Reinstall Windows and Remove Dell Recovery Partition?


  1. mccnavy
    Posts : 67
    Windows 10
       New #1

    Reinstall Windows and Remove Dell Recovery Partition?


    I have a Dell XPS 15 in production and expected to arrive in a few weeks. I know it will come with bloatware and I'd rather either do a Windows 10 refresh or simply reinstall from scratch than do manual uninstalls and have traces left in registry and elsewhere. If Dell still does what I recall there will be a partition for Dell Recovery that I believe is accessible from the BIOS. However, is it worth keeping or is reinstalling Windows from scratch, and wiping the entire drive a more reliable and higher performing option? I figure that if, after the clean install (using the license key that will be in the BIOS), I would just use Windows Recovery. I don't think clean install or removal of Dell Recovery partition would affect warranty. Thoughts?
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  3. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,430
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #2

    Removing the Dell Recovery Partition will not affect warranty. What I do when I get a new computer is before I log into Windows for the first time, I boot it from a Macrium Reflect Rescue Drive created on a different computer. I save an image of the entire hard drive to a NAS (or external drive). Then I log into the factory Windows and do all the updates. Check for driver updates with the Dell utility that will be included. Then create a Windows 10 USB flash drive with Microsoft's own media creation tool. Then I export the drivers to the same USB flash drive using the dism /export-driver command. Then I reboot the computer from the Windows 10 USB flash drive, erase the installed HDD or SSD with the diskpart clean command and re-install vanilla Windows from scratch. Any drivers that might be needed not provided by Windows, I re-install manually from the drivers I exported to the USB flash drive.
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  4. Pejole2165
    Posts : 920
    Windows 10 Pro
       New #3

    I would not rely on just Windows Recovery, I would make use of something like Macrium Reflect to make system images and/ or file backups (there are plenty of these type of apps to choose from, some free, some paid), and some good tutorials on this site regards backing up.
    As to the Dell bloat, just uninstalling the apps you do not require would be sufficient, although I would disable them from starting with the PC, reason being if you ring Dell support they will likely ask you to run xxxxx app to diagnose a fault and if you just disable from start up you can just flick a switch and re boot to run the app.
    If you use Macrium or similar then you can remove the Dell recovery partition and/ or make your own, where the recovery partition is on the disk may prevent you from easily recovering the space used, if it is even worthwhile, but reference my above point regarding what Dell would expect to be on the disk should you need their support.
    In theory a supplied warranty will only apply to the hardware provided, any extra hardware added or software added/ changed should not affect the warranty, although the system provider may require the removal of any after market adds (normally just hardware) before returning the unit for warranty work, as after all PCs are modular, but you will need to check the small print to see under what condition the PC needs to be for warranty support to apply.
    It is not unknown for these companies to fix any issue but also wipe the drive and re apply their factory image as part of the process, so be prepared for that.
    I do not see how re installing Windows from scratch will necessarily result in a more "reliable and higher performing option", most pre-builds (desktops and laptops) especially from the big box shifters tend to use proprietary components and custom drivers, so you could face the situation where a clean install may not be as reliable as the factory setup until you apply drivers from the manufacturers support site.
    If you are confident in your abilities and you are sure it will not affect your warranty service, then by all means clean install and set the PC up the way you prefer, just be aware of potential pitfalls such as those listed above.
    Just my thoughts on the matter.
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  6. NavyLCDR
    Posts : 18,430
    Windows 11 Pro
       New #4

    To remove bloatware without re-installing Windows there is also Fresh Start under Device Performance and Health:

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