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Recovery USB, Dell Inspiron 15 3521-7147
Hello.
I've got a Dell Inspiron 15 3521-7147 laptop with Windows 8.1 on a board. Also I created a recovery USB using a "Dell Backup and Recovery" tool.
Now I'd like to remove Windows 8.1 to install a UNIX-like OS. But I also wanna be able to install the version of Windows 8.1 which came with the laptop.
Well, can I delete all partitions on the disk, and then install Windows 8.1 with all drivers and standard Dell programs using only the USB? In another words: does my USB contain Windows 8.1 Image, Dell Drivers and Dell Programs?
Thanks.
ejn63
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August 30th, 2014 05:00
The recovery flash drive will return the system to the exact same state it was in when you received it. That said, if you want to play with another OS, you may be better off buying a new hard drive and swapping it in - then swap back when you want to use the original OS. Hard drives are not expensive, and the recovery process will take time.