I was given a computer by a friend. it is a dell desktop and currently has windows xp home edition for an os. the computer has alot of unknown passwords and alot of bad stuff on it. i would like to reset the computer to factory settings so i can start fresh. i do not have the origonal disks or recovery disks. nor do i have the money to buy them. can you help me? PLEASE?

Sometimes only a certain number of Windows are allowed to be installed. Ask your friend to install it for you. If he can't, don't buy.

Ask your friends to borrow either a "retail" Windows XP Home Edition CD-ROM (bought when XP was available in retail stores) or an "OEM" (Original Equipment Manufacturer) version. The OEM version was used by Microsoft-licensed "system-builders" (small computer-stores that assemble computers from the individual components, and then install this "generic" version of Windows).

If you have the "genuine Windows" decal on the side of your desktop, use that 25-character product-key and the "borrowed" CD-ROM to reinstall Windows.

To find out how much RAM is currently installed on the Windows XP Home computer, right click on My Computer (either from the Start menu or desktop) and choose Properties. In the General tab it will tell you how much RAM is currently installed. To find out how much RAM you can install and what speed it has to be, go to Crucial.com and run their free memory scanner.

The easiest, and my personal favorite, is to use Parallels Desktop for Mac:
http://www.parallels.com/products/desktop/

If you're not into desktop virtualization (running an OS inside of another OS at the same time), you can do something called dual boot, in which you'll have the option after you turn the computer on to use either Windows XP or Mac. You'll have to reboot everytime you want to switch, though.
http://nirlog.com/2006/03/18/winxp-and-osx-dual-boot-in-macbook-pro/

Remember to keep a current backup of your data before attempting a Windows XP installation.

Hello Friend,

This Motherboard support HT technolgy and supported operating system details given below with URL

Microsoft Windows* Operating System Desktop Based PCs
The following desktop operating systems include optimizations for HT Technology and are currently eligible to carry the new Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology logo:

• Microsoft Windows* XP Professional Edition
• Microsoft Windows* XP Home Edition
• Microsoft Windows* Vista Home Basic
• Microsoft Windows* Vista Home Premium
• Microsoft Windows* Vista Home Ultimate
• Microsoft Windows* Vista Home Business

The following desktop operating systems are not recommended for use with Hyper-Threading Technology. If you are using one of the following desktop operating systems, it is advised that you should disable Hyper-Threading Technology in the system BIOS Setup program:

• Microsoft Windows* 2000 (all versions)
• Microsoft Windows NT* 4.0
• Microsoft Windows* Me
• Microsoft Windows* 98
• Microsoft Windows* 98 SE

Linux* Operating System Desktop Based PCs
The following Linux operating systems include optimizations for HT Technology and are currently eligible to carry the Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor with HT Technology logo:

• Red Hat Linux* 9 (Professional and Personal versions)
• SuSE Linux* 8.2 (Professional and Personal versions)
• Red Flag Linux* Desktop 4.0
• COSIX* Linux* 4.0
• Solaris* 10
• Open Solaris*

Note that while other Linux operating systems may have HT Technology enabled, only the distributions above are currently eligible to carry the Intel Pentium 4 Processor with HT Technology logo. If purchasing a PC based on a different Linux operating system, check with your PC vendor to determine if the PC includes the necessary system ingredients for HT Technology and has HT Technology enabled.

http://www.intel.com/support/processors/sb/CS-017343.htm

Regards,
Viju

Try downloading the audio drivers from the link below and then reinstalling the same:

Download Driver

You may need to check to see which "service pack" you are currently on.

See below requirements:

System Software — Windows XP & Vista

• Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition
  
  • 32-bit OS Installation Only
    
• Windows XP Professional or Home Edition
  
  • With Windows XP Service Pack 2 or Service Pack 3
    
  
  
• Not Supported:
  
  • Windows Vista 64-bit (any version)
    
  • Windows XP Professional x64 Edition
    
  • Windows XP Media Center Edition
    
  • Windows 98, Me, 2000, NT, 95, 3.1, DOS
    
  
  
• Not Tested:
  
  • Windows Vista Home and Home Premium Edition
    
  • Although Windows Vista Home and Home Premium Edition have not been tested or qualified by Digidesign, there are currently no known issues with Vista Home and Home Premium 32-bit operating systems and Pro Tools M-Powered 7.4 compared to the supported Windows Vista Business or Ultimate Edition operating systems.
    

Windows Vista SP1
There are currently no known issues with Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista based on our initial limited testing and customer feedback. Although full qualification with all Digidesign products has not been completed, we do not recommend against updating to SP1, given the number of important overall system fixes in SP1. We do recommend that you backup your system and create a restore point before updating to SP1, should you encounter any problems after installing the update.

Okay, so it seems you installed Microsoft Windows XP Home on a what was Media Center Edition installation, and the ethernet is no longer worker.
Please refer to dell.com's support section, enter your model, and download drivers that you need.
To find drivers you need, Go to start --> control panel and then go to (under classic view) system --> the hardware section, open up device manager, and then look for ones with a yellow big question mark, and get those drivers from dell's website. Burn these drivers to a CD on another computer, or use a USB flash drive if that does work.
Good luck.

Home Edition is already a version of XP. XP was released in Home and Professional versions. You can find out for sure what version of software you have by right-clicking on the desktop icon for "My Computer" (or on the "My Computer" entry on the Start Menu if the icon is not on your desktop), then clicking on "Properties" from the popup menu.

If you want to upgrade from XP Home to XP Professional, you can do that with the appropriate upgrade CD. But unless you are networking in an office setting, there really are no features in Pro that you don't have in Home.

If you still have questions, please post a follow up comment and I will try to help further.

You can request a copy from microsoft but they will charge you. Do you have a recovery CD came with your PC? if not the best way is to ask your friends for the CD but use your own product key, it should be on the label on the computer. Good Luck :)