Dell 8920 Recovery Images

Are you sure there are three? I have a XPS 8910 and after I entered my Service Tag there is only one image  You download the Dell ISO recovery image file and use the Dell OS Recovery Tool to create a bootable USB drive. An 8 GB USB drive is required.

Yes there are three files listed along with the file to create the image on the USB drive.  I am using the largest file to reinstall the operating system onto the SSD. It is currently going through the process but from the sounds of it is has chosen the HD instead of the SSD,

I am going to let it finish and if it did install to the HD I am going power the system down and then unplug the HD and try again.

This is terrible that Dell puts three different size Windows 10 Pro 64-bit recovery files online without an explaining the differences.

What device was your OS originally on the HDD or SSD? If the OS was on the SSD you may have to disconnect the HDD in order to recover to the SSD.

I just received my Dell XPS 8920 and am trying to understand the BIOS configuration of the original 512GB SSD. The BIOS is currently set to use RAID on the SATA port. This drive appears to be working properly along with the 2TB HD. My ultimate goal is to do the following:

Original Configuration:

512GB SSD

2TB HD

16GB Memory

Future Configuration:

1TB SSD (Samsung 960 Pro)  -- Currently having major issues getting this to work.

4TB HD - Western Digital Black

4TB HD - Western Digital Black

2TB HD - Original Drive

32 GB Memory

My Dell 8920 came with a 512GB SSD (OS Drive) and a 2TB (Data Drive) HD installed. I am trying to change the 512GB SSD for a 1TB Samsung 960 Pro SSD.

The Samsung 960 Pro is recognized by the Windows OS Installation application but produces a "Boot Device Failure" error message when trying to start the computer.

I was able to get the OS to load onto the Samsung SSD by disconnecting all drives and then installing Windows. I have been on  the phone with Dell for hours trying to resolve the issues.

I was trying to do a brand new install on the 1TB with no other drives connected. It appears to be an issue with the Samsung 960 Pro and the Dell XPS 8920.

Samsung was no help, just providing canned responses and ignoring  my replies indicating that the Windows 10 Professional installer would not find the SSD without pointing it to some driver files that Dell pointed me to.

They replied that the Samsung Driver installer that they provide requires Windows to be running. When I asked how someone was to install the drivers  the SSD would not boot correctly the replies stop coming.

They did indicate that the Microsoft Windows 10 Professional installer was suppose to have the required driver and that no additional drivers were required to get the SSD operational. I informed them that I had the official Microsoft Windows 10 Professional files direct from the Microsoft servers. They could not explain why the SSD was not being recognized. They then indicated that I might need to update the firmware on the SSD but did not know what to say when I mentioned that the OS needed to be operational first. I guess I could have installed Windows to the 2TB HD and then attempted to use the Samsung Magician software but it was NOT worth the additional hassle after waiting 8 hours trying to resolve this issue. They would not guarantee that this would work.

I returned the Samsung 960 Pro SSD to Micro Center and got a refund since I did not want to go beyond the 30 return window.

I think this issue with the Samsung 960 EVO M.2 NVMe also occurs with the XPS 8910 although it has a different motherboard and BIOS.