Administrator Guide

Dell XPS Ultrabook Reimage “How-To” Guide
Appendix A
How to create and use the Dell Windows recovery image
After you download the Windows recovery image file, follow these instructions to create a bootable
USB drive or DVD, copy the recovery image onto your bootable media, and then use the media to
reinstall Windows on your Dell device.
Warning: These advanced steps are intended primarily for system administrators and those familiar
with command line and/or comfortable following technical tutorials.
Note: To print this document, expand the required section before you click the printer icon at the top
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How to create Windows 10 installation media
Create USB installation media
Step 1: Format your USB drive as a bootable drive
Make sure that you use 8 GB or larger USB drive (32 GB Maximum) and backup any important data
on it. When the drive is formatted, all existing data will be deleted.
1. Connect the USB drive to the PC where you'll be creating the installationmedia.
2. Open the Command Prompt window by right-clicking the Start button and then select Command
Prompt (Admin) to run in administrator mode.
3. At the command prompt, type diskpart and press Enter.
4. Next, type list volume and press Enter.
5. From the list, determine which volume number is the connected USB drive. The volume type should
be marked as Removable.
6. Type select volume X, where X is the number obtained in the previous step. For example, select
volume 9.
7. Type clean and press Enter.
8. Type create partition primary and press Enter.
9. Type format fs=fat32 label='OS install' quick and press Enter.
10. Type active and press Enter.
11. To close the Command Prompt window, type exit and press Enter.
Step 2: Copy the recovery image to your bootable USB drive
1. Go to the location where you saved the recovery image.
2. Right-click the recovery image file (.iso) and on the options menu, selectMount.
3. Windows will open the contents of the image in File Explorer.
4. Copy the contents of the image to your bootable device.