General Issues Upgrading Dell Devices to Windows 10

Table of Contents:

• Before you begin
• Upgrading encrypted hard drives to Windows 10
• Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8
• Adobe Flash Player is not installed in Windows 10
• Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature does not work on most Dell computers
• Some tested computers with 32-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 lose touchpad function after upgrade
• Upgrade support for devices with low free storage space
• Reinstalling Windows 10 after operating system recovery on computers shipped with a previous version of Windows

Before you begin

Be sure to check our list of Dell computers tested for Windows October 10, 2020 Update and previous versions of Windows 10. If you want to proceed with upgrading or updating an untested computer, see the Microsoft Windows Help website. Microsoft may provide generic drivers for the hardware as part of Windows 10, but some features and functionality may be lost.

Many Windows 10 upgrade issues can be resolved by updating the computer BIOS and drivers after upgrade, and running Windows Update. For updated drivers and BIOS, see our Drivers & Downloads FAQs. For more information about Windows Update, see Microsoft's article Windows Update FAQ.

Upgrading encrypted hard drives to Windows 10

If you use data encryption software (such as Dell Data Protection | Encryption) to encrypt your hard drive, Windows 10 upgrade may fail and tell you that your upgrade is being blocked due to the presence of a specific application. To resolve this issue, consult the manufacturer of your encryption solutions as many have steps to transition to Windows 10 with their product in place.

Dell Encryption supports in-place Windows 10 Feature Upgrades as of November 2018 with version 10.1.0 and later. For any questions or concerns, the Dell Encryption team has generated a best practice article for supporting Windows 10 updates. See Dell's article Dell Encryption Enterprise and Dell Encryption Personal Best Practices: Windows 10 Feature Update or Migration

Compatibility for Dell Encryption and Windows Feature Updates can be found at Dell Data Security Windows Version Compatibility

Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8

For users of Dell Backup and Recovery 1.7 or older, you must update to Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8 BEFORE you upgrade to Windows 10. 

Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8 requires an update after a successful upgrade to Windows 10. During the week after Windows 10 has been installed, Dell Backup and Recovery downloads and installs an over-the-air update that allows it to work in Windows 10. No action is required by the user for this update to take effect.

For more information about this issue, see the Dell Backup and Recovery website.

Adobe Flash Player not installed in Windows 10

After a successful upgrade to Windows 10, Adobe Flash Player may appear to not be installed. Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome both have Adobe Flash that is integrated into their application. If you use Mozilla Firefox, you must install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe website.

Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature does not work on most Dell computers.

Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature requires an Intel RealSense or 3D Camera to support facial unlock features.

As of July 14, 2015 only five Dell computers are equipped with an Intel RealSense or 3D camera.

• Inspiron 2350
• Inspiron 5457
• Inspiron 5557
• Inspiron 5459
• Inspiron 7459

The only exception to this is the Latitude 3470 and 3570 which use an IR camera also seem to work.

Some tested computers with 32-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 lose touchpad function after upgrade.

A few computer models that are tested by Dell for Windows 10 upgrade with 32-bit operating systems lose the function of their touchpad after upgrade. 

Upgrade support for devices with low free storage space.

Devices with smaller hard drives (32 GB or less) or hard drives with low free disk space may receive an error during the Windows 10 upgrade.

Reinstalling Windows 10 after operating system recovery on computers shipped with a previous version of Windows

If you must reinstall Windows 10, and your computer was upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you must reinstall the original operating system and then upgrade to Windows 10 again.

To get backup media for your original operating system, see Dell's Media Backup page.

For instructions on upgrading to Windows 10 from a previous operating system, see Windows 10 upgrade walkthrough.

More information and support for your Windows operating systems can be found on our Windows Support webpage.

Out of warranty? No problem Browse to the Dell.com/support website and enter your Dell Service Tag and view our offers.