1 Rookie
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September 12th, 2021 07:00
Upgrade (and clean install) Windows 11 (on October 5)
Hello,
I have a question regarding upgrading (and then clean installing) my Dell XPS 7590.
Next month, on Tuesday, October 5, Microsoft will officially release Windows 11. Through a phased rollout, people will be able to upgrade their systems via Windows Update. Enthusiasts can update their system directly (at their own risk) via the Windows installation tool that Microsoft offers.
My Dell XPS 7590 is ready to be upgraded to Windows 11, see also this link.
Now comes my question. I would like to upgrade my system, manually (if not available on Windows Update) on October 5 to Windows 11 and then perform a clean installation.
1. Will Dell have compatible drivers ready for Windows 11 on October 5?
2. I assume I need to upgrade first instead of doing a clean install right away, because the license needs to be transferred from a Windows 10 to Windows 11 installation first?
In short: is the scenario I have in mind realistic? Not that I necessarily need to have Windows 11 running on October 5, but it would be nice to be able to start working with this new software right away.
Kind regards,
Rob Coenen
JOcean
11 Legend
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September 13th, 2021 05:00
@XPS_Man is spot on with his advice and observations. You can do a clean install using the Windows 11 media creation tool which will be on the MS Windows 11 page. You won't have to do an update first. Your Windows 10 license will activate Windows 11 (this has been confirmed to me by an MS rep). So your choice to update install or clean install. If you clean install Windows will install drivers which may or may not be the most current Dell drivers. Remember that unlike some versions of Windows that needed totally new drivers because the version was so different from prior versions, this is very close to Windows 10 and many current drivers should work...supposedly.
XPS_Man
7 Practitioner
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2.4K Posts
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12K Points
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September 12th, 2021 07:00
For both questions : what and wait
1: The upgrade rollout plan is still being finalized, but for most devices already in use today, we expect it to be ready sometime in early 2022. : my personal experience when windows 10 came , it took good 6-8 months for Dell to release Drivers for all supported models.
2. Will have to wait for Dell to confirm this information : I believe update mechanism would remain the same. Dell Machine shipped with windows 8 and later have product keys embedded on Motherboard so as soon windows 11 clean installation finishes, it should be able to read the existing keys. I upgrades 100s of machine to 10 using a clean install without selecting the free upgrade offer, I thing windows 11 will use the same mechanism.
As once a master Jedi said "Patience you must have"
Do not be in a hurry, there have been and there will be bugs in a new OS release. Specially our little XPS machines which are known to have issues which are unfixable.
RobCoenen
1 Rookie
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12 Posts
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September 13th, 2021 01:00
Thanks for the information. I knew the product keys are baked in but I also assumed I needed to upgrade Windows first and then initiate a clean installation, or otherwise the product key still would be tied to the older Windows version.
Nice to know that isn't the case with Windows 10