1 Rookie
•
35 Posts
0
2798
Dell Venue 11 Pro 7140 - Dell Win8.1 Recovery doesn't work
I got a Venue 11 Pro with 4GB and 128GB SSD where the SSD had been wiped. I created a Windows 10 x64 installation USB key and was able to install Win 10 on the 7140 in no time.
However, for a number or reasons I don't want to use Win 10 so I decided to go back to Windows 8.1 which is fine for me. I created a USB key from an installation DVD and booted the 7140 (with UEFI/Secure Boot enabled; tried with Secure Boot off as well but no change) from it. It went into the first install screen where one chooses language and keyboard but then was sitting there, with no touch screen and no means of continueing.
I then downloaded the Dell Recovery Image downloader which (after entering my Service Tag) subseqently downloaded the Dell Win 8.1 x64 recovery image for my device and created an installation USB stick. However, when I boot from this one it also boots into the installer and the first screen where one selects the language, but again no touch input so no way to interact.
Anyone know what's going on? The Windows 10 installer worked fine and with touch support, why doesn't the Windows 8.1 installer (and especially the Dell image)? I also ran the extended hardware diagnostics and it found no fault so there must be some issue with Windows 8.1 and the 7140, even though it originally came with Win 8.1.
How does Dell believe a Venue 11 Pro 7140 should be restored with Windows 8.1 with the recovery image?
Any ideas?
btg_uk
1 Rookie
1 Rookie
•
35 Posts
0
October 10th, 2018 06:00
Due to the overwhelming silence I'll do the answering myself:
Windows 8/8.1 is older than the Venue 11 Pro 7140 hardware, and so doesn't have drivers for the touch screen. Fine.
However, what's really bad is that Dell's Recover Image for the 7140 also doesn't contain the necessary drivers, which is idiotic.
The consequence is that, if you don't have one of the keyboard attachments, you need to connect an external keyboard to the 7140. Which is really helpful when there's only one USB port which will already be occupied by the USB stick containing the recovery media.
Windows 10 however can be installed with only the tablet.