DellWindowsReinstallationGuide is written and maintained by Philip Yip. 
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Introduction
If you have not backed up your data and do not have the installers for any software of system drivers i.e. are not ready for clean installation take your time and see the steps to prepare in A Clean Install of Windows 7.
A complimentary Tutorial Video is available demonstrating installation using the GPT partition scheme for a Dell UEFI BIOS with Dell Windows 7 64 Bit Professional using Dell OEM System Locked Preinstallation.
Part 1: Determining whether your System Supports UEFI and SecureBoot
The UEFI BIOS and GPT partition scheme should be used where possible with Windows 7 64 Bit. You may or may not have these technologies depending on the age of your system. For more details see Unified Extensive Firmware Interface which instructs you in determining you have a UEFI BIOS and applying the correct UEFI BIOS settings for Windows Installation.
Part 2: Preparing Up to Date Installation Media
Using updated installation media will reduce the hassles of Windows 7 Installation Failure due to lack of native driver support for systems with a UEFI BIOS and greatly reduce the installation time due to the inefficiencies of Windows Update. Dell have created installation media updated until January 2016 known as the Skylake Reinstallation .iso. It is recommended to use this opposed to any older installation media:
- The Dell Windows 7 Professional Skylake Reinstallation Media Refresh 2016 .isos are for Dell Windows 7 Pro OEM Licenses.
- Alternatively Generic Microsoft Windows 7 Installation Media Media Refresh .isos that have been updated see Slipsteam of the Convenience Rollup (Pseudo Service Pack 2), Internet Explorer 11, NVM express and USB 3.0 support for Windows 7 Retail Licenses of any Edition or Windows 7 OEM Licenses of any Edition or OEM.
Part 3: Booting from a Bootable USB/DVD
Power down your computer. Hold F12 while powering up your computer (at the Dell BIOS screen).
Variant A: UEFI BOOT
If your system is newer than 2012 its recommended to use a UEFI Boot and a GPT partition scheme; this is faster and more reliable. Windows 7 does not support SecureBoot however and this should be disabled. The boot manager should mention a UEFI Boot similar to below.
Note UEFI may not work with a DVD and you should Install from a USB.
Press the ↓ arrow and select your Windows 7 Bootable USB Flash Drive and press [Enter]
Variant B: Legacy Boot
For systems older than 2012 you will have to just use the legacy boot with the MBR partition scheme which will be listed by default. There will be no mention of Legacy or UEFI Boot but the boot option will be legacy.
If you wish to install Windows 7 32 Bit (unrecommended) on a 2012 or later system you will need to disable SecureBoot and enable legacy boot options.
Press the ↓ arrow and select your Windows 7 Bootable USB Flash Drive or DVD and press [Enter]
Select boot from CD/DVD or from USB respectively.
Press any key when prompted such as “h” when it says Press any Key to boot from CD/DVD.
Part 4: Early Installation
You will get a black screen that says “Windows is Starting Files” then one that says “Windows is Loading Files.” These should disappear pretty quickly. Next one that says Starting Windows.
You will then be prompted for your language, time and currency format and keyboard settings. If you use an English .iso it’ll be set by default to US English:
Mine are all set to the united Kingdom (proper English) as shown below, amend for your own preferences.
Select Install Now.
Read the license, check to select and then select Next.
Next select Custom (Advanced).
Note select Custom (advanced) even/especially if you are “upgrading” from Vista to 7. There are always some bugs when selecting “Upgrade” on this screen and this seriously hinders your systems performance.
Part 5: Loading SATA Drivers and Deleting Partitions
For newer systems you will likely need to load SATA drivers. Windows 8.1 should have the inbuilt SATA drivers for old installation media. You’ll need to then decide how you’re going to partition the drive. I recommend clean installation but you may preserve your files with a Windows.old folder.
Loading SATA Drivers
If no drives are listed on the “Where do you want to install Windows?” screen then you must select Load Driver and select the SATA drivers from a USB stick. The SATA drivers essentially allow Windows to recognise the hard drive controller on the motherboard and thus allow Windows to view the drive letting you proceed with the install.
See Downloading, Preparing an Loading SATA Drivers if you haven’t prepared the SATA USB stick in advance. Windows 7 Service Pack 1 with Media Refresh has many SATA drivers inbuilt particularly for older systems and hence many systems don’t need SATA drivers loaded during installation.
Ensure that “Hide drivers that are not compatible with hardware on this computer is ticked” (it should be set like this by default). Select all the drivers listed and then click next. It will take you back to the “Where do you want to install Windows Screen?” this time showing the hard drive.
You can then select “Drive Options” which will allow you to delete or format partitions if any are present aswell as create new ones if there is unallocated space on the hard disc.
Variant A: Clean Installation Recommended
If performing a clean install on a drive that had Windows XP/Vista/7 or 8.1 factory installed you will encounter several factory installed partitions.
I recommend selecting and deleting all these partitions as they are a waste of hard drive space and non-functional after manual Windows installation. This will also need to be done if you wish to install Dell Backup and Recovery at the end of your clean install as it may not work if you leave old partitions behind.
Note 1: There may also be a small diagnostics partition on older systems for the F12 preboot diagnostics which can be deleted. These diagnostics can be launched from a bootable USB/CD. If you ever need to launch these diagnostics you can follow my instructions in F12 preboot diagnostics
Note 2: After all of these are deleted you can select new to create a new partition on the hard drive and select next for installing Windows. When you install Windows 7 it will make a small system reserved partition of 100 MB, don’t worry about this as it is normal operation.
Note 3: If you have securely wiped your systems HDD with DBAN or replaced the hard drive/solid state drive (recommended) you can directly select new to create a new partition on the hard drive and select next for installing Windows.
Variant B: Preserving Files in a Windows.old Folder
Note if you have not backed up your files (unrecommended) and want to later restore them don’t opt to delete or format the drive, just select the largest partition and select next.
All the folders/files from the former Windows installation will be relocated to a Windows.old folder. The desired files can be copied from Windows.old to their desired location after Windows installation.
Variant C: Dell Systems with Media Direct
If you are installing on a Media Direct system select the largest partition and select next, do not delete partitions as the Media Direct disc has set them up.
Part 6: Middle of Installation
You will then a screen telling you the progress of the install.
If after the start you get an error message saying “Partition Table not Found” this is because your boot sequence is incorrect.
The computer has used the Legacy boot which can only recognise the MBR partition scheme instead of the UEFI boot which can recognise the GPT partition scheme.
You need to amend the settings in the BIOS setup so the system boots to UEFI only.
Type in your “username”, by default the PC name will be “username-PC” but you can change this as desired.
Next type in your password, retype it and leave yourself a hint.
Alternatively just select next (to have no password – not recommended but optional). Personally for convenience I tend to leave the password blank and add one after the installation of Windows 7, drivers and updates as you will be prompted to restart your computer several times.
Part 7: The Product Key
There are some complications with the “Upgrade Only” license and complications when trying to install an OEM license with Retail Media often done due to the OEM Media Reduction policies Microsoft enforced and no Digital Deployment for the OEM license.
For this reason I list 6 Different Installations Scenarios A-F.
Variant A: Major OEM License with Major OEM Reinstallation Media
If using a Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD or a Dell Reinstallation DVD converted into a Bootable USB or a Dell Windows 7 Professional Skylake .iso converted into a Reinstallation USB on a valid Dell system shipped with Windows 7 OEM or Windows 8.1 Pro (Downgrade Rights) or Windows 10 Pro OEM (Downgrade Rights) then Dell OEM System Locked Preinstallation will automatically be applied – that is offline BIOS based Product Activation equivalent to the activation mechanism used for a Factory Installation.
With Major OEM Installation Media you will not be asked for any Product Key during Installation proceed to Step 8.
Note if you have deleted the EI.cfg fileto unlock different Editions on your Installation USB then OEM SLP activation won’t automatically be applied. In this case see Variant D.
Variant B: Retail “Full” License with Retail Full Installation Media
If using Retail media you’ll be prompted to input your Retail “Upgrade” Product Key and it’ll automatically activate when you are online. Proceed to Step 8.
Variant C: Retail “Upgrade” License with Retail Full Installation Media (Unofficial)
If using Retail media you’ll be prompted to input your Retail “Upgrade” product key and in this screen the Product Key may not be accepted.
Retail Upgrade keys were poorly designed; Microsoft only allowed them to be used to initiate an Upgrade Install from an older version of Windows e.g. Windows Vista or Windows XP or from a lesser Edition of Windows 7 e.g. Windows 7 Starter.
- This was problematic for those that have an underlying Windows License e.g. a Windows Vista Business COA affixed to their system but lacked installation media. As Windows XP and Windows Vista are not downloadable officially they were left by Microsoft up the creek without a paddle.
- Moreover a Upgrade (Double) Install always performs substantially worse than a Clean Install Install.
This Upgrade Only phenomenon was problematic if someone wanted to Clean Install or Replace a HDD/SSD.
To circumvent this issue instead of inputting a key Uncheck Automatically activate Windows when I’m online and select skip to initiate a 30 day trial.
Complete the installation (Step 8) then return here for activation instructions.
After the installation is complete Step 8 you’ll need to activate Windows. If you try using the normal route you may get the following error message:
This can be circumvented by activating using the command prompt.
Press the Start Button and in the search box type in CMD.
Right click CMD.exe and select run as an administrator. This will open up the elevated command prompt accept any user account control prompt.
To input your product key type:
slmgr /ipk xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx
Where xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx is your product key and then press Enter.
Select ok and then to activate type
slmgr /ato
This will activate your product.
Variant D: Major OEM License with Retail Full Installation Media or Commercial OEM Installation Media (Unofficial)
If you are using Retail Full Installation Media or a Commercial OEM Installation Media with a system with a Windows 7 OEM, Windows 8.1 Pro OEM (Downgrade Rights) or Windows 10 Pro OEM (Downgrade Rights) from a Major OEM such as Dell, HP, Lenovo etc. you will be prompted to input your Product Key During Installation.
Instead of inputting a key Uncheck Automatically activate Windows when I’m online and select skip to initiate a 30 day trial. Complete the installation (Step 8) then follow these activation instructions.
Variant E: Commercial OEM with Commercial OEM Installation Media
If using Commercial OEM media you’ll be prompted to input your Commercial OEM product key and it’ll automatically activate when you are online.
Note: The Commercial OEM is for Minor system builders such as Local Computer Shops or manufacturers who make low volume specialised instruments such as Medical Devices or Scientific Instruments and sell on a Device with Windows preinstalled to their End customer. The OEM license is a middleman license where the OEM gets the license for cheaper and sells it to and supports the End User.
Variant F: Trial
Uncheck Automatically activate Windows when I’m online and select skip this will initiate a 30 day trial.
Part 8: End of Installation
You will then be asked about Windows Update settings its generally best to go with recommended.
Then select your time and date settings.
The next screen(s) should be about connecting to the internet and/or connecting to a wireless network. In this case the system is a home desktop connected to a router via an Ethernet cable. Therefore I selected Home network. You may alternatively be asked about connecting to a wireless network.
Note the above screen should show only if your system can connect to the internet. Often the network drivers are needed to be installed before connecting to a network so this step may not show or if it does skip it if you cannot connect.
The setup will Finalise and restart taking you to the Windows Desktop.
Part 9: Install the Latest Security Updates
1-3 are already included if you have Slipstreamed the Updates into your Installation Media. 4-5 are recommended.
If using the Dell Skylake Reinstallation .iso 3 is included but 1. and 2. are required. 4-5 are recommended.
1. The Convenience Rollup
Note: A Restart is required after each update.
The Convenience Rollup is Essentially Windows 7 Service Pack 2.
For Windows 7 64 Bit:
For Windows 7 32 Bit:
2. Monthly Quality Rollups for Windows 7.
The Latest one at this time of writing will give you all the Security Updates until the 9th of January 2018 and can be obtained from the Microsoft Update Catalog:
Simply download the .msu file and install it then restart your computer when prompted.
The one for “Windows 7” is for Windows 7 32 Bit only and the one for “Windows 7 for x64” is for Windows 7 64 Bit only:
3. Internet Explorer 11
Note: A Restart is required after each update.
64 Bit: http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2016/05/windows6.1-kb3125574-v4-x64_2dafb1d203c8964239af3048b5dd4b1264cd93b9.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/6/C/A/6CA15546-A46C-4333-B405-AB18785ABB66/Windows6.1-KB2729094-v2-x64.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/4/9/14936FE9-4D16-4019-A093-5E00182609EB/Windows6.1-KB2670838-x64.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/5/A/5/5A548BFE-ADC5-414B-B6BD-E1EC27A8DD80/Windows6.1-KB2834140-v2-x64.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/9/1/C/91CC3B0D-F58B-4B36-941D-D810A8FF6805/Windows6.1-KB2639308-x64.msu
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/18520/download-internet-explorer-11-offline-installer
32 Bit:
http://download.windowsupdate.com/d/msdownload/update/software/updt/2016/05/windows6.1-kb3125574-v4-x86_ba1ff5537312561795cc04db0b02fbb0a74b2cbd.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/B/6/B/B6BF1D9B-2568-406B-88E8-E4A218DEA90A/Windows6.1-KB2729094-v2-x86.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/1/4/9/14936FE9-4D16-4019-A093-5E00182609EB/Windows6.1-KB2670838-x86.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/F/1/4/F1424AD7-F754-4B6E-B0DA-151C7CBAE859/Windows6.1-KB2834140-v2-x86.msu
http://download.microsoft.com/download/3/1/D/31DB4F4F-207D-416E-9A07-FBD9E431F9FB/Windows6.1-KB2639308-x86.msu
https://support.microsoft.com/en-gb/help/18520/download-internet-explorer-11-offline-installer
4. Microsoft Security Essentials
Microsoft Security Essentials is not included in the slipstream. If you want it here is the latest offline installer and definition.
Microsoft Security Essentials 64 Bit
Microsoft Security Essentials Latest .Dat 64 Bit
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87341
Microsoft Security Essentials 32 Bit
Microsoft Security Essentials Latest .Dat 32 Bit
http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkID=87342
5. Microsoft .Net Framework
Microsoft .net Framework is not included in the slipstream as I haven’t found an easy way to incorporate it. Here is the latest offline installer
Microsoft .net Framework 4.7 Offline Installer
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=55167
Part 10: System Drivers
You should now look at installing your system drivers starting with the Chipset drivers. See Driver Installation Order.
After the system drivers are installed, Dell Backup and Recovery (optional) may be installed to make a new Recovery Partition from the Clean Installation.
NIce job!
I am a dell using costomer if any one help my problem my laptop inspiron 1545 i go to my restall my windows7 system he is not done my laptop is telling me boot manager is missing and i go in repair ways but not resolve and will chek my system setup utility cd or dvd disc is break and damage in bad condisition how i do my setup file in copy cd or dvd and iam a first time in dellsupport site we are confuse how i go my servicetags no is cdqm4bs so plz help me 10 days i am not use my laptop give me my download links
I have a Latitude E6410 with Win 7 Home and I’m trying to upgrade to Win 7 Professional 64. The E6410 is running BIOS A16 and appears to have UEFI but no settings for secure boot. I’ve placed the iso on a USB stick and that appears in the boot list when UEFI is enabled. It loads the installation files from USB no problem but then hangs at the Starting Windows screen. This is exactly what it does with a DVD install. I was hoping that the USB install would work but no luck. Any ideas …?
I have the same issue on one of my machines, I’m looking into it but I haven’t found a solution. Others have the issue here:
https://github.com/pbatard/rufus/issues/254
Windows 7 isn’t as optimised for UEFI use MBR (legacy BIOS) in the meantime.
Helo?
Sir my system Dell GX520 is not install for sound driver in windows7 64bit.plece help me.
Get it from the Microsoft Update Catalog: http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/driver-sets/optiplex-desktops/optiplex-gx520-windows-7-64-bit/
‘Often the network drivers are needed to be installed’ – thats indeed a problem after my clean install…apparently cant update windows without the internet connection. the network drivers are on the Dell installation drivers&utilities cd, however, when i’ve nstalled them my laptop still fails to locate any wifi connections. is it the problem be with the wifi driver (dell wireless 1702 802.11 b/g/n..?) – i even downloaded the latest version of it from the dell website yet it still says ‘no connections are available’. any advice, Philip?
oh yes finally success – there were no Wireless connections..in fact, one of the oldest network drivers worked (not the most recent one!). the dell site drives me crazy – too many drivers available for my service tag and not all of them work, so one only finds out ‘by trial and error’.
Thank, you very much, super—- but: WIN7-32 doen’t handle USB 3.0
I’d like to have a clean install on a E7470 Latitude, but after WIN7 boot process started USB 3.0 makes it impossible to go on.
Thank you for help
You need to make a Windows 7 Bootable USB with USB 3.0 support. To do this you need the Inttel Windows 7 USB 3.0 Creator Utility:
https://downloadcenter.intel.com/download/25476/Windows-7-USB-3-0-Creator-Utility
I don’t have a written guide on this utility yet but I do have a tutorial video:
Written guide updated: http://dellwindowsreinstallationguide.com/converting-your-dell-windows-reinstallation-dvd-into-a-reinstallation-usb/
Many thanks for the great work you do here. It is extremely helpful. I really appreciate what you do here Philip. I can see how bad the Dell support is according to the things I have learned here. I bought a Dell Inspiron 15 5559 i5-6200u laptop with Ubuntu pre-installed couple of days ago. I installed windows 7 following your guide here, adjusting the BIOS as you instructed here, from a bootable DVD I already had. It is not downloaded from links of this site (the .iso). I cannot remember where I downloaded that ISO exactly. I had it for some time with me. That ISO contains this file name “en_windows_7_ultimate_with_sp1_x64_dvd_u_677332”. I can remember that the site where I downloaded it say it is an untouched iso.
So I installed windows from the dvd and skipped the activation part & the windows got installed without any problem. But when I tried to activate windows with Windows Loader by Daz v2.2.1 & v2.2.2 both gave me messages that keys have been successfully installed and to restart. When I restart windows comes to the loading point and crashes giving a blue screen. I re-installed windows from the same dvd & also tried to activate with the ABR Program. Even though the command prompt looked like it did the trick, after restart windows is still not activated. Tried to activate 2-3 times. No fruition. Activate period only 3 days remaining. Thank god the ABR program did not crash windows.
Question 1 – Will I be able to activate this installation? The installed windows gives the product ID “00426-OEM-8992662-00400”.
Since the above installation failed to activate I have downloaded “Dell Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit SP1 USB3.0 OEM Reinstallation.iso” you have provided in another guide on this site. Now I have a windows 7 usb 3.0 ISO & a usb 3.0 pendrive.
Question 2 – Will i be able to create the windows 7 bootable usb 3.0 drive, using a desktop computer which only has usb 2.0 ports?
Question 3 – Provided that I am able to create the bootable usb 3.0 drive from Dell ISO, using a usb 2.0 computer, will i be able to activate windows from the ABR Program?
You have mentioned in another guide that some people download the ISO’s with less capacity. Example: if the ISO should be 4.3GB, the downloaded ISO is only 4.1GB. Yo have mentioned that this is not the full ISO’s and some parts missing in those ISO’s with less capacity.
Question 4 – “Dell Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit SP1 USB3.0 OEM Reinstallation.iso” you have given in another guide on this site, according to you, have 5.4GB. But what I downloaded is only 5.23GB. Is there an issue in the capacity of the ISO here?
Thank you for your help.
The Dell Windows 7 OEM System Locked Preinstallation from a Dell Windows 7 Reinstallation DVD or ABR program will not work on your Dell as the system is not shipped with Windows 7 or Windows 8.1/10 Pro. The UEFI BIOS therefore doesn’t contain the markers and won’t activate.
The USB can be made on a computer with USB 2.0 ports.
The Windows 7 64 Bit Home Premium and Professional .iso are 5.23 GB.
Then that means the .iso you have provided in this link is not Windows 7 Ultimate x64 USB 3.0 ISO. But I downloaded from the following link…
https://drive.google.com/folderview?id=0B7NmwbOVcSyzU3BBMGhHblJBcTA&usp=sharing
the file name in the downloaded .iso is “7 Ultimate x64 SP1 USB3.0”.
You should check the files there.
The .isos don’t have USB 3.0 added despite the names. The WinImage program did something different than expected (essentially copying the DVD to a .iso again opposed to the USB). They are however all the correct Editions.
Philip – thanks for all you do. I have a Dell Latitude E6410 – the hard drive died and has been replaced, but I am having trouble loading Windows 7 or 10 64 bit on the new hard drive. I obviously do not have recovery from the dead drive. BIOS is A16 (Legacy), SLIC 2.1, SMBIOS 2.6, and there is a product key for Windows 7 on the back and I understand from your site that Dell employed a general Windows 7 license beginning with 32KD2. When I try to load Windows 7 or 10 (USB or DVD), I see the Windows logo but then nothing happens – no circle of dots below, nothing. Any ideas? Do I need to slipstream drivers or something?
It could be bad RAM, do the Dell F12 preboot diagnostics pass?
Hi, Philip. I’m performing a clean installation of Windows 7 64-bit on a laptop running SMBIOS 2.6. I believe it has UEFI functionality since I entered the BIOS and found a place where I could enable or disable UEFI support. I’m also installing a brand new SSD. I’ve been following your instructions dutifully. I created a USB installer with Rufus and selected GPT for the partition scheme. I’m at the “Where do you want to install Windows?” screen, and it lists two partition types: “MSR (Reserved)” and “Primary.” When I highlight the MSR partition and click delete, a warning tells me that it “might contain recovery files, system files, or important software from your computer manufacture.” I don’t understand how a brand new SSD could have any of this. I did some research on the MSR partition, but still feel unsure of what to do. What would you advise? Should I leave the partition alone or should I delete it?
It sounds like its a used SSD (check that you don’t have multiple drives). You should delete all partitions on it.
Hi, Philip. Thanks for your help and the prompt reply. I deleted the partitions as you suggested and continued with the installation. Everything went smoothly. After installation, I booted from the USB again and proceeded to the partition screen to see how things would appear. I had three partitions: System, MSR (Reserved), and Primary. So everything seems normal. All I can think is that I must have begun a clean installation a year ago but never finished for some reason. (I have kept the SSD in its original packaging but it’s clear that I had opened it at some point.)
I have a question about Part 9: “Install the Latest Security Rollup.” I skipped this step because, I assume, the WSUS updates contain these essential updates. Am I correct?