Full Restore/reset Of Dell Inspiron 23 Inch Aio Desktop

It seems to me that the HW/SW vendors are getting more proprietary everyday in an attempt to control my (and every other) life.

Having said that I just bought a new PC as described in the subject. Not only were there no recovery DVD's (not surprising, they've not including them for years) but there's not a recovery partition on the HD.

Also no 25 digit key; nor any other visible means to handle Windows 10 licensing.

I'm worried that when the time comes to install a HD replacement or other major catastrophic problem that I won't be able to rebuild it myself. That happening would force me to pay for Dell service to have them rebuild it for me.

Also worried about dual boot (and anything else) that might be limited due to UEFI.

Hoping for good advice, but I won't hesitate to return this thing to BestBuy if absolutely necessarily.

 

It depends on the device. Fortunately, for custom "PC" builders, the ATX Form Factor standard insures component makers do NOT use proprietary parts. And since PC operating systems must also support the ATX Form Factor standard, Windows and Linux are not proprietary in that sense either.

The problem is with factory made computers - especially notebooks. They can be very proprietary - and not just when it comes to hardware. They often modify operating systems. As for your new Dell, it is important to note that AiO computers are basically notebook computers mounted on the back of a larger monitor. They also tend to be very proprietary.

Are you sure there is no recovery partition? They typically are hidden.

Your product key is stored in your BIOS so if you need to reinstall Windows, it should already be there, and authorized.

Note you can find your Product ID through Settings > System > About.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/10749/windows-product-key

 

Thanks..... I was not aware that AIOs were basically laptops.

Attached is a file with my partition configuration.

 

Your screen shot is not very clear but I do see a Healthy Recovery Partition of ~450MB on the end there. I suspect is you look at your Dell documentation, you will find that is how you restore your Dell to factory settings.

I do recommend, however, you create a current backup and so so regularly so you don't have to restore all the way back to the factory settings.

 

Thank you, I did see that partition, but when creating a "save-my-ass" USB recovery and it took 13GB of a 16GB thumb, I figured the 400+ MB partition was not going to be "real". But after you pointed out that there was indeed a recovery partition, I tried twice to recover from the that partition, but when the recovery percentage counter reached 99% got message recovery not successful.

I think my problem may be related to the fact these are all GPT partitions and I don't have the correcct parameters set within bios setup (F2 when booting). I do not know as much as I should RE: ufei versus legacy mode or GPT versus MBR mode. Tine to get some studying time in.

I AM able to boot from a thumb drive into Paragon Hard disk manager; at lease there is that much.

Thanks

 

Newer pc's have 'secure boot' enabled. While enabled, any boot from the hard disk, dvd, or thumbdrive has to have secure 'keys' recognized by MS as valid. To boot older os's or cd/dvd/usb you need to have secure boot turned off and further in the bios, csm or legacy turned on. If you have both kinds of boot discs there will be times when you have to change the bios to use the product.
If you made the 13gb drive then you should have the Windows recovery boot device made along with the original system default setup (as it was when bought). That's the different size showing for each(500mb vs 13gb).
If you have older discs or usb's, if one won't boot try going into bios and turn off 'secure', turn on legacy and change the boot order to put the device first in boot order.
To go back, just turn 'secure boot' back on. It should automatically reset the other settings.
Each pc maker has things a little different. And some may be made that won't allow anything other than secure mode.

 

With Dell's they often need to start and press f8, as the logo appears , to get into the factory restore setup, if that is what you are trying to do.
If you absolutely want the windows 10 key itself (Digerati has shown you how to get the ID) then use this keyfinder
http://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/magical_jelly_bean_keyfinder.html
You can have more partitions on a GPT disc, so no problem with dual booting, but I believe you might have problems with your recovery partition, if attempting it - There is a lot to learn about partitioning, if you are do not know much as yet.
MBR partitions max is 4-Primry partitions --- GPT max many is 128
https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/wi...configure-uefigpt-based-hard-drive-partitions