Questions on SSD problem

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

Thanks, I'll give it a shot.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

It will boot to this desktop

click on This PC icon or the explorer icon on the taskbar

and you should be able to see what you need

That usb H is because I have something charging from one of the usb ports

The little icon on the taskbar is for taking screenshots if you want. It is the last free version of faststone capture, works very well for taking pics in pe

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

Just one more question (to make sure I'm doing this correctly). The USB is installed in the machine, I hit the power button, get into BIOS and then select the usb as the boot option (Windowsinstaller), then close/save and let r rip?

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

I expect ther is a one time boot menu F key on your machine which you tap as soon as the beep goes. Unless you dont have a beep speaker in which case just start tapping wahtever F key it is as soon you start the machine. Then select the uefi usb entry from the menu that pops up.

Or you can go into bios and select the usb stick to boot in efi mode. Probably says windows boot manager and the name of the usb stick.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

Looks like F12

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

No joy. It seems to be doing the same thing. Do I have to disable secure boot option or something like that? I'm not 100% sure it's actually booting from the stick.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

Go into bios setup and do it from there.

have a look in bios and check it recognizes the usb stick.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

I was able to get this to work. I had to plug the USB into the ports on the back of the MOBO specifically the ones with power symbols next to them. Then I also spammed f12 in the boot sequence. It wouldnt come up from the boot menu in bios

XPS 8960, boot from a USB drive? | DELL Technologies

My XPS 8960 has an American Megatrends Aptio Setup BIOS version 1.1.0 and to my horror the boot menu does not allow the user to select which drive to boot from. Or am I missing something:&nbs...

www.dell.com

some dells have a section called USB configuration options in bios , make sure it is enabled in there.

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

Success! It was the F2 key and it clearly offered the usb as an option. I have the windows screen and just need to enter my BitLocker recovery key to see what's on the C drive. Thanks so much for your patience, SIW2.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

The data was still there! Backing it up now.... :boom:

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

After you have backed up the data you can have a go at fixing the sick os.

Mike C555 · Apr 30, 2024

Yup. Full reinstall.

SIW2 · Apr 30, 2024

How are you planning to do that?

the regular installation media wont be able to see the disk.

I would use winntsetup. It is under the start menu. First use any of the partition tools, windows disk mgmt or aomei or diskgenius or bootice to format the esp partition to fat32 and format the windows partition to ntfs.

Then use winntsetup to apply the image to the windows partition, it will create the boot critical files for you.

Mike C555 · May 1, 2024

I’ve got everything backed up. As far as install, I was thinking (simplistically) to format the SSD and reload Windows 11 via Windows 11 media creation tool. I’ve never dealt with partitions before. Sounds complicated…

johnlgalt · May 1, 2024

Well, you use the MCT to create the Windows .ISO (which you then burn to DVD or onto a USB drive) / directly create a USB / DVD, and then install from there, for clean installs.

But most of us just grab the latest .ISO from Download Windows 11 - third option,

Download Windows 11 Disk Image (ISO) for x64 devices

And then use a tool (a lot here like Rufus) to put it onto a USB drive, which you then boot from and install.

The MCT can be a bit slower, but a plus can be that it can install most recent updates so the .ISO created is more up to date than the one you can download from Microsoft.

As far as doing all that, though, we have a great set of tutorials here, and this one should be right up your alley:

Clean Install Windows 11

This tutorial will show you step by step on how to clean install Windows 11 at boot on your PC with or without an Internet connection and setup with a local account or Microsoft account. Windows 11 has all the power and security of Windows 10 with a redesigned and refreshed look. It also comes...

www.elevenforum.com

I suggest that you read through it a bit, and if you have any questions, post them here in this thread, before you go for it, just to be safe.

bobkn · May 1, 2024

Mike C555 said:
I’ve got everything backed up. As far as install, I was thinking (simplistically) to format the SSD and reload Windows 11 via Windows 11 media creation tool. I’ve never dealt with partitions before. Sounds complicated…

It's not something I've done often.

The Windows installer allows you to delete all the partitions on the target drive. It can then create new partitions to meet its needs, automatically.

Whether that would proceed normally with a messed-up M.2 drive, I don't know.

I might be reluctant to do that on a laptop, because of possible customizations, but I'd recommend it on a desktop PC. Even a Dell.

SIW2 · May 1, 2024

Mike C555 said:
I’ve got everything backed up. As far as install, I was thinking (simplistically) to format the SSD and reload Windows 11 via Windows 11 media creation tool. I’ve never dealt with partitions before. Sounds complicated…

Your winre.wim could not see the disk. Therefore it is unlikely the regular ms installation media will see the disk

You might be able to change the setting in bios

or add the drivers to installation media

Intel 11th, 12th, and 13th Generation Processors, No Drives Can Be Found During Windows 10 and Windows 11 Installation | Dell UK

or boot up the media you made from my iso and use winntsetup to do the installation. It can be pointed at a regular iso file

csun · May 1, 2024

Mike C555 said:
My brand new (2 months old) Dell XPS8960 has run into boot up problems and I'm only able to interrogate it via the command prompt window (the machine makes it to 'post').

Would be best to contact Dell Customer Support if nothing more to put the issue on record.

Possible anamoly, but I received excellent, courteous support on a couple of issues - though not as complicated as yours.

SIW2 · May 1, 2024

If you want to use winntsetup here are some screenshots, shouldnt be necessary because it is obvious when you see it.

Partitions need to exist. If they have older or sick windows on them, format the esp as fat32 and the target windows partition as ntfs before proceeding.

It will automatically pick up the esp on disk 0 ( if you want to use an esp on a different disk, it can be selected in the dropdown )

Click Search button and browse to the installation media wim or esd or iso file

The iso is automatically mounted to a spare drive letter and it automatically finds the install.wim or install.esd

select the Edition

Select the partition you want to install windows

click Setup

Accept the deafults no need to change any , just check the you have selected the correct target partition and click OK

That is it.

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