdip wrote:If you have everything you want and/or need thats important to you off the machine then you don't need sytem recovery, just do a fresh install of the operating system.
If you don't have a copy, then download it from pirate bay or wherever.
You already have a legal licence which should be on a sticker on the back of the machine, which you type in during install.
Wrong.
A COA is *NOT* a valid licence, merely part of it.
An OEM installation of Windows (the OEM in this case is Dell) consists of:
- the preinstallation made on the computer
- the media kit / hdd restore solution (with option for an end user to create their own media)
- the COA ("sticker") on the side of the computer
In most instances, the key is never needed as the computers BIOS contains part of a system to activate the OEM build without the number off the case.
Downloading a disk from the likes of Pirate bay is stupid for many reasons and theft/piracy to boot.
How do you know the media has not been tampered with? During investigations, many versions were downloaded and had been altered to include the likes of trojans, viruses and other modifications not detected/hidden from normal means of detection.
If you didn't take the chance to create the media (very common), then you can contact Dell who will usually (for a fee, typically around the 20ish mark) send you an offical media kit that you can use to reinstall. The kits typically include driver/software disks which are very handy to have during the process.
It's the safe option, one which I would advise you take - but it's up to you.
BG
I have put all important info on an external usb so I would like to know if any one knows how to 
