dell recovery cd? I dont think I have one of those...

do you mean resource cd?

What is the exact model and number of Dell?

Sorry we missed this point earlier but to Repair a Dell install you need the Dell software.

http://support.dell.com/

Its a Dell XPS Gen 5

also from what I understand, a dell system restore is basically like a reformat... it loses data.

Im just going to slave the drive and get a new one. im sick of these damn dells, theyre pieces of junk.

what would you recommend for a good computer? would you say lenovo is good? they bought IBM apparently and IBM is really good. would building my own computer be better?

would building my own computer be better?

Definitely! And you will find plenty of help here at D-A-L.

Im sure building my own would be better, but what about lenovo? ive heard great things about them

also if I were to build my own comp, I only know of newegg.com and tigerdirect.com, is there any other sites I could by parts from that you guys would recommend?

As you said Lenovo is the company that bought out IBM's personal computer business so essentially they are IBM computers in their roots.

I've heard nothing bad about them.

The thing about building your own is that you can get twice the quality hardware for the same price when you put the pieces together yourself.

Newegg is good for basics.

If you want specialty cases and or cooling options for example we can suggest many companies that specialize in specific components.

If possible, Id like to know all companies that specialize in every aspect of computers

as well as comparisons between companies:

Nvida vs ATI
Intel vs AMD
etc

if possible everything you could list. Id like the thank you guys greatly and plan on being a regular on this site very soon

edit- oh ya, and Id like to know what you guys think, not like pcmag or other review sites, because I find that the consumer knows best about whats best..

Please start a new thread in this section:

http://www.d-a-l.com/help/forumdisplay.php?f=17

Include your intended use for the computer e.g. Office or Gaming etc.

Also include your budget and anything else that you deem important from the start.

hello again, back on topic

ive figured out that I can use the copy command in the recovery console, and have a question about copying from one hdd to another

ive tried to copy my firefox bookmarks to my E: drive, but it continuously says access denied.

from my understanding, this is the correct way to type it:

copy "C:\program files\mozilla firefox\defaults\profiles\bookmarks.html E:\My Documents"

is there a way around this, or am I doing it wrong? it says on the microsoft website that you can do it, http://support.microsoft.com/kb/314058