I had to replace hard disk in my Dell M6400 laptop. It was running Dell Vista Business. Is there a way to get the original factory image for this laptop? I want to restore to the factory installation. Is there an ISO or other image which Dell provides? Where can I download this?

The best people to contact would be Dell support, or look on Dell.com. They're the only ones who would have the Dell factory image. Since it was running Windows Vista, not sure what anyone on a Linux support forum can tell you.

I checked with them, and it's fee-based only. I was looking for an Dell OS image which I know they ship with the laptop when it was bought. I don't have that stuff anymore, the laptop is over 5 years old...

Do you have the original disks (Vista Business) that came with your Dell?

Call 1-800-624-9897. Aside from that here's the rest of the phone numbers to Dell Customer Service on this page:

http://www.dell.com/support/contents...-phone-numbers
http://www.dell.com/support/home/us/en/04

These links might be useful-

http://www.dell.com/support/article/...9/SLN117599/EN
http://techchannel.radioshack.com/ea...ings-1579.html

No, the box is too old for me to have kept that stuff. It's been a great workhorse, but I never backed it up unfortnately, so when I had to replace the drive recently I discovered I don't have any way to get the OS back. Most of my personal files I have copies of, but I don't have the OS itself. I was hoping you could find an DELL OEM image online somewhere which had all the drivers and stuff for the laptop.
I called dell this morning, but they charge a hefty fee for non-warranty work.

You might be able to find a Windows Vista image in one of the Microsoft Forums.
http://getintopc.com/softwares/opera...32-bit-64-bit/
http://getintopc.com/softwares/opera...ista-download/

If not join a Windows 7 Forum and they might be able to tell you how to get the .iso.
I think you'll need the key which should be on the bottom of your machine.

http://www.sevenforums.com/

Yes, I have the COA with the product numbers, so I think that should work. Just have to find the correct version.

The 2 bottom links reference a "Repair" setting, which doesn't exist in my environment. Probably because there is no existing OS on the box at this time.

Hope you find it.

If not, try the Windows 7 Forums <or> try one of the Microsoft websites.

If you really what the 'Vista Business' os than it seems the only other way would be to pay that fee. (that's up to you)

Good luck.

My son had a Dell laptop and there never were any OS disks instead they had a special partition on the hard drive, and it was about 8 years old. Problem was the hard drive failed so upon replacement, there was no way to recover. They did agree to sell an OS disk. It was a lot of hassle because the disk is technically portable and they're concerns are that you're not going to use it on more than one system. The disk cost was like less than $20, it was just a pain to get to the point where they'd allow us to buy it. Also the devices their systems have are sometimes unusual where it's best to get the driver from Dell.

Not having an installation disk has been pretty standard for the major manufacturers for years. The problem described above is a major reason why if you are buying a computer with windows you should spend the extra money to get the installation media. About five years ago when I was looking for a Desktop, every major manufacturer I checked such as HP, Dell, Lenovo, etc. had an option to purchase the installation media. I don't recall any that offered it with the purchase of the computer but there may have been some I didn't check. The price at that time varied from $15-$25USD depending upon the version of windows 7. When you first boot the computer, you are prompted to create a Recovery CD which is always a good idea but in circumstances like the above, it's useless if your drive is bad.

Yea, I guess I have no option here. Thanks for all the advice.

Have you considered installing Linux on your old Dell?

That way you could still have a working laptop:- (just an idea)

Good one.Come here for help when you need it.