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Using Dell Key Creator to create USB recovery drive for a Dell Inspiron 545s disables USB ports.
I'm using the Dell Key Creator I downloaded from Dell to do a Factory restore of Win 7 on my Inspiron 545s. When I start the machine the screen freezes on the Dell logo and doesn't respond.
Also, I have a friend's Inspiron 5010 which needs to be restored and I can't find the download section where I entered the service tag to get the correct key for his machine.
Cheers in advance,
Brian
DELL-Chris M
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March 22nd, 2017 09:00
Did you change the boot order in the Inspiron 545s BIOS- Boot Device Configuration to boot from USB? The key should be plugged into one of the rear USB ports. I am kind of surprised that it allowed you to create the USB key for this out of warranty 2009 desktop? The site states, "A Windows-based PC or tablet that you’re repairing (must be in warranty).".
Nairbonzai
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March 22nd, 2017 10:00
Thanks for responding, Chris.
The problem arises in that I can't get into the BIOS to change the boot sequence order. When I use the USB Flash drive created by Dell Key Creator, it disables the USB functionality, ergo I can't use F2 or F12 to enter the BIOS menu. Any other USB drive I insert does not do this. I've tried loading the software on two different makes of 8GB USB drives. The results are the same: frozen Dell logo.
As to how I acquired this USB Flash Drive, I downloaded Dell Key Creator software from the Dell site which was specific to the Service Tag of my Inspiron, and I can't find the page where I downloaded the software. I have a friend's Inspiron N5010 which needs to be restored.
I've downloaded a BIOS update for this machine. Perhaps that might solve the issue.
Cheers,
Brian
DELL-Chris M
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March 23rd, 2017 07:00
"When I use the USB Flash drive created by Dell Key Creator, it disables the USB functionality"
That doesn't sound correct to me. A USB drive should not disable the system USB ports.
Disconnect the USB drive, then boot up into the BIOS and change the boot order, then retest.
Nairbonzai
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March 23rd, 2017 13:00
Thanks for responding, Chris.
I can use other bootable USB drives to run the machine. I have a live distro of Porteus Linux on USB that works perfectly, as well as an MS-Dos boot disk.
When I use Dell Key Creator to create a USB Flash drive to restore the system, the result is the same: it causes the system to freeze. I can't get into the BIOS because the keyboard, which is USB, is disabled. As I said above, other bootable Flash drives don't cause this problem. I can press F2 or F12 'til the cows come home and still nada. You don't hear any clicks or beeps or klaxons or anything, just the silence of a mystery: why does this USB drive, which was created specifically for my I545s, cause this behaviour? I have a friend's machine, an I5010 laptop, and the procedure worked for his machine.
I tried to update the BIOS today. I mistakenly chose F2 to set the boot order and the machine booted of the hard disk instead of the USB. I received this message.
Alert! Previous attempts at bootin this system have failed at checkpoint [1C]. Contact Dell Technical Support.
I don't know what this means so I guess I contact Dell Tech Support.
After I restarted the machine, I was able to boot off the USB and run the BIOS update. It ran and then stopped and I received and error, "insufficient memory". The machine has 3GB of Ram.
Hopefully, the Dell Tech Support can sort this out.
Cheers,
Brian
Nairbonzai
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May 1st, 2017 05:00
Hello folks,
I've been able to sort out my machine, and I must thank Philip Yip for the solution. I used a DellWin7 iso which I downloaded from Philip's "http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com" to get the machine running, and then I upgraded to Win 10. The I545s runs a wee bit slow now, but it works.
Thank you Philip Yip!!!
Cheers,
Brian