OS CD and Drivers

Okay, here's how it works. The XP CD that you get is a regular XP CD, aside from the fact that it says Dell on it, and it will only work on Dell computers. Also, it will only accept OEM product keys. Anyway, with XP, generic drivers are included. That means the drivers for your important components will be there, but they won't be the best, as they aren't even meant specifically for your components. It is best to upgrade the drivers as soon as possible. Also, some drivers will not be on the XP CD, so you will have to get those as well. These generic drivers are put in by Microsoft, so there's no way for them to know what components you have.

Yes, it will be the fresh version of XP without the Dell bloatware.

No, the burning software will not be on it, aside from the software that XP has built-in. If you use other things like Nero or Roxio, you will have to install them separately. If Dell included this with your system, you should get a CD from them with the system purchase.

I do suggest you do not buy the CD. I suggest you wait until you receive the system and then call Dell and ask for the CD. They should send them to you for free, and even if they don't, it's still only $10. Most of the time, though, as long as you call within 21 days, they will send the CD for free. Also, there should be a utility to burn the CD yourself. You should also be able to get any other CDs you need, and possibly even drivers CDs.

I called them and they're sending me CD's but I was a little dissappointed because I couldn't find the OS Recovery utility. It's not in Dell Accessories and I tried looking in the Dell folder on c:\ and its not there either.

I wonder if its "hidden" somewhere or Dell forgot to put it on. I know some other people have not been able to find it as well.

Usually, the Recovery utility is located on a different partition. That means it will not be on the C drive.

There's no guarantee. Basically, the drivers that are included with XP are just generic, and need to be updated anyway. I suggest you update everything. The way you know if XP included the drivers for something is by seeing if it works or not. I suggest you download all the necessary drivers before you reformat and reinstall. That way, you just have to pop the CD in right after you finish reinstalling, and you can just install the drivers.

Yup. Download from Dell's site and put them on external media. I used a USB mini.

I reformated yesterday and the performance gain is quite impressive. Before it took me around 30 seconds to start. Now it takes me about 10.

I still only have 256 RAM so I can't wait to get my stick from Newegg and see what that does. I also have to tweak the system and undervolt it for better performance! =)

Yes, you should download the drivers and burn them to a disk, or put them on a flash drive, or something of that sort.

Yes, they should all be there.

how do u know which ones you need?

Right click My Computer, click Manage, and then click Device Manager. You will probably need drivers for all of the things listed here.

Or just search Dell's driver site for your specific system and get them all. Then you have them all and you can install if needed.