Re-install Windows using Dell software or do a clean Windows install?

My personal preference is a clean install. That way you have a very clean OS without unneeded bloatware. Every Dell system I have ever had gets a drive format then a clean install using the Windows installation flash drive that is created using the media creation tool. It assures me that only the software I want is installed on the system.

Thank you for your response. I am curious as to what it is the Microsoft only fresh install would leave me without. I know it would not include the Dell supplied software, intended to keep my system up to date, although, with my system now out of warranty, I am not sure if I will still have access to the Dell website and driver/software downloads.

Perhaps you could clarify this for me.

Thank you again.

I always prefer doing a clean install using media from Microsoft. Create a bootable flash drive using Windows Media Creation Tool and use that to remove all partitions from the hard disk and then install Windows 10 or 11 fresh. I make it a habit to download all driver packages for the specific computer (using its service tag) and include those on the USB flash drive, so you can run them straight from there after the initial Windows installation. After that, you can run Windows Update to get everything up to date.

Make sure, of course, that you have backups of all your important data before doing all this, since everything on your drive will be gone. If your computer has a large drive (say, 1 TB or more), then you might want to consider dividing it up into two partitions: one for the Windows operating system (say, 200 GB) and the rest for your data. That way you can reinstall Windows on that dedicated partition without removing any of your data. (But even then you're keeping multiple backups of all your data, right? Right? )

Good luck!

--Ron

Hello,

I have decided to do a barebones install of the MIcrosoft WIndows 10  V21H2 - Build 19044.1826 to my new Western Digital Black SN770 2Tb NVMe SSD drive. I used the Microsoft media installation tool and installed that to a USB drive.

Installation went very well, and did not require a lot of time to do. First thing I did was to ensure that the new drive 'C' was set for data protection, created a large 'restore point' setting (12% of available space) and created a restore point before every piece of software I decided to install.

Windows Edge browser synched all of my previous bookmarks and data, so that was a piece of cake. I highly recommend Edge as browser of choice.

Thunderbird Email client was re-installed and all of my emails and files were restored from a backup, however, Thunderbird's appearance is no longer the same as it was previously. I'll get over it. (does not seem to have adopted the dark mode used on the rest of my software).

The biggest snafu is with  my Synology NAS. The backup software settings no longer applied as the layout of everything has changed, so in creating the new backup profile, it meant that my DS918+ has been running continously for more than 24 hours. Guess that is to be expected.

I watched a Dell recommended Youtube Video on how to best do the re-install, which suggested the procedure I have just done. The last thing it recommended was to download the Dell Support Assist Software, and then install it and run it. I cannot see what this piece of software will provide me with, now that my machine is out of Dell's warranty period.

\Would anyone offer up their comments as to whether or not, this piece of Dell software should be installed?

Thank you

Thank you to those who offered their opinions to my queries.

>> ...with my system now out of warranty, I am not sure if I will still have
>> access to the Dell website and driver/software downloads.

You always have access to drivers and other software for your system, regardless of your warranty status. Enter your computer's service tag on https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us, and you're taken to the support page for your specific computer, including drivers.

--Ron