I will try that. Thought it could be resolved possibly without a complete redo. THANKS for your help!! I'll just do that.

OH! Wait, I DO have the original Windows OS reinstallation CD (it was in the drive).

I have the OEM software that came with the Dell, not Windows... have Dell Security Center (with McAfee, which I removed promptly!), and a disk of drivers/utilities, and miscellaneous other programs.

Hi - I'm new to this site, and I DID search prior threads for this exact problem, with no luck.

I just bought a used laptop from a software developer; it was his wife's and she used it very...