'Operating system not found' following factory restore

Hi:

I had the same situation (no installation media) recently and , unless the original seller has them, you will have to pay @ $40 for a USB thumb drive for the DELL re-install files...

I believe I got mine from Dell Product Sales. - part of that tab thing that always pops out when you first logon to the Service / Support site.

Kind of a rip given you've already paid for the system, but they told me "we no longer have 'disks' ... ?

Good luck,

Tool_Tip

Hello. I had to replace a harddrive on my Inspiron 17R SE 7720 as it was not starting up properly on the old one. I did a factory restore to the new drive (old drive removed) from a USB, which appeared to be successful. But on restart it shows the message "Operating System not found" and on enter goes to Boot Mode.  I assume I need a Dell recovery disk or an OEM/Retail Windows 8/8.1 installation CD to fix this, but neither was provided with the laptop at purchase. How can I get a disc? Product service tag was 1GVRZV1 Thanks

Factory restore is okay, but you lose all your personal files. You'll want to use some sort of software to clone the hard drive.

Anyway, you have two choices:

1. Install Windows 10, because it will read your Windows 8 product embedded in your BIOS and automatically activate Windows 10.

or

2. Buy a Dell Windows 8 DVD on eBay and do a re-install. These DVDs tend to be cheap < $10 USD

Thanks, before I read your reply I found I was eligible to buy Windows 10 for $10 (so likely cheaper than a Dell Windows 8 DVD, especially as I am in Australia and I didn't have to wait for delivery).

You can save the Windows 10 installer to a USB, so I then installed onto the Inspiron via the USB (changed boot sequence first), and it worked.

So now I have a functioning laptop again.