I have a dell inspiron 1100 and I dont know how to reset it back to factory settings and it has bios but I can`t find anything on how to reset everything. I need help.

for windows xp start your laptop and press ctrl +f11 and then follow the instructions and if you are using windows vista or 7 then go to bios by pressing "F8"
As the computer starts, press the F8 key until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears on the screen.
* Press the (Down Arrow) to select Repair Your Computer on the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press Enter.
* Specify the language settings that you want, and then click Next.
* Log in as a user who has administrative credentials, and then click OK.
* Click Dell Factory Image Restore.
* In the Dell Factory Image Restore window, click Next.
* Click to select the check box for Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition.
* Click Next. The computer is restored to the default factory configuration.
* When the restore operation is completed, click Finish to restart the computer.

Turn on the laptop and hit the F2 key until the Bios screen comes up.

Dell Inspiron 1100 - Bios Download link:
http://www.dell.com/support/drivers/us/en/19/DriverDetails?DriverId=R87514&FileId=2731111470&DriverName=Dell%20Inspiron%201100%20Dell%20System%20BIOS%2C%20A32&productCode=inspiron-1100&urlProductCode=False

Dell Inspiron 1100 - Documentation support Link:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins5100/en/sm/index.htm

Unless your using a email program such as thunder bird or if it is a Yahoo or Gmail account I would not even worry about having to delete anything. Just send it back they cannot access private information without the password anyway. So send it back get it fixed and move forward with a new machine when it comes back? John

computers dont realy have a factory reset the only reset function that exist is with bios to do this when the unit is first turned on press f12 and it will take you into bios but if you dont know what your doing i would not mess with bios but its your computer

best luck

Resetting a Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop to the factory settings allows the user to restore the Dell Inspiron to the original operating condition as if it was just taken out of the box. Dell system includes a restore utility called 'Dell Symantec System Restore' to reset or restore your Dell system to factory setting.

Step 1: Before reset any Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop, backup your all important data and programs, otherwise you may lose it. It is recommended to use an external storage device for your entire data backup, so that you couldn't lose it in any sudden occurring issue...

Step 2: Remove any other unnecessary external drive and restart your Dell Inspiron laptop.

Step 3: Press 'F8' key continue until 'Advanced Boot Options' wouldn't be appear.

Step 4: Use your keyboard arrow key to select 'Repair Your Computer' from the list and hit 'Enter'.

Step 5: Now click 'Next' and login as the administrator account.

Step 6: Click 'Dell Factory Image Recovery and Data Safe options', select your language option and click 'Next'.

Step 7: Click the check box 'Yes, reformat hard drive and restore system software to factory condition' and click 'Next' to start Dell Inspiron reset process...

This process will erase all your previous changes that have been made to the Dell Inspiron laptop and reset the configuration settings to factory setting.

Feel free to get technical assistance for all models of Dell Inspiron 1100 laptop at http://www.vtechsquad.com/dell-support/

you mean bios factory settings?
hit del on start up
and klick f7 it is for optmized seting , or f5 it is for default, sacve to you cmos and that is it

restart your computer when you see the dell screen press CTRL+F11 follow the steps.

if your computer is older then 4 years I think its F8

I is my understanding that you can contact Dell with the service tag, and express code and get the master password to clear forgotten passwords.

You can run a system repair with the recovery or operating system disc to get it back to the factory settings. A repair will reset the system, and leave any of your files, pics, and programs that you've put into the machine. If you want to clear everything, and go back to the factory settings, then reformat the hard drive and install a new operating system.

if your computer shows a blue bar at the top of the screen and says www.dell.com you can try ctrl+f11 which will start the system restore sequence......hopefully you have one of the dells which containt this feature