2 Intern
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242 Posts
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436
December 13th, 2023 03:02
How to Restore Dell's Factory Image
If I ever need to return my XPS 8960 to proper working order, I will restore a known-good image. (I image my system drive daily.)
Nevertheless, because I am very cautious about maintaining my system, I like to have additional options for restoring my computer.
I can always do a clean install of Windows 11 with the installer that you can create on Microsoft's website. That will restore a generic version of the operating system - only. I would also like to have a way to restore Dell's factory image.
If I correctly understood How to Download and Use the Dell Operating System Recovery Image, the only way to restore Dell's factory image on the XPS 8960 is with the SupportAssist option accessible on reboot, as the post says "Windows 11 ONLY supports the Automated by SupportAssist option." Dell provides an operating system recovery image for earlier versions of Windows, but apparently not for Windows 11.
Is this correct?
If so, my concern is that if the factory image stored on the computer is somehow damaged, I have no other way to restore Dell's factory image. This is not the end of the world, but it would be nice to have a factory image that I can store outside the computer
RoHe
10 Elder
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45.2K Posts
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December 13th, 2023 21:09
IMO, you'd be better off using Microsoft's Win 11 Media Creation Tool just to do a clean install rather than restoring Dell's factory image. Dell's image will be way out-of-date so you'll end up having to install -probably- dozens of updates for the factory image's version of Windows, while the version installed by the Microsoft tool will likely need many fewer updates.
You can always download all the apps Dell installed from the XPS 8960 support page, eg, SupportAssist/Dell Update etc, for free after a clean Win 11 installation.
Chino de Oro
9 Legend
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8.1K Posts
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December 13th, 2023 14:07
The factory image is a hidden partition on your boot drive. You can clone the boot drive and set it aside for preservation.
MastiffX
2 Intern
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242 Posts
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December 13th, 2023 16:44
@Chino de Oro
I apologize if I was not clear.
"You can clone the boot drive and set it aside for preservation."
What I am hoping for, if possible, is a bootable utility with which I can restore Dell's factory image. This would be similar to what Microsoft offers for restoring Windows 11.
MastiffX
2 Intern
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242 Posts
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December 13th, 2023 22:41
In addition, there is no such Dell utility for the XPS 8960 as I was hoping to find, anyway.