Just an update. Been a busy couple weeks. Had the county fair and a lot of OT at work. Between that and trying to get on this laptop (my son's) I haven't been able to address the problem yet. Called a few friends that might have a recovery disk and had no luck. Might take tweelis up on that offer after I get around to calling dell and see what they say. Grats everyone on the latest win. I haven't been able to catch up on all the news... hope everyone is settling in!