Dell SupportAssist OS Recovery User’s Guide April 2021 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 - 2021 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 is factory-installed on supported Dell systems and does not require you to purchase any additional service plans. It 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.
Run System Repair System Repair feature resets the computer to a previous point in time when everything was running smoothly on your computer. Prerequisites System Repair feature must be enabled on your computer. Steps 1. In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel, and then select Control Panel. 2. Select System and Security. 3. Double-click SupportAssist OS Recovery. 4. Select the Run Repair tab. 5.
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.
Configure Internet settings An active Internet connection is required for sending feedback to Dell and for resetting your computer using the Reset and update option. The NETWORK page displays a visual network map and indicates the connection state of your computer to the 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.
● The wireless modem or router must be turned on and placed near the computer for easy detection if you want to connect to a wireless proxy network. 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.
d. Select the user phone number, enter the last four digits of the phone number, and then click Send code. A message with a verification code is sent to the phone number. e. Enter the verification code in the Code field, and then click Verify. BitLocker recovery keys that are associated with your account are displayed. f. Right-click and copy, or make a note of the recovery key applicable to your device, and click ENTER KEY. g.
The free space that is required to back up the selected files is displayed. You are prompted to connect or insert a storage device to your computer. 4. Connect an external storage device such as an SD card, USB drive, or USB hard drive. 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.
Reset your computer to factory state Prerequisites Your computer must be connected to a power outlet. 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 contents of the archive.zip are displayed. 5. Depending on your requirement, perform one of the following: ● To restore all the files, click Select All. ● To restore specific files, scroll through the list of files and select the files that you want to restore. 6. Click Browse beside Select a destination. 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.
● 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. Launch the Dell OS Recovery Tool, and then click Get Started. 3. Click Next. The Start Recovery page is displayed. 4.
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. The available boot options are displayed. 4. Use the arrow keys to go to the Boot menu. 5. Select the USB drive on which you created the SupportAssist OS Recovery USB key. The computer boots to the USB drive, and the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page is displayed. 6. On the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page, click START RESET on the RESET tile.
11. Remove the USB drive from computer, and then click RESTART. Your computer restarts. Next steps When you restart the computer after resetting and updating, the computer reboots to complete your software installation. SupportAssist OS Recovery installs necessary applications and drivers. It also installs the SupportAssist Recovery Assistant to help you restore data after the operating system reset.
Steps 1. Click Restore or Retrieve More Files in SupportAssist Recovery Assistant. The Restore Data page is displayed. 2. If you backed up your data on an external storage device, connect the external storage device to your computer and follow the remaining steps in this section. If your data was backed up on the local hard disk of your computer, skip steps 3, 4, and 5. 3. Click Browse beside Select archive. 4.
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.
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 on the SupportAssist for Home PCs manuals page. 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.
Results When the download is complete, the SupportAssist OS Recovery home page is displayed. If the SupportAssist OS Recovery user interface is displayed for the first time, click APPROVE to accept the privacy policy. A walkthrough option is also displayed. Click START WALKTHROUGH to learn about various options available in the tool, or click SKIP to skip the walkthrough process.
8 Troubleshooting SupportAssist OS Recovery Topics: • • • • Troubleshoot OS Recovery boot failure Troubleshoot file backup errors Troubleshoot Wi-Fi connection Run diagnostics test for hardware issues 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.
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.
