What I’ve always done is make a copy of an original MSFT installation CD from someone with an MSDN subscription. Never used the Dell restore CD. Always hated their bloatware anyway.
Ever since XP, those discs require a product key to install too. And the product key from the OEM computer won't work. They actually have the CDs coded to the manufacturer who sold the computer, and the product key must match.
I tried to install our company's Volume Licensed XP Pro onto a workstation, using the HP product key on the computer, and it rejected the key as invalid. I had to use the Volume License key.
How can MS think it's good business practice to make so many of their users, particularly the technically savvy ones, absolutely loathe them? Does that help revenue?