Dell Migrate User's Guide December 2020 Rev.
Notes, cautions, and warnings NOTE: A NOTE indicates important information that helps you make better use of your product. CAUTION: A CAUTION indicates either potential damage to hardware or loss of data and tells you how to avoid the problem. WARNING: A WARNING indicates a potential for property damage, personal injury, or death. © 2020 Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries. All rights reserved. Dell, EMC, and other trademarks are trademarks of Dell Inc. or its subsidiaries.
Contents Chapter 1: Data Migration............................................................................................................. 5 Migrate and erase data from old PC...............................................................................................................................5 Check the network profile .............................................................................................................................................. 18 Change the system locale ......
Set reminder....................................................................................................................................................................... 79 Levels of erase...................................................................................................................................................................80 Reset SupportAssist OS Recovery.....................................................................................................................
1 Data Migration Migrate and erase data from old PC Prerequisites ● You must be signed in as an Admin on both PCs to perform Dell Migrate as it requires advanced permissions to perform migration functions on your PC. ● Both PCs must be connected to the same network. ● Both PCs must be connected to AC power. Steps 1. Launch the Dell SupportAssist application on your new Dell PC from the Start menu by searching for SupportAssist.
Figure 2. Dell Data Assistant welcome screen on your new PC 4. On the next screen, Migrate will begin to validate the prerequisites for connecting both PCs. For more information about the prerequisites that are run in the background, see Device discovery and prechecks on page 24. Figure 3. Running prechecks for Dell migrate on your new PC 5. To securely connect your PCs, you must be on a trusted network.
Figure 4. Trusting the network on your new PC 6. A new screen opens with instructions to download Dell Data Assistant on your old PC. Follow these instructions in sequence. Figure 5. Steps to follow on old PC displayed on your new PC 7. On your old PC, open a browser and go to www.dell.com/DataAssistant to download the file. Once downloaded, run Dell Data Assistant from your browser's Downloads bar or by navigating to the downloaded folder on your PC.
Figure 6. Download and run Dell Data Assistant.exe on your old PC 8. Dell Data Assistant runs the required prechecks on the PC and prompts you if any of the prerequisites could not be met. For more information about what prechecks are run by Dell Data Assistant, see Device discovery and prechecks on page 24. Figure 7. Dell Data Assistant on your old PC 9. On your old PC, you might see a prompt for an untrusted network like Step 5. Click Trust Network if you recognize and trust the network.
Figure 8. Trusting the network on your old PC 10. On the next screen, you will see the welcome page for Dell Migrate. Click Let's get started to begin connecting your two PCs. For more information about the process, see Start Dell Migrate on page 30. Figure 9. Welcome screen on your old PC 11. On the next screen, Dell Data Assistant shows the steps to follow on both PCs to connect them.
Figure 10. Discovering the PCs on your old PC 12. Once Dell Data Assistant identifies the new PC on the network, it generates a verification code. This verification code must be entered on the new PC for secure data migration as shown below. Figure 11. Code is displayed on your old PC 13. Once paired, a green verification code is shown on both PCs. It is important that both PCs remain connected to the same network throughout the migration process.
Figure 12. PCs connected successfully is displayed on your old PC 14. If the Windows user profiles on the two PCs do not match, a pop-up screen appears on the screen to confirm that you have used the right user profiles while starting the migration process. You can choose to continue or log off and log in to the Windows user profile that matches both PCs. If the user profiles are the same, it will skip to the next step.
Figure 14. Searching for files and settings on old PC on your new PC Figure 15. Searching for files and settings on your old PC 16. The PCs are now ready to begin with the migration, and two options are presented to you. Move everything for me option moves all user settings and user files from old PC to new PC. Let me choose what to move option lets you select which user settings and user files you would want to move instead of moving everything from old PC to new PC.
Figure 16. Select files to migrate on your new PC 17. Once the old PC has finished scanning the files and settings to migrate, it comes up with a We're ready to start your migration screen message. Once this message is displayed, the data transfer is ready to begin. Figure 17. Ready to migrate screen is displayed on your old PC 18. On the new PC, you can do a custom selection of the settings and files to be migrated from your old PC to new PC.
Figure 18. Selecting files and settings to migrate on your new PC 19. When you click Migrate now, the new PC displays the progress of the migration, while the old PC displays a message, We're migrating your data now. The time that it takes to complete a migration depends on the network speed and the amount of data selected. Figure 19.
Figure 20. Migration in progress screen displayed on your old PC 20. When the migration is completed, the new PC displays the migration summary of files and settings that are migrated from old to the new PC. Click Finish to complete the migration. The details of the entire migration can be seen by clicking the view details options on the summary screen.
Figure 22. Migration summary on your new PC 21. With this, the migration from old to new PC is now complete. You can also erase your data from the old PC after you have completed your migration. Let us discuss the erase process in the next steps. Figure 23. Migration completed on your new PC 22. Dell Migrate also helps to remove user data from the old PC after the migration is completed, while retaining the Windows installation.
Figure 24. Migration completed on your old PC 23. This next step checks the prerequisites for erase to begin. For more information about the prechecks that are performed for erase, see Prechecks for erase on page 66. Figure 25. Running prechecks for erase on your old PC 24. If your old PC does not have the latest version of Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery installed, it shows you an option to use Windows Reset instead.
Figure 26. Dell OS Recovery is not present on your old PC 25. If your old PC has the latest version of Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery installed, click Reboot to begin Dell Reset and follow the instructions on your screen. For step-by-step instructions for SupportAssist OS recovery, see Reset SupportAssist OS Recovery on page 81. Figure 27. Dell OS Recovery is present on your old PC Check the network profile About this task You can manually change your network profile from Public to Private.
When performing tasks that involve data transfer it is highly recommended that a Private network be used. Steps 1. On the bottom-right corner of your Desktop screen, click the Network icon. Figure 28. Network icon on the desktop 2. From the list of the available network, click Properties for the network the PC is currently connected to.
Figure 29. Network and Internet settings If your network profile is set to Private, you are good to go, but in case the profile is set to Public then it is possible that the migration may not proceed successfully. Ensure that the network you are connecting to is one you recognize and trust, such as your home network. It is not recommended to attempt performing migrations on networks that you do not recognize or are unsecured.
Figure 30. WiFi Settings 3. It is possible that the network has been classified as a Public network during your PC set up. However, if you recognize and trust the network, you may change its classification to a Private network and proceed with the migration. Alternatively, this can be done from within the Dell Migrate application itself. 4.
Figure 32. Trusting the network on your new PC Change the system locale You change your system locale if your locale setting is not set correctly for the supported regions. Currently, Dell Migrate is only available in the United States. About this task When Dell Data Assistant is launched on the old PC, it runs a series of prechecks to validate that the PC has the required prerequisites for Dell Migrate. One such precheck is the locale settings.
Figure 34. Search for Control Panel using Run 2. From the Control Panel menu, select Region. When the Region dialog appears, choose Administrative tab, and click Change system locale. Figure 35.
3. Select a new system locale from the supported list of locales, and click OK. The system prompts you to restart the PC. Click Restart Now for the changes to take place. Figure 36. Region Settings Device discovery and prechecks Before the old and new PCs are set to pair for migration, a series of checks or validations are done to assess the readiness of the PCs. The checks are known as prechecks or prerequisites.
Locale Check This check is done both on old and new PCs. It checks if both the PCs are on the same locale (currently limited to Englishspeaking United States locale). If an unsupported locale is found, application prompts you to change to a supported locale and try again. Figure 38. Locale settings in old PC is not supported Logged-in User Check This checks the privilege level of the user currently logged in and performing the migration. To migrate data, the user must have Admin privileges.
Figure 40. PCs not connected to same network on your old PC In addition to being on the same network, you must also be on a trusted network. This allows your old and new PCs to be discoverable and communicate. If you are not on a trusted network, you receive a prompt and will be given the option to trust the network. It is recommended to click Trust Network only if you recognize and trust the network. If you do not recognize the network, it is highly recommended you switch to a known, secure network.
Figure 42. Upgrade Windows Battery Check Migrating and erasing data should not be interrupted; hence this step confirms the battery on both the old and new PCs is above 20%. If the battery is below 20% and the PC is not connected to an AC power source, you will be be prompted to plug in your PC. In case of erase it is even more crucial that your PC is connected to an AC power source. You are required to connect to an AC power source irrespective of the battery level. Figure 43.
Figure 44. Close applications Unsupported Windows version About this task When Dell Data Assistant is launched on a PC that is running an unsupported version of Windows operating system (Windows 7 and below), it shows a warning that the migration cannot be performed on a noncompatible version of Windows and advises you to upgrade the operating system on the old PC to a supported version of OS (Windows 8.1 and above). It is recommended to upgrade to the most recent version of Windows.
all the mentioned applications or you can manually save any work in progress and manually close all the applications which are open. List of applications Close all the applications that run on port 28283. This is necessary for Dell Data Assistant to function. NOTE: If any application running on the PCs is using port 28283, then the two PCs will not be able to pair, and the migration process cannot proceed.
Figure 47. Close applications screen on your new PC NOTE: If you have opted for migrating the user account settings, the migration process cannot continue unless those applications are closed. If any of those applications are opened during the migration, Dell Data Assistant cannot guarantee the success of the migration. Start Dell Migrate Steps 1. The following screen welcomes you once Dell Data Assistant is launched on the old PC. If you do not have Dell Data Assistant yet, you may download it from www.
Figure 49. Getting started on Dell Data Assistant ● Let's get started—This option takes you to the next screen of Dell Data Assistant, where the steps to initiate the migration process are listed. At this point, your old PC is attempting to connect to your new PC. While it is searching, you will see helpful tips to ensure the PCs find each other. Figure 50. Checking for new PC on Dell Data Assistant 3.
Figure 51. Dell SupportAssist on your new PC On the next screen, click Let's get started to start the migration process. The Dell migrate process will begin to search for your old PC on the network. The next step will take you through the device pairing for both the old and the new PCs. Figure 52. Dell SupportAssist on your new PC ● Applicable to both old and new PCs—Once both the PCs discover each other on the network, a 6 digit code will be displayed on the old PC which needs to be entered on the new PC.
Figure 53. Successfully paired both the PCs Launch Dell Data Assistant on your old PC Dell Data Assistant helps you transfer files and settings to your new Dell PC and erase personal files and settings from your old PC. About this task Dell Data Assistant can be downloaded from the Dell Migrate official website or by clicking Dell Data Assistant.exe. Steps 1. Ensure that you are using a compatible version of Windows Operating System (Windows 8.
Figure 55. Dell Data Assistant on your old PC 5. In the event you're on a network that you haven't already classified as trusted within Windows on your old PC, you may receive the prompt below. You may click on Trust Network if you recognize and trust the network. If you do not trust the network, we highly recommend you click Cancel, reconnect to a network that you trust and restart the process. If your network is already trusted, you will not see this prompt. Figure 56. Trust network on your old PC 6.
Figure 57. Dell Data Assistant welcome screen on your old PC Troubleshooting issues with launching Dell Data Assistant on the old PC While launching Dell Data Assistant on the old PC, follow the steps below if you see the error screen To try again, click Close and wait five seconds, then restart the application. If you continue to have problems, get help here. Figure 58.
3. Try to launch Dell Data Assistant again, and the issue should be resolved.
NOTE: Click Terms and conditions to review the service contract. Figure 60. Dell Migrate welcome screen on your new PC Troubleshooting issues with launching Dell Migrate through SupportAssist In case you are unable to see the welcome screen for Dell Migrate or the option to launch Dell Migrate does not appear on the Dell SupportAssist application, follow the steps below: 1. Uninstall the SupportAssist application from the Control Panel > Add or Remove programs. 2.
Figure 61.
Figure 62. Multiple user account detected in Dell Data Assistant When you see the above screen about having multiple user profiles, it is recommended to migrate all the user profiles before starting the erase process. Before you proceed with migrating from the other user profiles, follow the steps below to make sure that those users have Administrative rights. Steps 1. Perform the following to assign administrative rights to other users: a. On your New PC, click on the Start button, then go to Settings.
Figure 64. Change user account type to Administrator on your new PC c. The user should have administrator rights as shown below. Figure 65. User account changed to Administrator on your new PC 2. Perform the following steps to switch user account and proceed with migration: a. Right click on the start button or press Win+X on the keyboard and navigate to Shut down or sign out and then select Sign out. Sign-in to the other user profile (in this case, the other user profile is Linda M).
Figure 66. Sign out from current user on your new PC b. Once logged in, launch Dell Data Assistant.exe from the newly logged in account by searching in Windows search or by downloading Dell Data Assistant.exe. Next click on Migrate from this PC. Figure 67. Dell Data Assistant welcome back screen c. Log in or create the corresponding user account on your new PC. For example, if your user account was Linda M on the old PC, you should log in to or create an account named Linda M on your new PC.
Migrate and erase data from old PC on page 5 and then migrate the user profiles from the old PC to the new PC using the Let me choose option and selecting the current user's directory under C:\Users\ and also selecting the desired settings. Figure 68. Ensuring you are connected to the right user accounts NOTE: You need to sign in to each user on the old and new PC and perform step above.
Figure 70. Searching for files and settings on your old PC Troubleshooting network disconnect issues during migration When two PCs (old and new) are paired and the network disconnects, we need to connect back to the same network that was used during the initial pairing. If you wish to use a different network (for example. LAN or a different WiFi network), you need to restart the migration on both PCs. Always connect your PCs to a network that you recognize and trust.
Figure 71. PCs not connected to network is displayed on your old PC 2. Check which network you are currently connected to, by going to the Windows Tray icon and pressing on the WiFi symbol. Figure 72. Checking the WiFi settings on your old PC 3.
Figure 73. Lost connection to other PC is displayed on your new PC 2. Check which network you are currently connected on the new PC by going to the Windows Tray icon and pressing on WiFi. Figure 74. Checking WiFi settings on your new PC 3. Since the new PC in this example is currently connected to a network other than the paired network, connect back to the paired network (FancyNancy in this case) by clicking on it in the Network & Internet Settings menu shown above and pressing on Connect. 4.
Figure 75. Your PC is not connected to the network Steps 1. Check if your PC has any network available by going to system tray WiFi icon. Connect your PCs to a network that you recognize and trust. Ensure you do not use open (unsecured) networks such as in Airports or coffee shops. Use 5G (or 5 Ghz) versions of networks when available for better speeds. For example, use FancyNancy-5G rather than FancyNancy. Figure 76. Checking WiFi settings 2. Connect both PCs to the same network.
● If either of the PCs were turned off during the migration, turn on the PC, make sure it is connected to the same network as the other PC and start the migration process from the beginning. Do not worry about files that have already been copied to your new PC, they will not be copied again, and you do not need to deselect them in the new migration.
Figure 78. Create shortcut option 5. You may uncheck the blue checkbox if you wish to disable the shortcut creation. Figure 79. Shortcut not present 6. If Dell Data Assistant shortcut is present on the desktop, when Dell Data Assistant is about to close while some activity is in progress, and there is a Dell Data Assistant shortcut already present on the desktop, the screen shown below asks you to confirm the cancellation.
Figure 80. Shortcut already present Select files to migrate Steps The PCs are now ready to begin with the migration, and two options are presented to you. Move everything for me option moves all user settings and user files from old PC to new PC. Let me choose what to move option lets you select which user settings and user files you would want to move instead of moving everything from old PC to new PC. Figure 81.
mapping between the two PCs. For example, if you want to move the contents of the local drive D:/ on the old PC to the local drive E:/ on the new PC, you can do that using the customer selection for drive mapping on Dell Migrate (within SupportAssist) on the new PC. Steps 1. During the selection of migration type (Move everything for me or Let me choose what to move on the new PC, click on Change as shown below. Figure 82. Mapping drive on your new PC 2.
Default behavior of drive mapping When no mapping is selected during the migration, the default behavior of the drive mapping with Dell Migrate works as outlined below: ● If the new PC has only one drive, then all the drives are mapped to the single drive as there are no alternatives available ● If more than one drive is available on the new PC: ○ Dell Migrate will map the OS drive of the old PC to the OS drive of the new PC.
Figure 85. Migration in progress screen is displayed on your old PC Migration summary Steps When the migration is completed, the new PC displays the migration summary of files and settings that are migrated from old to the new PC. Click Finish to complete the migration. The details of the entire migration can be seen by clicking the view details options on the summary screen.
Figure 87. Migration summary details on your new PC Migration completion Steps With this, the migration from old to new PC is now complete. You can also erase your data from the old PC after you have completed your migration. Let us discuss the erase process in the next steps. Figure 88.
Retry or finish the migration process after it was cancelled About this task There are two scenarios when the you can explicitly terminate the migration process on the new PC: ● When you click on Cancel any time after both PCs have paired—in this case, on the new PC you will be taken to the SupportAssist Home screen and you must start the Dell Migrate migration process over from the beginning.
Figure 90. Migration cancelled on your new PC 2. On clicking View details, the detailed report screen will show you the overview of the migration details with all the successful and failed files and settings transfers. Click on Retry to reattempt the migration of the files/settings that were skipped in the previous migration session. You can also change the selections of the files/settings you want to retry.
Figure 92. Retry migration on your new PC Troubleshooting migration failure About this task The migration failed screen can show up on Dell Data Assistant if an unexpected error occurs when the application is running. Figure 93. Migration failed after pairing Steps 1. Click on Try Again to retry the migration process.
● Both PCs should be connected to AC power to ensure there is no disruption due to insufficient power supply. 3. If you still continue to face issues with the migration, contact the Dell support team. Troubleshooting when migration is completed with warnings About this task When the migration is completed with either skipped files or any settings had failed to apply, the screen below will appear on the old PC.
2. You can review the skipped files by clicking on the drop-down arrows under Files not copied. When you point the mouse cursor on the tool tip icon for the skipped files, it will show you the reason why the file/setting was skipped and how to resolve it. Figure 96. Migration summary details on your new PC 3.
Figure 98. Migration completed on your new PC 6. On the old PC, once the migration is complete, you may click on Erase This PC to perform an erase of the old PC on which Dell Data Assistant is running. Figure 99.
Figure 100. Unable to launch Dell Data Assistant Troubleshooting issues with launching Dell Data Assistant on the old PC While launching Dell Data Assistant on the old PC, follow the steps below if you see the error screen To try again, click Close and wait five seconds, then restart the application. If you continue to have problems, get help here. Figure 101.
This issue might occur if there is a virtual drive present on the old PC which is created if the you have installed a Click to Run version of a program such as Microsoft Office applications or due to the presence of the virtual drive on the PC, Dell Data Assistant will not be able to read and write to the file system and the migration process will be terminated due to a time out. Complete the following steps to resolve the issue: 1.
2 Data Erase Steps to perform when migration is not performed If you try to perform an erase on your old PC without migrating your data, you will end up losing your photos, videos, documents and other important files permanently. Therefore, Dell Data Assistant attempts to warn you and provide you with the option to migrate all your files before beginning the erase process. You have cancelled the migration and you tried to erase your old PC 1.
Figure 103. Migration cancelled 2. If you click Erase This PC and have not completed a migration, Dell Data Assistant will prompt you with the following message. Figure 104. No migrations performed It is recommended that you Perform Migration to ensure all your personal data is safely and securely migrated to your new PC. But you still have a choice to directly Proceed To Erase in case your data was backed up by some other means and you are ready to reset your old PC to its Factory state. 3.
Figure 105. Searching for new PC You have closed Dell Data Assistant after pairing and then tried to go to erase flow from Welcome screen Figure 106. Relaunching Dell Data Assistant after closing If you click on Erase this PC on this Welcome screen, you will be prompted with the no migration performed screen. In that case, you may perform the same steps as described in Scenario 1. You can either choose to begin a migration first or directly skip to the erase process.
Figure 107. Ready for migration Figure 108. No migration is performed after pairing is competed If you click on Perform Migration you wont be navigated to welcome back screen but instead you will see the ready to start migration screen as we have already verified and paired with the other PC therefore Dell Data Assistant lets you continue from where you left off.
Prechecks for erase Figure 109. Running prechecks for erase on your old PC The following prechecks are performed on the old PC when the erase option is initiated with Dell Data Assistant: ● Battery/Power Source Check—Dell Data Assistant will check and prompt you to connect the PC to an AC power source to proceed with the erase process. ● Bit locker/Device Encryption Check—Dell Data Assistant will check if the Bitlocker encryption is enabled on the Windows OS drive (i.e.
Disable device encryption using Device encryption settings Steps 1. Click Windows Start and type Device encryption. It should show an option called Device encryption settings. Press enter or select Device encryption settings using the mouse. Figure 110. Opening Device encryption settings 2. This should open the Device encryption option under Settings.
Figure 111. Device encryption 3. It should then ask you to confirm. You can click Turn off again on the new prompt. Figure 112. Turning off device encryption 4. It may take a few minutes to finish decrypting the device. Wait till the process completes as the progress bar moves ahead and do not perform any other actions on the PC in the meantime.
Figure 113. Device encryption decrypting the files Disable Bitlocker Steps 1. Type BitLocker in the search panel next to the Start menu icon. Then click Manage BitLocker. Figure 114. Starting BitLocker 2. You see the following screen. Click Turn off BitLocker.
Figure 115. BitLocker Drive Encryption 3. You are prompted again at the following screen. Click Turn off BitLocker. Figure 116. BitLocker Drive Encryption dialog box 4. You see the following screen.
Figure 117. Decryption in progress 5. You must wait for the decryption process to finish. You can check the progress by clicking the notification. Figure 118. Checking the progress of decryption 6. When the decryption process is complete, you see the following message. Figure 119.
Unlock the files using encryption password Steps 1. Open File Explorer and right-click on the BitLocker encrypted drive, and then choose Unlock Drive from the context menu. Figure 120. Unlocking the drive 2. You'll get a popup in the upper right corner asking for the BitLocker password. Enter your password and click Unlock. Figure 121.
Results The drive is now unlocked, and you can access the files on it. Unlock the files using recovery key Steps 1. Open File Explorer and right-click on the BitLocker encrypted drive, and then choose Unlock Drive from the context menu Figure 122. Unlocking the drive 2. You will immediately be prompted to enter the BitLocker password. If you've forgotten your Windows BitLocker password, click More Options then click the Enter recovery key link.
Figure 123. More options in Bitlocker dialog box 3. You will be asked for the BitLocker Recovery Key to unlock the drive. The recovery key is created when BitLocker is first setup. Use the recovery key that you have saved or printed while setting up Bitlocker. Copy your BitLocker Recovery Key and paste it into the input box below and then click Unlock. Figure 124. Recovery key in Bitlocker dialog box NOTE: You can find your recovery key using the command prompt or Microsoft Account if you have saved it.
Figure 125. Recovery key in Notepad Troubleshooting hard disk failure issues You may see a disk failure screen during the erase flow in Dell Data Assistant. If you are getting the disk failure screen, it likely means your hard drive is experiencing critical errors and will not successfully complete the erase process. It is recommended you back up all important data and contact your vendor for possible options to replace the drive as soon as possible.
4. Click on Check option as highlighted in the below image. Your system should now start checking for any issues with the current volume. It will then attempt to repair issues it finds. Figure 127. Error checking ● The second option is to optimize the drive. To perform an optimization, you need to follow the same steps but select the Optimize option instead. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Open File Explorer. Click This PC on left most column. Right-click on any Volume (such as C:). Click on the Tools tab.
Figure 128.
Figure 129. Optimizing volumes If the steps above do not help, it is recommended that you back up all the important data and contact your vendor for possible options to replace the drive as soon as possible. Troubleshooting when external storage is found On the old PC, before you can perform an erase, Dell Data Assistant will run erase prechecks to ensure all the requirements are met before proceeding.
Set reminder Steps 1. After completing a migration, you will be asked if you would like to erase your old PC. If you would like to do this at a future time, you may set a reminder. You can choose when you want to be reminded as shown in the following image. Figure 131. Reminder options 2. When you click Okay, you will be taken to the confirmation screen shown in the following image. From here, you can either close out of Dell Data Assistant or perform a migration. Figure 132.
Figure 133. Notification for Windows 10 Figure 134. Notification for Windows 8 and 8.1 NOTE: If your old PC is turned off at the time the notification should have displayed, and the notification will pop the next time you switch on your old PC. Levels of erase If you are selling, donating, returning, gifting, or otherwise transferring ownership of your Windows PC, you should consider erasing your personal data from the device.
Dell Data Assistant provides Level 2 erasure on the drive, while retaining the partition used to restore the operating system. Please see the terms and conditions of the Dell Data Assistant service at www.dell.com/servicecontracts for full details. ● Higher-Level Erase—Some users may need to meet requirements or standards, such as former Department of Defense method 5220.22-M or NIST SP-800-88, Revision 1. Specialized software may be available to meet these requirements.
Figure 135. Rebooting PC to start Dell Reset in Dell Data Assistant 2. Once the PC is rebooted, the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery process for PC reset will begin. Select an option to continue with the reset process. Based on your PC configuration the SupportAssist OS Recovery tool will also suggest the recommended option for the PC Reset.
Figure 137. Confirming your reset 4. On selecting Next, you will see the progress of the reset process and the estimated time for completion. Figure 138. Reset and update in progress 5. Your old PC will reboot few times to complete the erase and OS recovery process. Figure 139. PC reset in progress 6. Once the PC Reset/erase is completed, it will automatically begin the OS re-installation and show the progress on the screen.
Figure 140. OS reinstallation in progress 7. Once the process for reset and update is completed, a message with Reset Success will be displayed. Click on Shutdown to finish the reset process. The next person who needs to use the fresh OS can then boot the system and they will be guided through the Windows setup process. Figure 141.
Figure 142. Windows reset options Prerequisites for resetting Windows You can reset for Windows 10 Home. Pro, Enterprise, and Education editions. NOTE: Dell Data Assistant takes you into Windows Reset if you're using a non-Dell PC or if you do not have Dell OS Recovery 5.3 or greater on your Dell PC. The prerequisites for resetting Windows 10: ● Ensure you backup all important data and close all applications before proceeding with Windows Reset.
Figure 143. Partition layout for Windows 10 GPT Figure 144. Partition layout for Windows 10 MBR Reset Windows 10 using Keep my files option Steps 1.
Figure 145. Windows reset options 2. On the next screen, review the list of applications that will be removed from the system after the reset is done. Figure 146. Reset your PC using Keep my files option 3. Once confirmed, the PC will scan for the applications and will show a message stating it is Ready to reset this PC. Click on Reset to proceed further. The PC will reboot and start the reset process.
Figure 147. Ready to reset your PC using Keep my files option Reset Windows 10 using Remove everything option Steps 1.
Figure 148. Windows reset options 2. Choose between the two subsequent options to perform the PC reset: ● Just Remove my files—You can select this option if you want to perform a quick format (overwrite files on the drive) on all your local drive(s). This is advisable if the system is to be retained.
Figure 149. Removing everything in your PC 4. Regardless of the type of reset chosen, upon pressing the Reset button, the OS starts configuring the reset process. Figure 150. Resetting in progress This is your last opportunity to cancel reset. If you wish you cancel the Windows Reset, you will have the option to cancel or else you can allow Windows to gather required information.
NOTE: Depending on the number, type, size of disk(s) and configuration of the system, the process can take from an hour to a few hours. 5. Upon restart you will be shown a progress bar that shows the progression of Windows reset. Figure 151. Resetting in progress 6. Once the reset finishes, the system will restart and prepare the system to re-install Windows. After this, the actual installation of Windows will begin. Figure 152.
7. Once the installation is complete, Windows will start with an out-of-box experience to configure Windows and setup profiles/accounts. The following images show the sequence that follows: Figure 153. Reinstalling Windows Figure 154. Windows welcome screen 8. At the last stage of selecting a region, you can choose to shut down the system forcefully (by holding down the power key) if another person will continue the set up process. If you plan on keeping the PC, you can setup the system yourself.
Figure 155. Selecting your region in Windows Next steps For the rest of the setup process for the Out of Box Experience, refer to this Windows 10 out of box experience. Prerequisites for resetting Windows 8.1 You can reset for Windows 8.1 Home and Pro. NOTE: If you have upgraded from Windows 8 to Windows 8.1, Windows will revert to Windows 8 post reset. You will have to manually upgrade it to Windows 8.1. The prerequisites for resetting Windows 8.
Figure 156. Checking partition in Disk Management If your OEM has provided you a with Recovery media (USB drive/ DVD), plug/insert in the media before proceeding. It should look something like the image shown below (for example, if you inserted a recovery DVD). You can check this by: 1. Press Windows + R key to open Run window. 2. Type diskmgmt.msc and press Enter. You should see a partition that mentions Recovery like the screenshot below. Figure 157.
Reset Windows 8.1 Steps 1. Press the Windows button and type in reset. Select the option Remove everything and reinstall Windows as shown below. Figure 158. Searching for Reset settings 2. This will open Recovery page under Update and Recovery settings. You need to select Get Started under Remove everything and reinstall Windows.
Figure 159. Resetting the Settings page 3. A new window will appear that provides more information on what changes will be made and what data will get erased. Press the Next button to proceed. Figure 160.
4. At this point, if you have multiple partitions or multiple disk drives in your system, a window appears asking if you want to only clean just Windows installation drive or clean all drives. You need to select All drives option or else you can skip this step. Figure 161. Resetting the drives 5. Next, you will be provided with two options for reset. You need to select Clean the drive fully to perform complete reset and remove all personal data.
Figure 162. Selecting Clean the drive fully option 6. This is the final step in the Reset process. If you want to cancel reset, press the Cancel button. Otherwise, press the Reset button to proceed with system reset. Figure 163.
NOTE: Depending on the number, type, size of disk(s) and configuration of the system, the reset can take from an hour to a few hours. 7. Now, the system will restart and begin with resetting the system. It will start off by preparing the system for reset and then displaying progress as shown in below screenshots. Figure 164. Preparing for Windows reset Figure 165. Resetting in Progress 8. Post reset competition, Windows will restart to set up the system for fresh installation.
NOTE: Your system might restart a few times. This is expected. Figure 166. Setting Windows post reset 9. The system will reboot one final time and after rebooting you will land on an out-of-box experience (OOBE) screen as shown below. Figure 167. Out-of-box experience landing screen 10.
Troubleshooting Windows reset The troubleshooting steps are applicable to both Windows 10 and Windows 8.1. Steps 1. The first basic step you can try is to disable and re-enable reagentc. a. Open Command Prompt as an Administrator. b. Type reagentc.exe /disable. c. Retype the same command and replace /disable with /enable: reagent.exe /enable You should get Operation Successful for both commands and it should appear as shown in the following image. You can then try to reset your PC again. Figure 168.
4. The next step you can try is to use a command called dism to clean and repair the Windows image. You can attempt either a basic scan or an advanced scan. a. Open Command Prompt as an Administrator. b. Type dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /CheckHealth. c. If that doesn't work, type dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /ScanHealth for a more advanced scan and repair. This will take a bit longer. Your output should look appear as shown in the following images based on type of scan done.
Figure 171. Migration cancelled on your new PC Steps 1. Click the lower-left Start button to open the Start menu. 2. Click the Power button, and select Restart. The PC will be rebooted and the erase process will continue automatically.
Figure 172.
