Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery User’s Guide November 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. © 2017 - 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: Introduction to SupportAssist OS Recovery................................................................. 5 Systems with SupportAssist OS Recovery................................................................................................................... 5 Key features..........................................................................................................................................................................
Troubleshoot OS Recovery boot failure...................................................................................................................... 26 Troubleshoot file backup errors..................................................................................................................................... 26 Troubleshoot Wi-Fi connection......................................................................................................................................
1 Introduction to SupportAssist OS Recovery SupportAssist OS Recovery provides a recovery environment that consists of tools to diagnose and troubleshoot issues that may occur before your computer boots to the operating system. When your computer is unable to boot to the operating system even after repeated attempts, it automatically starts SupportAssist OS Recovery.
2 System Repair with SupportAssist OS Recovery The System Repair feature in SupportAssist OS Recovery allows you to instantly rollback to a previous point in time on your computer to resolve boot issues or any other performance issues. The System Repair feature is automatically enabled on all the computers with at least 50 GB of free disk space and where SupportAssist OS Recovery is available.
Steps 1. Click the Start button to open the programs menu. 2. Search and open Control Panel. 3. Click System and Security. 4. Double-click SupportAssist OS Recovery. 5. Select the Run Repair tab. 6. Click RUN REPAIR. Your computer restarts and you are redirected to SupportAssist OS Recovery environment. Results The system repair process is initiated, and the progress of repair is displayed. ● If the computer is repaired successfully, the Everything's back to normal status is displayed. Click DONE.
3 Starting SupportAssist OS Recovery You can start SupportAssist OS Recovery in the following ways: Steps 1. Automatic start of SupportAssist OS Recovery—when your computer is unable to boot to the operating system even after repeated attempts, SupportAssist OS Recovery starts automatically. 2. Manual start of SupportAssist OS Recovery—you can manually start SupportAssist OS Recovery to reset your computer to factory state or to back up your files. See Manually start SupportAssist OS Recovery. 3.
Start SupportAssist OS Recovery using Windows Recovery Windows Recovery is a redirection utility that helps in redirecting to the SupportAssist OS Recovery environment when your computer is unable to boot to the operating system even after repeated attempts. You can access the Windows Recovery Environment using the following methods: 1. From the operating system: Start Menu > Settings > Update and Security > Recovery > Advanced Startup > Restart Now. 2.
4 Using SupportAssist OS Recovery SupportAssist OS Recovery starts automatically when your computer fails to start the operating system even after repeated attempts. If necessary, you can manually start SupportAssist OS Recovery. For instructions to start SupportAssist OS Recovery manually, see Manually start SupportAssist OS Recovery.
local network and the Internet. After you connect your computer to the Internet through SupportAssist OS Recovery interface, SupportAssist OS Recovery saves the network configuration settings for future connections. Configure wireless network Prerequisites The wireless modem or router must be turned on and placed near the computer for easy detection. Steps 1. Click the network icon on the header of the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page, and then click CONNECT. The NETWORK page is displayed. 2.
Steps 1. Click the network icon on the header of the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page, and then click CONNECT. The NETWORK page is displayed. 2. Select Proxy. 3. Enter details such as proxy server, port number, username, and password in the Proxy settings box, and then click CONNECT. The proxy network is configured in SupportAssist OS Recovery, and the Connected status is displayed. 4. Click DONE. Scan the hardware Prerequisites Your computer must be connected to a power outlet.
f. Right-click and copy, or make a note of the recovery key applicable to your device, and click ENTER KEY. g. Right-click and paste, or enter the recovery key in the Enter BitLocker recovery key field, and then click UNLOCK. Your computer is unlocked. 2. Click START REPAIR. The repair process starts, and the progress of repair is displayed. ● If the issue is fixed successfully, the Everything's back to normal status is displayed. Click DONE.
The free space available on the storage device and the space that is required to back up the selected files are displayed. NOTE: If the free space available on the storage device is less than the required free space, an error message is displayed. Connect a storage device with more storage space. NOTE: If you connect a storage device that is read-only, an error message is displayed. Connect a storage device with read/write access. 5. Click NEXT.
About this task You can use the Reset to factory settings option to reset your operating system and default applications to the state they were in when your computer was shipped from the Dell factory. Steps 1. On the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page, click START RESET on the RESET tile. System reset options are displayed. 2. Select Reset to factory settings, and then click NEXT. The option to back up your files is displayed.
7. Go to the folder on the local drive where you want to save the files, and then click Extract. The data restoration process begins and it may take several minutes to complete. 8. Click Close.
5 Resetting and updating your computer You can reset your computer and update the operating system of your computer to the latest available version using the Reset and update option. This updates the operating system to a version which is more current than the operating system installed at the Dell factory. It is recommended that you use this option only if your computer is irreparable or SupportAssist OS Recovery is unable to detect the factory image on your computer.
Create SupportAssist OS Recovery USB key Prerequisites ● Dell OS Recovery Tool must be installed on your computer. See Download and install Dell OS Recovery Tool. ● Your computer must have an active Internet connection. ● You must have a USB storage device with a minimum of 16 GB free space. CAUTION: Data on the USB storage device is formatted and erased when the SupportAssist OS Recovery key is created. Steps 1. Connect the USB storage device to the computer where Dell OS Recovery Tool is installed. 2.
NOTE: The feature to reset your computer using the Reset and update option is supported only on certain systems. For the list of systems where this feature is supported, see the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Support Matrix at https:// www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools. Steps 1. Connect the SupportAssist OS Recovery USB key to the computer where you want to reset and update the operating system. 2. Turn on or restart your computer. 3. Press F12 to access the one time boot menu.
SupportAssist Recovery Assistant NOTE: SupportAssist Recovery Assistant is available only on certain systems. For the list of systems where SupportAssist Recovery Assistant is available, see the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Support Matrix at https://www.dell.com/ serviceabilitytools. SupportAssist Recovery Assistant is automatically launched when you restart your computer after you reset your computer using the Reset and update option.
The data restoration process begins, and it may take several minutes to complete. 9. Click Done to return to the SupportAssist Recovery Assistant home page after the restoration process is complete.
6 Configuring SupportAssist OS Recovery SupportAssist OS Recovery starts automatically when your computer fails to boot to the operating system even after repeated attempts. Depending on your preference, you can configure the following for SupportAssist OS Recovery: ● Enable or disable the automatic start of SupportAssist OS Recovery. ● Set the failure threshold for the automatic start of SupportAssist OS Recovery.
Steps 1. Turn on or restart your computer. 2. Press F2 to enter System Setup. NOTE: If you wait too long and the operating system logo is displayed, wait until you see the Windows desktop, restart your computer, and try again. 3. In the left pane, expand SupportAssist System Resolution, and then select Auto OS Recovery Threshold. 4.
7 BIOSConnect overview NOTE: This feature is available only on certain Dell systems. For the list of systems where BIOSConnect feature is supported, see the Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Support Matrix at https://www.dell.com/serviceabilitytools. BIOSConnect provides an alternative method for starting SupportAssist OS Recovery when the service partition of the hard drive where SupportAssist OS Recovery resides, is absent, corrupt, or needs repair.
Connect to wireless networks Prerequisites The wireless modem or router must be turned on and placed near the computer for easy detection. Steps 1. From the list of available wireless networks, select a wireless network. If you want to connect to a hidden wireless network that is not listed, click Add Wi-Fi. 2. Depending on the type of wireless network, perform the following: ● For a secured wireless network, enter the password and click Connect. ● For an unsecured wireless network, click Connect.
8 Troubleshooting SupportAssist OS Recovery Topics: • • • • Troubleshoot OS Recovery boot failure Troubleshoot file backup errors Troubleshoot Wi-Fi connection Run diagnostics test Troubleshoot OS Recovery boot failure You cannot access SupportAssist OS Recovery when the SupportAssist System Resolution option is disabled in the system BIOS. Steps 1. Restart your computer. 2. Press the F2 key until the Preparing to enter setup message is displayed.
Steps 1. Go to the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page. 2. Click on the header of the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page, and then click Restart. 3. Press the F12 key until the one time boot menu is displayed. NOTE: If you wait too long and the operating system logo is displayed, wait until you see the Windows desktop, restart your computer, and try again. 4. From the one time boot menu, select BIOS Setup, and then press Enter. 5. Select Wireless, and then click Restore Settings.
9 Frequently asked questions 1. If I format the hard drive of my computer, does it affect the SupportAssist OS Recovery partition? SupportAssist OS Recovery partition is deleted when you format the hard drive of your computer by using a standard operating system media or a USB drive. After the partition is deleted, you can reset the operating system along with SupportAssist OS Recovery tool by using the Reset and update option. For more information, see Resetting and updating your computer on page 17.
A Related Dell products The following table explains the difference between SupportAssist OS Recovery and other related Dell products: Table 1. Related Dell products Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery Dell SupportAssist for Home PCs/Dell SupportAssist for Business PCs Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery provides a recovery environment that consists of tools to diagnose and troubleshoot issues that may occur before your computer boots to the operating system.
