Operating system installation once required relatively professional knowledge. Today it is an easy process, at least when it comes to Microsoft's new system. It is true that most of you should still use the installation mechanisms attached to the computers and which are described in their operating instructions. For Dell computer users, sometimes they need to use the Dell OS Recovery Tool to reinstall the system on your Dell PC due to a system crash, hard drive replacement, etc.

Download and install the Dell OS Recovery Tool from Dell’s official website.
Prepare a USB flash drive with at least 16GB of free space.
Microsoft .Net Framework 4.5.2 or higher.
Administrator user rights and at least 16GB of available storage space to download the Dell Windows recovery image.
Dell OS Recovery Tool

You can use the Dell USB Recovery Tool to reinstall your system. Follow the steps below:

Step 1: Create a USB Recovery Media

First, you need to create a USB recovery media using the Dell USB Recovery Tool.

After you download and install the tool, you need to click Start to launch the application.
ClickThis Computer to use the same Dell PC and click Next to continue.
Connect a USB flash drive to the PC.
After that, you need to select the USB flash drive that you want to use to create the USB recovery media and check the I understand that the selected drive will be reformatted and existing data will be deleted button.
Click the Download button to download the operating system for your Dell PC. When the process is completed, there will be a summary screen.
Step 2: Use the Dell Windows Recovery Image to Reinstall the System

Now, it’s time to use the recovery media to reinstall the operating system. The steps of reinstalling Windows 7/8 and Windows 10 are different. You should refer to the steps based on your system version.

Reinstall Windows 7/8

Connect the USB flash drive to your Dell PC. Restart the PC and when the Dell logo appears, press theF12key until you see thePreparing one-time boot menu.
On thebootmenu, select your USB drive and press Enter under UEFI boot. Then, select your preferences when Windows Setup appears.
On theWindows Installationdialog box, click Install Now. Select I accept the license terms after reviewing the license agreement.
In the window, click Custom (advanced)to be the installation type.
Select the largest internal disc as theprimary partition, then click Nexton the Where do you want to install Windows window. If the primary partition shows 0GB free, select Unallocated Space and click the Nextbutton.
The new Windows partition will be automatically created and formatted by the Windows Setup. Then it will start to install Windows.
It will take some time to perform the reinstallation process and your PC may restart several times.
Reinstall Windows 10

Connect the USB flash drive to your Dell PC. Restart the PC and when the Dell logo appears, press theF12 key until you see thePreparing one-time boot menu.
On thebootmenu, select the USB drive and press Enter.
On theChoose an optionscreen, click Troubleshoot and then click Recover from a drive.
Follow the instructions on the screen to finish the reinstallation process. The installation process will take some time and your PC may restart several times.
Here are all the steps of using the Dell USB Recovery Tool to reinstall Windows 7/8/10. However, some people reported that when they used the Dell OS Recovery Tool, it was not working, that is to say, it failed to create the recovery media. If you are one of them, please continue based on the following solutions.

Dell OS Recovery Tool Not Working

When the “Dell OS Recovery Tool not working” issue appears, you can try using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool to reinstall your Windows on your Dell PC.

Step 1: Download the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website. Then follow the instruction to get the following page and check the Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC option and click Next.

Step 2: Choose the Language, Windows Edition, and Architecture and click Next to continue.

Step 3: Choose which media to use and click Next. Here I take the USB flash drive as an example.

Step 4: Select the USB drive you want to use for creating Windows 10 installation media and click Next.

Step 5: Then the Windows 10 installation files will be downloaded on your device. When the download is completed, it will start to create Windows 10 media.

Step 6: Click Finish and then you can use that drive to boot up your computer and reinstall Windows 10.

2. Perform a System Restore

When the Dell Recovery Tool is not working, you can perform a system restore to restore the system to earlier data. You should notice that once you have created a system restore point, you can use this method. This post – What Is System Restore Point and How to Create It? Look Here can help you create it on your Dell PC. Now, you can continue.

Step 1: Type Create a restore point in the Search box and select the best match result to open the System Properties window.

Step 2: Under the System Protection tab, click the System Restore button, and follow the instructions to select a restore point to restore your Windows 10 computer to a previous working healthy state.

3. Reset This PC

You can also try resetting your Dell PC without losing data if the Dell Recovery Tool is not working. Follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Type reset in the Search box and click Reset this PC to open it.

Step 2: Then, click Get Started to continue.

Step 3: Choose Keep my files or Remove everything. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to complete the reset process. This takes some time and your computer will restart.

Easy Way to Get Windows 7/8/10

You may find that reinstalling the Windows system will take you much time from the content above. Is there a method to get the system without reinstalling? Yes! There is a piece of professional backup software – MiniTool ShadowMaker for you to do that.

Step 1: Launch MiniTool ShadowMaker

Click Keep Trial.
Choose Connectin This Computer to enter the main interface.

Step 2: Choose the Backup Source

MiniTool ShadowMaker chooses the operating system as the backup source by default. There is no need for you to choose again.

Step 3: Choose the Destination Path

Click the Destination source to choose the backup destination.
Click OK to continue.
Step 4: Start to Back up

You can click Back up Now to perform the backup task immediately.
You can also click Back up Later to delay the task.

Final Words

This post introduced how to use the Dell OS Recovery Tool to reinstall Windows 7/8/10. Besides, you can know what to do when the Dell OS Recovery Tool is not working. If you want to use this tool, this post is helpful.

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