Inspiron 14 7420 Unable to Boot Windows 11

You do need the IRST driver on whatever boot media you're using, yes.  You also  need the bitlocker key.

You can also remove the drive and connect it  using USB to NVMe adapter to a working system -- there are ways to use the bitlocker key to decrypt the drive that way.

All of this assumes that a failing drive isn't the reason for the problem - if it is, you may not be successful in recovering the data without resorting to a data recovery service.

I do have the BitLocker Recovery Key. How do I get the IRST driver onto the boot media? I see a IRST driver on the support page for this device. Thanks.

There are many ways to do the job -- what are you using to prepare boot media?

Right now, I'm using boot media prepared by the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool.

I'm also starting to think the problem is the laptop lost one of two 512GB MVMe drives that was part of a RAID 0 set. Is there a way someone can confirm this was the laptop's configuration based on the Service Tag?

https://www.dell.com/support/kbdoc/en-us/000132969/how-to-load-intel-rapid-storage-technology-driver-to-install-os-on-nvme-memory

@ejn63​ Thanks, but I want to be able to either get access to the data on C: if it is still there or try to do a boot repair. I don't want to reinstall Windows 11.

You don't need to reinstall Windows - you should be able to boot the system and decrypt the drive from a bootable flash drive.

It's also probably safer to mount that drive in a USB case and attach it to a working system to try the decryption and file access.  That way you have graphical access to the drive contents rather than from a command prompt.

@ejn63​ You're right, but I'd need a MVMe to USB adapter to mount the drive on a working system. 

I was able to load the drivers using the pnputil in the Command Prompt. It asked me for the Recovery Key for the BitLocker volume, but said it couldn't unlock the volume with the key I gave it from the Microsoft Account. I checked and retyped it several times.

Hi

If there was glitch on shut down, the drive may have the "dirty bit" set.

This can mean an 'invisible drive'.

IF you have the 48 number Bitlocker key, perhaps try this...

It's  Lo-Cost/No-Cost option.

If in doubt please ask.

@anne_droid​ Thanks, but I don't see how that helps because BitLocker says the 48-number Recovery Key I'm putting in is unable to unlock the encrypted volume. It seems like either the Recovery Key got changed and didn't get updated in the Microsoft Account or the encrypted volume on the MVMe drive is corrupted.

Anybody have any other ideas on how I can try to retrieve the data before I have to use the Dell OS Recovery Tool to do a reinstall?

A reputable recovery service will give you a no-cost estimate on what is possible, and what it might cost -- that's next.

Try Gillware -- it has a good reputation and relatively reasonable prices.

Hi

W11 install USB, Repair option, Command line and type

manage-bde -protectors -get C:

assuming it is the C:

@anne_droid​ Thanks, but I gave up trying to retrieve the data and just did the Dell OS Recovery process. That set up a Windows 11 install that does boot, but now it's having Windows Update problems.

After getting some updates, kb5063060 is stuck at 0% downloaded and "Updates are underway. Please leave your computer on" runs at boot for a long time before finally going back into Windows 11 with no update progress being made.

Skip that update for now - it's well documented to be causing all sorts of problems.  Wait until Microsoft releases a subsequent update with fewer issues.

@ejn63​ OK, but it's still not working right. I'm still stuck on that "Updates are underway. Please keep your computer on" message for 30-45 minutes on every boot.