When the system crashes, you should create bootable media at first to boot your computer, and then use the system image to restore it to the normal state.
Besides backing up the system, this software can also be used to back up files, folders as well as the partitions. So, besides creating a system image, you can also choose to clone the OS disk to another hard drive to get the Windows system without reinstalling. This backup software offers a Trial Edition that allows a day free trial for all backup features.
If you want to use it permanently, get its Pro Edition. Now you can download and try MiniTool ShadowMaker to back up your system. Free Download. Choose Connect in This Computer to enter the main interface. MiniTool ShadowMaker chooses the operating system as the backup source by default.
There is no need for you to choose again. Wait for the process to be finished. After it is finished, you have successfully backed up the system. Then, you can restore the system. MiniTool ShadowMaker, the free backup software, can help you restore the system without reinstalling easily and quickly. Click to tweet. If you want to use this tool, this post is helpful. Download Shadowmaker.
Tip: Before you start the following steps, you had better back up all the important files on your system disk. This post - How to Backup Files on Windows 10? For more information about how to back up your data, refer to Microsoft Knowledge Base article, " Back up and restore your PC. Review the Things to consider and What you will need tabs, before preceding to the How to manually reinstall Windows 7 tab. If you have an Intel Kaby Lake processor, installation of Windows 7 is not supported.
Restoring your computer to its original factory settings takes less time than reinstalling Windows 7 manually. When you have not done so, refer to the Using the built-in Dell Factory Image Restore partition section before installing Windows 7 manually. When your notebook does not have an optical drive, refer to the Using the built-in Dell Factory Image Restore partition tab first.
When that does not work, refer to the Dell Knowledge Base article How to create and use the Dell Windows recovery image. When your computer has more than one hard drive and a RAID configuration setup, refer to the user guide or manual for your computer for information about the type of RAID configuration your computer supports.
You will find instructions on how to configure it for reinstallation. Dell Operating System Installation Disks when you no longer have your Installation Disks, refer to Dell Knowledge base article How to create and use the Dell Windows recovery image to get information about how to download an image online. Any install discs for external devices such as a printer and internal devices added to your Dell computer after purchase. When you did not receive installation media disk with your Dell computer, refer to Dell Knowledge Base article How to create and use the Dell Windows recovery image.
You may also be asked for a product key for your version of Windows. Dell recommends backing up your files and data to an external hard drive, DVDs, CDs, or other removable storage media on a regular basis. Except for the monitor, keyboard and mouse, disconnect any nonessential external device, including:. You should take note of it. You will be in one of three situations, quickly review the notes applicable for your Windows 7 license before deciding on what media to use:.
This type of Windows 7 license is known as the retail version. Obtaining the Media. It unfortunately can't be downloaded. Thus no additional activation should be required Step Yes but you will need to activate via automated phone activation Step Use of the Digital River. Dell technical support will be unable to assist you with product activation should you run into issues and will simply suggest use of a Reinstallation DVD.
However Windows Anytime Upgrade can be used for the following cases:. This will give you a retail product key with an original install with OEM media. You do not need to reinstall anything when using Windows 7 Anytime Upgrade.
I have a 32 bit version of Windows 7 can I install the 64 bit version instead and vice versa? Yes, the product keys for the 32 bit and 64 bit version of Windows 7 are the same. You may use your OEM product key Step 2 with the correct 64 bit retail.
For the Retail product keys again internet activation will work Step You should however run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to check if your system is 64 bit capable before running the 64 bit version of Windows 7. Should you wish to switch from the 64 bit version to the 32 bit version, note that you will not be able to use more than 4 GB of RAM.
For this reason Dell tend to have only 64 bit drivers for their newer systems on the Dell Drivers and Downloads Page Step 5a but the 32 bit drivers often exist on the Dell ftp website Step 5b.
You should only have 32 bit or 64 bit installed. Technically you should have 2 licenses if you have both the 32 and the 64 bit installed simultaneously.
My system came with Windows 8 can I install Windows 7 without purchasing a separate license? Downgrade rights are applicable only if Windows 8 Professional was installed on your system.
In the case of a system which came with Windows 8 Professional, the user may downgrade to Windows 7 Professional but must do so using a Dell Reinstallation DVD step 3a. Retail media Step 3b cannot be used as the user won't have a Windows 8 Product Key to downgrade with. Windows 8 and Windows 8 RT don't have any downgrade rights and the user must purchase a separate license in this case.
Can I Transfer My License? The Retail Full product key can be transferred from one computer to another provided it is uninstalled, ideally completely formatted Step 7a. The Retail Upgrade Key can be transferred from one computer to another provided the new computer has a qualifying earlier version of Windows to Upgrade.
Again it should be completely uninstalled, ideally completely formatted Step 7a. The OEM product key is tied to the original computer. It cannot be transferred. If your computer came with Windows 7 preinstalled then ideally for activation purposes you should use the Dell Reinstallation DVD wherever possible. You can also use the retail media if you decide to switch from the 32 to the 64 bit version of Windows 7 or vice versa.
Is there any significant difference features missing from OEM Media? No they are identical. If you have a Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD provided with your system then proceed to step 4 unless you are switching from 32 bit to 64 bit. The Reinstallation DVD should look like the following:. Dell unfortunately are currently shipping almost all of their systems without Reinstallation DVDs. For US customers there is an online request form for Reinstallation Media.
For those customers not in the US you will need to contact Dell technical support and ask for one. The customer numbers are available here. This is the most recommended route. To improve the experience for customers from the rest of the world. Also see my poll here. Note: For netbooks or systems without an optical drive or a damaged optical drive you will have to convert the Reinstallation DVD into a Reinstallation USB as instructed here. Once you have the Upgrade product key use the Media in Step 3b.
If you are a student be sure to look for a heavily discounted Student license of both Windows 7 Upgrade and Office Professional plus. Download the correct. Use the Microsoft. I recommend installing Microsoft Security Essentials with the latest definition immediately after the Service Packs and Internet Explorer 9 to ensure your system is protected upon first connection to the internet. I have found significant performance boosts by installing the Service Packs before any additional drivers. If using the Digital River.
Ensure that only 32 bit files are used for 32 bit installation media and 64 bit files for 64 bit installation media. Go to the Dell Support page and select Drivers and Downloads. Select your model and Operating system. Avoid inputting the Service Tag as its not working correctly for many systems and omitts critical drivers. Do not select Download Manager it is generally problematic.
Instead select single-file download and press next. If you get the following error message:. Change the last false to true.
This time select Single-File download and it should now work. Once done press back several times to return here:. Ensure it looks the same as before number of categories and number of drivers under each category , if not change the OS to BIOS and back to Windows 7 64 bit.
I find in several cases drivers disappear. I recommend saving each driver in an appropriately labelled folder and adding a numeric prefix to the folder See Step 5c for more details about the recommended driver install order. This will ensure that you install the drivers in the recommended order. Dell Drivers and Downloads Page is currently under maintenance so post here if you experience some issues downloading the drivers.
If you have obtained all the drivers from Step 5a then proceed to Step 5c. The Drivers may also be found on the Dell ftp website. The Dell FTP website has direct links and tends to be less buggy than the drivers and downloads page but the downside is that it isn't updated as frequently. Look here if you are having issues with the Drivers and Downloads page also note that sometimes the Dell FTP website has drivers for additional operating Systems e.
Select your type and then model number. We will take the Inspiron desktop and install Windows 7 64 bit for example. On the Dell ftp website the user should generally ignore Legacy Drivers but its sometimes worth checking especially if the user is looking to install an unsupported Operating System.
The user should download only the latest drivers for their system which correspond to their Operating System. However ensure that the OS you wish to install is under the supported OS in this case we would want revision A00 for Windows 7 64 bit and not revision A04 for Windows Vista 64 bit.
Finally one thing to note is that certain categories, in particular Network Wireless Card and Video Graphics Card were customisable and have several variants, you must select the correct ones for your system.
Downloading from the ftp website is faster but designed for advanced users. However due to the sorry state of the drivers and downloads page I recommend all users to use the ftp website.
Pay attention to driver install order Step 5c. All the drivers should be downloaded and saved to a USB stick. The way this guide is intended Steps are preparation for installing Windows so the user has everything they need when installing Windows.
This is why Step 5 downloading drivers and Step 10 installing drivers are independent. If however the user has already attempted to install Windows likely they won't be able to access the internet to get the drivers and will need to use a working system to download them. If you are planning to install Windows 7 and see that there are no listed Windows 7 drivers available for your system. Note that:.
There are few exceptions to this rulein particular bluetooth which integrates with Windows Explorer. If you only have XP drivers listed then ask on the forums for assistance; however if Vista or 7 drivers are unavailable for your system it is likely you will get a low Windows Experience Index running these operating systems on your hardware, so I would not recommend switching in this case.
There are a couple of unofficial driver sets listed for selected laptops and desktops provided by me. These are likely to work but theres no g uarantee. When downloading drivers for a clean install I recommend using the same folder structure as me to prevent confusion and to ensure that you install all the drivers in the correct order.
S ee here for more information about Dell Desktop Software. Not all systems will have this. Note there are the drivers and the applications. The applications should increase system performance. If a full installer isn't present then it is likely the preinstallation drivers see Step 6. Video Driver - Under Video.
Generally there are several variants for Video Driver e. Ignore any for TV tuners at this moment. There may be a few variants of graphics cards for a laptop and you must select the correct ones.
I n desktops if there is no dedicated graphics card in the card slot, then they have the onboard generally Intel driver. Generally there are several variants of graphics card per desktop model and you need to pick the correct one. Conexant Drivers - Under Communications. Drivers for Modems are often natively included in Windows 7 if its not there don't worry.
Modems are becoming obsolete also. For newer systems if modem drivers exist, they may fail to install as a modem is not present. As modems are becoming obsolete the modem is not always installed as default for a Windows 7 laptop. Network Ethernet Driver - Under Network. Sometimes Intel, Atheros but the later two can be the wireless card. Wireless Card - Under Network. Not present for all Desktops but most that come with Windows Vista or later will have a wireless card included.
There are generally several variants of Wireless Cards and you will need to pick the correct one. For some newer systems the wireless and bluetooth card are one and the same. Touchpad usually mentions Synaptics or Alps - Input. You can create recovery media using the DataSafe Local Backup utility. The system recovery media can be used to restore your Dell to the condition it was on a previous date without having to worry about the loss of data.
To create the System Recovery media, turn on the computer and let it boot up. Follow the instructions on the screen to complete the creation of the media. Once done, store the media in a safe place for future use. You have several options to get your Dell back up and running again. Try the following in order, as they are organized as easiest to hardest:. System Restore — A system restore is a feature built into Windows that allows you to go back to a previous state in the event a system file or hardware driver has been damaged.
Click through the restore options and go back to a date when you know the computer was working properly. Your personal data should be safe using this method. Restart the computer. Select Repair Your Computer from the list.
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