6/14/2016 How to use the Dell Hosted Recovery Image of Microsoft Windows | Dell US

How to use the Dell Hosted Recovery Image of Microsoft Windows

This article provides information on how to create media and install the Dell Hosted Windows Recovery
Image.

Table of Contents:
1. What is included on the Dell Hosted Recovery Image
2. Create bootable install media from the Dell Hosted Windows Recovery Image
3. Install the Windows operating system from the Dell Hosted Recovery Image media
1. Windows 7
2. Windows 8.1
3. Windows 10

What is included on the Dell Hosted Recovery Image

Dell customization of the Windows image includes:

Updated patches that address common issues for Dell systems.

Dell support information.

 The Dell Hosted Recovery ISO should only be used on Dell systems. It is not designed or
tested to be used with non‐Dell PCs.

Create bootable install media from the Dell Hosted Windows Recovery Image
DVD Media
Video (English Only) ‐ How to create a DVD for Dell Hosted Recovery media

1. Verify you have a DVD burner installed and a blank disc available.
2. Double‐click the ISO and your default DVD burning software will launch.
If no DVD burning software is installed, the Windows ISO media creation tool will launch.
3. Follow the on‐screen instructions to complete the media creation.
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USB Media
Video (English Only) ‐ How to create USB media for Dell Hosted Recovery

Prepare the USB key for ISO files

 WARNING: These steps will erase all data from the USB key

1. Verify that the USB key can be erased and is at least 8GB.
2. Insert the USB key into an available USB port.
3. Open an Administrator command prompt.

4. Windows 7
1. Click Start, click All Programs, and then click Accessories.
2. Right‐click Command prompt, and then click Run as administrator.
3. If the User Account Control dialog box appears, confirm that the action it displays is what
you want, and then click Continue.
Windows 8.1 and Windows 10
1. At the desktop, right‐click the Start button and select Command Prompt (Admin).
5. Type diskpart and press Enter.
6. Type list volume and press Enter.
7. Determine the volume for the USB key, which should be marked Removable.
8. Type select volume #, where # is the number obtained in the previous step.
9. Type clean and press Enter.
10. Type create partition primary and press Enter.
11. Type format fs=fat32 label='OS install' quick and press Enter.
12. Type active and press Enter.
13. Type exit and press Enter.

Copy data from the ISO image to the USB key

1. For Windows 8.1 or higher, right‐click the ISO and select Mount. Copy the contents of the ISO to the
USB key.
2. For Windows 7, third party software will be required to copy the contents of the ISO file. (Winzip is
a popular option.)

Install the Windows operating system from the Dell Hosted Recovery Image media
To install Windows using the ISO media created above, follow the steps below for the operating system to
be installed:
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Windows 7
To begin the installation select from the following options:

Option 1: USB

1. Insert the recovery media into a USB port.

2. Power the computer off.
3. Power the computer on and, at the Dell logo screen, tap the F12 key several times until you see
Preparing one time boot menu in the top right corner of the screen.
4. At the boot menu, select USB under UEFI BOOT.
5. When Windows 7 Setup appears, confirm that the Language, Time, Currency and Keyboard Method
fields display the correct settings.
6. On the Windows 7 Installation dialog box, click Install Now.
7. Review the license agreement, and click I accept the license terms.
8. On the Which type of installation do you want? window, click Custom (advanced).
9. On the Where do you want to install Windows window, select the largest internal disc as the
Primary Partition, then click Next. If the Primary Partition shows 0GB free, select Unallocated Space
and click Next.
10. Your computer will restart.
11. Personalize and customize your Windows 7 operating system by following the instructions on the
following screens.
12. When your Desktop screen appears, you are ready for the next step.

Option 2: DVD

1. Insert the recovery disc into the optical drive.

2. Restart the computer.
3. When the Press any key to boot from the CD or DVD message appears, press any key to continue.

 If the disc does not begin to run, press your computer's Power button and watch for the
Dell logo to appear. When the logo appears, press the F12 key to load the Boot menu. If
this menu does not appear, try restarting your computer again and pressing F12 several
times when the Dell logo appears. Once the Boot menu opens, select CD/DVD drive
(listed also as CD‐Rom or CD/DVD/CD‐RW) and press Enter.

4. When Windows 7 Setup appears, confirm that the Language, Time, Currency and Keyboard Method
fields display the correct settings.
5. On the Windows 7 Installation dialog box, click Install Now.
6. Review the license agreement, and click I accept the license terms.
7. On the Which type of installation do you want? window, click Custom (advanced).
8. On the Where do you want to install Windows window, select the largest internal disc as the
Primary Partition, then click Next. If the Primary Partition shows 0GB free, select Unallocated Space
and click Next.
9. Your computer will restart.
10. Personalize and customize your Windows 7 operating system by following the instructions on the
following screens.
11. When your Desktop screen appears, you are ready for the next step.

Windows 8.1
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Windows 8.1
1. Insert the Windows 8.1 DVD or USB media and restart your computer. Select from the option that
best fits your computer:

Option 1

For computers that do not have UEFI BIOS, at the Dell logo screen, tap the F12 key repeatedly until
the Please Select Boot Device: menu appears. Select CD/DVD/CD‐RW Device and press Enter.

Option 2

For computers that do have UEFI BIOS, At the Dell logo screen, tap the F2 key repeatedly until the
System Setup menu appears. Then perform the following steps:

1. Depending on the type of BIOS, you will need to find the Boot section using the Up and Down
arrow keys. Ensure the following:
The boot mode is set to UEFI
The setting for Secure Boot is Disabled
In the order of boot devices, either CD/DVD/CDRW or Internal ODD Device is the first
item in the list
2. Save the changes and exit System Setup to restart the computer.
The Windows 8 Setup appears.
2. Select Language to install, Time and currency format, and Keyboard or input method and select
Next.
3. Select Install Now.
The Product Key screen appears.
4. Locate your Product Key and type it into the box provided, then click Next to continue.

 The Product Key is a 25 character sequence, separated by dashes.

5. Accept the license terms described in the License Terms screen. Click the checkbox at the bottom
of the screen to accept and click Accept to continue.
6. At the Which Type of Installation do you Want screen, select Custom: Install Windows only
(advanced).
7. At Where do you want to Install Windows? screen, select Drive options (advanced). Remember that
the next step will delete all existing information on your computer so be sure to back up what you
want to keep. For a clean installation, delete all partitions that are shown by highlighting them one
at a time and selecting Delete. After you have deleted all partitions select Unallocated Space and
then select New. Click Apply to create your new Windows 8 partitions, then click Next.
8. Windows is now installed on your computer.
9. Your computer will restart several times. This may take some time to complete installation.

Windows 10
1. Insert the recovery media into a USB port or a DVD drive, depending on the format you used to
create the recovery media.
2. Power the computer off.
3. Power the computer on and, at the Dell logo screen, tap the F12 key several times until you see
Preparing one time boot menu in the top right corner of the screen.
4. At the boot menu, select the device under UEFI BOOT that matches your media type (USB or DVD).
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5. Select your keyboard language.

6. At the Choose an option screen, select Troubleshoot.
7. Select Recover from a drive.
8. Follow the on‐screen instructions to complete the reset process. This will take some time and your
computer will restart.

Article ID: SLN299044

Last Date Modified: 05/25/2016 01:29 PM

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