Start a Conversation

Solved!

Go to Solution

953

June 23rd, 2022 13:00

Clean Win 10 install using USB drives fails

Hi,
The M.2 memory C drive (on mother board) wore out on my Dell XPS 8930, and totally failed. I replaced it with a new 500 GB M.2 SSD, obviously the recovery tools on the PC are non-existent. So I turned to USB drive recovery methods, and have struck out on all counts.

I created four USB recovery drives:
1. I made a recovery USB drive at time of purchase.
2. I recreated new recovery USB drive (formatted x Fat) using Dell’s Support Assist OS Recovery tool
3. created a drive with only the Dell.com Win10 ISO file (formatted x Fat)
4. created a drive with only the from Microsoft.com , downloaded ISO image file onto USB drive (formatted x Fat)

I have used "Recover from a drive" choice for all four USB drive options mentioned above and receive "Unable to reset your PC.  The system drive cannot be found.”

I used the Advanced option - System Image recover for ISO image, and used both the Microsoft and Dell ISO files on USB drives, and get a “Windows cannot find a system image on this computer” Using the "select a system image" option, I land on the "re-image your computer" screen. There I hit refresh, and the system cannot find either ISO files. Using the advance option, install a driver, both files on two separate USB drives are clearly there. I do see that this tool assumes the image is on a DVD

I read at
https://www.extrafudge.com/site/2016/03/dell-recovery-disc-not-working-unable-to-reset-your-pc-the-system-drive-cannot-be-found/
That needed to install new Intel firmware so that the system would recognize the M.2 drive. I did that, and no luck.

On UEFI settings, "Enable USB Boot support" is [enabled] .

Obviously I'm missing something! Any help is appreciated

2 Posts

June 23rd, 2022 17:00

I solved my own problem. I tried downloading the Dell recovery tool again, and with this new drive everything worked as advertised. What a relief.

2 Intern

 • 

162 Posts

July 18th, 2022 01:00

If you’re trying to install Windows 10 from a USB drive, you’re in luck; We’re about to cover how you can fix USB-related download issues. Below, you’ll find the quickest and most efficient solutions.

Use a different installation method
Sometimes, the only solution is to use a different Windows 10 installation method like direct download or use a CD to install. For example, if the computer doesn’t support USB booting, no hardware tweak could force the OS to install. 

Use a different USB drive
Try using a different USB. It’s best to use the original Windows setup USB, or your computer restores USB. This will quickly tell you if the problem is with the USB or your computer. 

The other option is to create a new bootable USB. This is especially useful if the original USB you created wasn’t correctly created and became corrupted. 

Test the USB on another PC
Another good way to test whether the problem is with the USB stick or your PC is to test the installation on a different computer. If the USB works just fine, then the problem is with your computer configuration. We’ll cover a handful of useful solutions for this problem later on the page.

However, if it doesn’t work even on the new PC, the USB stick is probably corrupted or doesn’t have the correct filesystem. If the USB isn’t the correct model or corrupted with malware or other technical errors, it can cause damage to your PC.

Run the Windows Update Troubleshooter
If the above fails and you aren’t sure what to do next, try running the Windows 10 troubleshooter. It can detect and try to fix some of the most apparent problems. It might not guarantee you’ll find the problem, but it’s an excellent place to start.

To do this, you can follow these steps:
Open your PC Search Box and type in Troubleshoot. 
Select the Troubleshoot Settings and then System Settings. 
On the window that opens, click on Get Up and Running, and then click on the option for Windows Update. 
Select the button that says Run the Troubleshooter. The troubleshooter should now be able to scan for any problems and try to fix them.
Windows 10 has quite a few updates. Being one of the biggest operating systems available, you should expect to wait a couple of hours for it to finish. Installing it from a USB could make it take longer.

Ensure that the USB is bootable
If the USB has an error from the initial formatting, the Windows 10 won’t successfully install. Therefore, it’s essential to ensure that you create a bootable USB. Simply copying the Windows 10 ISO files into a USB without proper care won’t work. 

The primary method used to transfer files for standard USB drives might not work when creating a USB to install Windows 10. However, in some cases, you can get a bootable Windows 10 USB from a store.

However, if you need to create your USB, you need to manually transfer the Windows 10 files into the bootable USB. 

 

Regards,

Rachel Gomez

No Events found!

Top