Yep, ended up having to set up a separate recovery stick on a friend's PC -- trying to do it from the dying SSD or setting it up on a (rooted) phone with DriveDroid just won't do the trick apparently, it just kept coming back as a corrupt archive. It wasn't a normal "end-of-life thing", it was barely a year old but I also had a faulty power supply which was causing components to overheat/fail. I made sure to grab a heatsink and a cooling pad while I was at it.
Hi @Trippay you can reinstall your Windows 10 at any time, online Activation will be automatic because your Windows 10 has been previously installed and activated on your Area-51m. Click on the following link
Remember to create backup clone as part of your Disaster Recovery Plan. If new original OS(C:) becomes unrecoverable, swap in backup clone to get system up and running within minutes.
The earlier post is in two parts, (1) use the link to see how to Reinstall Windows 10 on new boot drive, your OP says you have already created two bootable USB sticks, get Original Product Key from damaged disk. There are instructions in the link. (2) having installed a new fully functioning boot drive, create backup clone. Should have created backup clone when Area-51m was delivered. Drives do not last forever, where is your Disaster Recovery Plan?
I don't know how many different ways I can say this... the installation does not proceed. Where it would normally ask me for a product key during the setup, it instead gives me the error "A media driver your computer needs is missing" -- it then asks me for the location of the missing drivers. I've tried the ones from Dell's A51m downloads page and they do not work. It won't let me install Win10 from a USB 3.0 port without them. This is a known issue and the only workaround is to inject the correct driver during setup if you do not have access to recovery tools. The A51m's BIOS is a very limited, custom one which does not allow for legacy booting -- so long story short I need to know which drivers I need to get Windows setup to recognize the USB 3.0 ports correctly.
If you're installing to a single drive, reset the operation mode to RAID OFF. That should solve the problem.
Alternatively, depending on how old your reinstall media is, you may need to find another system you can use to prepare an up to date version of the Windows install media.
Thanks but that is not related to my problem at all and it's too late for a "Disaster Recovery Plan" as the drive (which contains the OS) has already melted down.
The issue isn't activation, it's the installation itself when required drivers are missing from Setup, and the ones provided on the A51m's downloads page are not working. I was under the impression that I may be trying to use the wrong ones, however it seems there are no more left for me to try.
Like I said, I don't have access to a second PC so I cannot use the Windows Media Creation Tool which would supposedly fix this, so I need to manually inject the correct driver during setup, but I can't seem to find the right one.
Your best option is to get new drive preinstalled with Windows 10 x64.
This will be similar to your 'as delivered' system, so you then install Windows Updates, followed by Dell updates, so that everything the system needs gets installed on your Area-51m.
Borrow a system from a friend, or contact a local computer shop to prepare a current Windows 10 install flash drive from the Windows media creation tool.
It's not clear how old your ISO was, nor how you managed to create the drive, but a current install drive should solve the problem.
The .iso is the very latest available and I said how I created it in my first post.
Anyway thanks for the replies. Guess I'll have to use a friend's PC. Ridiculous. In 28 years of doing this I've never run into a problem that required an entire different PC to fix, and for something as simple as a fresh Windows install on a new drive... this is what I spent £3000 for. Amazing.
Your best option is to get new drive preinstalled with Windows 10 x64.
Hope your colleague is understanding and willing to help.
Remember after install of a new fully functioning boot drive, use the free Macrium Reflect cloning software to create backup clone, as part of your Disaster Recovery Plan.
I too have this problem, and I've tried a variety of installation images. It seems that people who run into this are living in an alternate reality. When people say "oh, it's the BiOS" or "try using adifferent USB port". the probably haven't experienced this problem in all its miserable glory.
Hi @pwabrahams I purchased a second hand M.2 card from eBay with Windows 10 x64 Pro installed. Dell customised updates installed, etc., replacement OS(C:) boot drive fully operational, problem solved. Drives have end of life date, and other problems can shorten useful life. A standby OS(C:) boot drive will get PC up and running within minutes.
Trippay
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8 Posts
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December 30th, 2021 07:00
Yep, ended up having to set up a separate recovery stick on a friend's PC -- trying to do it from the dying SSD or setting it up on a (rooted) phone with DriveDroid just won't do the trick apparently, it just kept coming back as a corrupt archive. It wasn't a normal "end-of-life thing", it was barely a year old but I also had a faulty power supply which was causing components to overheat/fail. I made sure to grab a heatsink and a cooling pad while I was at it.
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 14:00
Hi @Trippay you can reinstall your Windows 10 at any time, online Activation will be automatic because your Windows 10 has been previously installed and activated on your Area-51m. Click on the following link
How to reinstall Windows 10 with a new hard drive? - Microsoft Community
Remember to create backup clone as part of your Disaster Recovery Plan. If new original OS(C:) becomes unrecoverable, swap in backup clone to get system up and running within minutes.
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 15:00
The earlier post is in two parts,
(1) use the link to see how to Reinstall Windows 10 on new boot drive, your OP says you have already created two bootable USB sticks, get Original Product Key from damaged disk. There are instructions in the link.
(2) having installed a new fully functioning boot drive, create backup clone. Should have created backup clone when Area-51m was delivered. Drives do not last forever, where is your Disaster Recovery Plan?
Trippay
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 15:00
I have the option of RAID or AHCI, switching to AHCI gives the same result I'm afraid.
Trippay
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 15:00
I don't know how many different ways I can say this... the installation does not proceed. Where it would normally ask me for a product key during the setup, it instead gives me the error "A media driver your computer needs is missing" -- it then asks me for the location of the missing drivers. I've tried the ones from Dell's A51m downloads page and they do not work. It won't let me install Win10 from a USB 3.0 port without them. This is a known issue and the only workaround is to inject the correct driver during setup if you do not have access to recovery tools. The A51m's BIOS is a very limited, custom one which does not allow for legacy booting -- so long story short I need to know which drivers I need to get Windows setup to recognize the USB 3.0 ports correctly.
ejn63
10 Elder
•
30.7K Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 15:00
If you're installing to a single drive, reset the operation mode to RAID OFF. That should solve the problem.
Alternatively, depending on how old your reinstall media is, you may need to find another system you can use to prepare an up to date version of the Windows install media.
Trippay
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 15:00
Thanks but that is not related to my problem at all and it's too late for a "Disaster Recovery Plan" as the drive (which contains the OS) has already melted down.
The issue isn't activation, it's the installation itself when required drivers are missing from Setup, and the ones provided on the A51m's downloads page are not working. I was under the impression that I may be trying to use the wrong ones, however it seems there are no more left for me to try.
Like I said, I don't have access to a second PC so I cannot use the Windows Media Creation Tool which would supposedly fix this, so I need to manually inject the correct driver during setup, but I can't seem to find the right one.
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 16:00
Hi @Trippay thank you for sharing update.
Your best option is to get new drive preinstalled with Windows 10 x64.
This will be similar to your 'as delivered' system, so you then install Windows Updates, followed by Dell updates, so that everything the system needs gets installed on your Area-51m.
ejn63
10 Elder
•
30.7K Posts
0
May 30th, 2021 16:00
Borrow a system from a friend, or contact a local computer shop to prepare a current Windows 10 install flash drive from the Windows media creation tool.
It's not clear how old your ISO was, nor how you managed to create the drive, but a current install drive should solve the problem.
Trippay
1 Rookie
•
8 Posts
0
May 31st, 2021 03:00
The .iso is the very latest available and I said how I created it in my first post.
Anyway thanks for the replies. Guess I'll have to use a friend's PC. Ridiculous. In 28 years of doing this I've never run into a problem that required an entire different PC to fix, and for something as simple as a fresh Windows install on a new drive... this is what I spent £3000 for. Amazing.
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
May 31st, 2021 03:00
Hi @Trippay thank you for sharing update.
Your best option is to get new drive preinstalled with Windows 10 x64.
Hope your colleague is understanding and willing to help.
Remember after install of a new fully functioning boot drive, use the free Macrium Reflect cloning software to create backup clone, as part of your Disaster Recovery Plan.
pwabrahams
1 Rookie
•
77 Posts
0
December 24th, 2021 10:00
I too have this problem, and I've tried a variety of installation images. It seems that people who run into this are living in an alternate reality. When people say "oh, it's the BiOS" or "try using adifferent USB port". the probably haven't experienced this problem in all its miserable glory.
crimsom
7 Technologist
•
6.1K Posts
0
December 24th, 2021 11:00
Hi @pwabrahams I purchased a second hand M.2 card from eBay with Windows 10 x64 Pro installed. Dell customised updates installed, etc., replacement OS(C:) boot drive fully operational, problem solved. Drives have end of life date, and other problems can shorten useful life. A standby OS(C:) boot drive will get PC up and running within minutes.