20 Posts
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2573
Inspron 11 3168 (restore OS to original -- or Ubuntu)
The Inspron 11 3168 has the 32GB SanDisk (not really an SSD?) and only 2GB RAM, all not replaceable.
The machine worked fine for the first year of use, then became so slow it was painful!
We should have created a restore point when we first bought the machine, but we did not.
As time went on the SSD became full of updates and junk to where the OS took 85% of the SSD. We attempted to put Ubuntu on after we cloned the SSD for a backup. The Ubuntu would not work, the MBR became corrupt.
1) Attempted the "Dell-USB-Recovery-Tool_9R9DC_WIN_2.3.6094.0_A00.EXE" Dell recovery tool, it seems that one had to do a backup to the internet for this tool to work? I cannot remember the error I got, but it said something like it could not find a clone? Is there a way to use this tool to restore the machine to the way I bought it in 2018 without any restore points or backup to the internet?
2) I attempted to remove all software on the SSD, the drive did not seem to shrink in size.
3) I tried to use the MS W-10 bootable USB to restore the OS, could not seem to get this to work either.
4) Is there a way to get the original "W-10 Home 64-bit for Compact OS" image file?
5) Has any one been able to install Ubuntu?
The only time we use this tablet is when driving, it is our "in the cab" internet machine.
Thanks in advance, Paul
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 23rd, 2020 18:00
The solution to this issue was easy, I do not know why all the above advice was given?
All one has to do is get the ISO file from Microsoft, burn it to a DVD, use a DVD connected to the USB to reinstall the original OS. The DVD install will ask for a USB drive with I think 4MB of space so that the OS can be installed using the thumb drive as a swap drive because the Dell hard drive is too small to do it any other way.
All of the other methods failed, this works.
nyc10036
5.6K Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 11:00
@buring RV fridge
Do a clean installation of Windows 10 not a restore or whatever else. Wipe everything.
Then after Windows 10 installs, run Disk Cleaner and delete everything including System Files.
I have done this on multiple laptops with the 32 GB eMMC hard drive. It works.
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 14:00
Hi Tungston, will the windows W-10 home install do the compact OS?
When you say " Disk Cleaner and delete everything including System Files" Are you stating to for example on of the following, or something else?:
1) Right Click c-drive > properties > Disk Cleanup?
2) Not sure how to get rid of all the junk like Paint 3-d?
3) Or are you stating Control Panel > Programs and Features > Turn windows features on or off?
4) Or just simply on the install, when it finishes, I think that there is a check box that askes if I want to "keep system files"?
Thanks for your help!
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 15:00
COMMENT TO LAST 2 POSTINGS:
I used the W-10 USB to boot in another computer, got the usual W-10 install screen.
What could be wrong with the Dell to get this strange boot screen?
Paul
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 15:00
Darn! I got a strange black 'windows boot manager ' screen when I tried to boot off of the W-10 USB stick, downloaded a new version today.
States that: windows failed to start. A recent hardware of software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:
1. Insert Windows installation disk (this is what I am doing!)
2. Choose your language settings...
3. Click "repair your computer."
Not sure why this is, wonder if the USB stick is corrupt? The computer will boot into Windows if I take the USB out.
Where do I get an ISO, may be easier to get the ISO W-10 and load onto bootable USB than let Microsoft build the darn thing. It took about 3 hours to make this USB stick with my slow internet.
Also, I assume that the activation code is on the motherboard?
Pergamon
32 Posts
1
June 14th, 2020 15:00
Is Fresh Start tool an option for you? Don't know if will completely solve your problems regarding performance issues, but it couldn't hurt.
https://au.pcmag.com/operating-systems/44187/how-to-clean-up-windows-10-with-the-fresh-start-tool
On another note. I installed Zorin Linux on a Netbook and was thinking about installing it on my Dell 11 3000 with its 32 GB's of EMMC storage. It's faster than Windows 7. Couldn't get sleep nor hibernation to work in Zorin, but if it runs fairly well on an atom processor, so the Celeron in the 11 3000 should be more than capable of getting decent performance out of it. I managed to install the May 2020 Windows 10 upgrade on the Dell, so I might try to dual boot it with Zorin Linux.
Edit : You've replied to your own thread a few times since I posted this.
You said you deleted apps as windows 10 became bloated, but you never gained any disk space back. I'm assuming you did a disk cleanup and removed all the windows 10 upgrade files. That usually takes up a lot of space.
That doesn't really have any relation to where you are right now, so can you still boot into windows at this point to attempt a fresh start or are you leaning towards downloading linux and installing it from a usb flash drive?
Looks like you can boot into windows. See if you can run the fresh start option once you're back in windows 10.
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 17:00
Windows fresh start needs additional 2.42GB of disk space.
All updates that I can remove are removed, and I only have 0.204GB of programs that can be removed.
All system files have been cleaned/cleared in the Disk clean up.
The hard drive is currently 24.4GB used, and 3.43GB free space.
I just do not see how I can do anything with this machine, the bootable W-10 thumb drive will not start, and the system cannot rebuild itself due to a lack of hard drive space.
nyc10036
5.6K Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 17:00
The USB flash drive "not starting" is probably due to you not preparing it properly.
Download the Windows 10 ISO and use Rufus to create USB flash drive again.
If you are having this much trouble with trying to install Windows 10, you won't be able to install Linux either !
.
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 18:00
Your are correct, Ubuntu would not run after wiping the drive and installation.
I had to clone back on the W-10 to get it to work.
Messed up system, too small a drive to do anything.
I assume some special driver is needed that Ubuntu does not have, I attempted to install it a number of times.
Ubuntu runs OK from the USB, but very slow.
KaiZon123
7 Posts
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June 14th, 2020 18:00
Why don't you think about buying a new laptop? Without many important documents
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 18:00
Can you tell me how much room the Windows 10 Home will take on the drive if I can install it from USB?
To respond to "The USB flash drive "not starting" is probably due to you not preparing it properly."
Microsoft prepared the bookable USB drive, and it works in my NUC, the issue is not with me or the USB drive, it is with the Dell. As a matter of fact, with a little research, others seem to have the same issue with the fresh start from windows.
My last attempt is to check the BIOS and switch to Legacy, this is a long shot.
Pergamon
32 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 19:00
I'm looking at the current space of my 11 3000. Right now I have 4.73GB's free with 2 GB's used for virtual memory which I'm guessing could be turned off temporarily with a performance hit to get that space back and I'm using hibernation, which I figure I can get back at least 1 GB of space, and even though I've cleaned out my system upgrade files using disk cleanup, there's still 310mb's worth of files in the windows/softwaredistribution/download folder which can be deleted safely. Another option is to use the compact O.S option under command prompt which might be an option for you to gain back a couple of gigabytes; although mine shows that it's already compressed.
Point is I'm in the same boat with Windows 10 running the same space and I managed to install, over time, the latest upgrades to it even with this storage limitation. I remember once Windows 10 let me use an external flash drive to swap installation files from the usb drive in order to install whatever version I was upgrading to, but most of the time I needed to free up space to find the 8 - 10GB's required to upgrade.
I would look for a disk analyzer program, see what your biggest files are and if they aren't labeled as crucial, swap those files over to a usb flash drive. I mean you're at the desperation point here. If you've hit a brick wall with a bootable usb windows 10 flash drive, you might have to look to taking any risks you can in order to release the space you need to do a fresh install.
I'm out of ideas at this point, but I wish you luck.
Pergamon
32 Posts
0
June 14th, 2020 19:00
I'm looking at the current space of my 11 3000. Right now I have 4.73GB's free with 2 GB's used for virtual memory which I'm guessing could be turned off temporarily with a performance hit to get that space back and I'm using hibernation, which I figure I can get back at least 1 GB of space, and even though I've cleaned out my system upgrade files using disk cleanup, there's still 310mb's worth of files in the windows/softwaredistribution/download folder which can be deleted safely. Another option is to use the compact O.S option under command prompt which might be an option for you to gain back a couple of gigabytes; although mine shows that it's already compressed.
Point is I'm in the same boat with Windows 10 running the same space and I managed to install, over time, the latest upgrades to it even with this storage limitation. I remember once Windows 10 let me use an external flash drive to swap installation files from the usb drive in order to install whatever version I was upgrading to, but most of the time I needed to free up space to find the 8 - 10GB's required to upgrade.
I would look for a disk analyzer program, see what your biggest files are and if they aren't labeled as crucial, swap those files over to a usb flash drive. I mean you're at the desperation point here. If you've hit a brick wall with a bootable usb windows 10 flash drive, you might have to look to taking any risks you can in order to release the space you need to do a fresh install.
I'm out of ideas at this point, but I wish you luck.
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 15th, 2020 05:00
Why did Dell build a machine that can not be restored?
Could it be that Dell is designing there stuff to last 2 years and die?
1) None of the typical methods will work to restore W-10.
2) The drive is too small to do a system self rebuild.
3) None of the Dell tools will work, which tell me that Dell does not want this system to work, therefore, unless someone can tell me how to get this machine to work, Dell designed it to fail.
4) It does not matter if the BIOS is set to Legacy or not (must be in UEFI to boot OS), the only things that will boot from the USB are Ubuntu or System Rescue CD. Otherwise, the
buring RV fridge
20 Posts
0
June 15th, 2020 07:00
I received a private message last night asking for the service tag info:
Service Tag: