HOW TO: Preserve AlienRespawn - stock drive to aftermarket drive / AlienRespawn Q&A

Who knows :| However i will stick to Windows 7 no need to upgrade to 8

 

I was wondering about this. I'm guessing AW have some solution since they are shipping win 8 now, maybe an AW rep can advise??

 

We are still working on the support for the new O.S. Anyway Windows 8 has a very cool recovery tool that you can use if you get in troubles to do a clean install. It's under PC Settings, General.

 

Thanks very much Luis. I do like the way respawn allows me to create my own 'factory default' by simply deleting the recovery partition

 

Yup, I think we all like this feature. Since the O.S has just been released it might take some time. We actually have no ETA. BTW no problem for the info

 

OMG i need some help please....

After hours/days of reading and reading (i have a ms.net framework)

1) I haven't made a respawn yet BUT having problems with my m18 right now........can i make a SAFE respawn now, and use that to go back or will it just save the problem and restore it....?

2)Louis from AW recommended a MANUAL INSTALL of windows......BUT does that mean I can NOT make a respawn or use respawn AFTER a manual install of windows

3)Is AX Respawn only a ONE time restore to factory state.....?


Thanks for any help....

Been sitting here for almost 2 hours waiting for AW command center to uninstall (told that maybe the problem) but i don't think it is responding....but it won't let me unistall anything else. It says to way till current program to finish....2 hours for a 65mb program???

-Jason

 

I'm gonna assume you haven't deleted the recovery partition on your drive. If you have, this is pointless - you would have to do a clean install. You can check by typing "disk management" into the start orb and viewing your drive partitions. You should see your boot drive with a recovery partition. If you do, great. If you don't, you have lost your factory image for good. You can still create recovery media after a clean install but it wont be the factory image. Don't sweat it at this point!

Firstly, I think you should create a respawn image now - just so you have an image of your recovery partition. Basically, respawn should image your recovery partition as it is now and it shouldn't image your whole system as it is right now. That is only something which is available via the paid-for version of AWR (full incremental backups). Once you have created recovery media (USB or optical discs) you can respawn at any time to the factory image as it was when the machine was turned on for the first time. You can use recovery media/AWR as many times as you like so don't worry about it.

Secondly, I would back up any important files/data you may have. You will lose them if you respawn/clean install.

You don't necessarily have to create recovery media to restore to factory image. Open AWR and click on "restore" - you can then choose the top option which is "restore entire system to previous date or factory state". Follow on screen instructions and your machine will go through the required procedures to restore to factory state.

That *should* give you a factory install back but if it doesn't (which I am 99.9% sure it will) you can try booting from the recovery media you just made.

If that fails (which I don't think it will) you have the option of doing what Luis mentioned, a clean install. If you are using Windows 7 right now, you can do a clean install and then download/install AWR once your drivers etc are up to date. You can then create new recovery media but it won't be the factory image - it will be the image of your clean OS install.

Hope that helps, if in doubt - don't hesitate to ask.

 

WOW! Thanks....thanks so much brother steviejones (lol)....!

Kinda ironic that while reading your post, i get a pop up to create recovery media (alienware respawn). I guess that is a good sign. I haven't deleted my recovery partition (i don't think i would even know how...facepalm).

So it sounds like the respawn (the basic one) is just a copy of what my M18 was the day I opened it.....? Sounds great....

Important files....haven't had my laptop too long (all photos/videos are in dropbox) so the ONLY thing i have that is important is my Crysis 2 multiplayer files....lol. I backed them up the other day. I can't think of anything else would freak out about losing...

I am going to create my Respawn now.

Then you are saying i don't even have to use that flash drive....i can just go into Alienware Respawn and click "restore" and it will wipe everything back to factory..? I am guessing that the respawn is in case i can't even boot into windows and "restore".....i can plug in the flash drive and boot from that?


Ok, i think i understand what happens after a manual install of windows now. After the manual install, it will just be an image of "after the manual install" correct? Not the day i opened it.

I tell you what...this microsoft.Net framework unhandled exception has occured......is super annoying! And i just dont have the knowledge to hunt it down and fix it myself. I either have some sort of malware....or an update occured with windows and AW command center doesn't want to play well now. Google chrome wont work, it says error connecting...STEAM says i can only be in offline mode...Origin the same....my MACRO keys do not work or change color....have to always manually turn off track pad....etc etc...It seemed like i couldn't uninstall AWCC and reinstall....so I will just restore....

Stevie....wow buddy I can't thank you (and others along the way) enough for cleary up my questions. Taking the time and patience helping out with such newbie/amature questions.

Thanks
jason

 

Your welcome, Jason. My pleasure to help a fellow brother out!

If you don't have any mega important stuff to back up, you are good to go. You've got the recovery partition in tact, you have AWR loaded as it prompted you to make recoveries. Make 'em. Stash that recovery USB or discs away for future use. You don't have to boot from the recovery image you just made - you can simply open AWR on your machine, select restore and restore factory image. It's a good idea to create the recovery media now as you will then always have the factory image stashed safely away. If you ever want to return to factory image, you can. AWR will recreate the recovery partition if you delete it or wipe it during a clean install. It's a fail safe mechanism so that you can return to that first "turn-on" you did when you got your machine.

After a clean install, you lose the Alienware personalisation stuff - it's not a big deal to me or many others and there are ways to recreate that "look and feel" should you want to. You are correct in saying that after a manual install, AWR will create an image of that install and not the factory image. The main differences between factory and clean installs are the personalisation stuff...log-on screen etc...with a clean install, you lose that which is why it's good to have a factory backup.

If you ever run into major problems, you can boot from that media you created and it will roll back your machine to the day you opened it, so yep...correct again regarding if you can't boot into Windows or anything else that may be seriously affecting your machine.

As you havent had your machine long, I reckon this is the best way to start out again fresh....I don't forsee you having any issues doing this but if you have any other questions/worries/concerns, please feel free to ask as many questions as you like. We are all here to help each other out....god knows that we all started out as newbies at some point in time!

 

It's safe, you can try that before doing the manual install.

Yes you can, but you need to recreate the partition by downloading it from our website.

No, you can use it as many times as you need.

Couldn't have said it better, Simply amazing. +1Rep.

 

Then why is dell directing customers to http://www.alienrespawn.com/en-us/Index.html on their compatibility software page? Why is Dell directing AW customers to this page and when you get there, you're unable to download the .exe (from both the alienrespawn win 8 page and the dell data safe win 8 page).

Also, Refresh IS NOT even close to a factory restore.

FACTORY RESTORE = restoring a complete system image which includes all software

WINDOWS 8 REFRESH = restoring Windows 8 to a clean install, WITHOUT any software. It will reinstall all Metro UI apps downloaded from the windows store, as well as your personal files under your user account (if you still keep those on the c: drive)

 

chill dude, these reps have helped countless people with a lot of different issues. He never stated that it was a factory restore, he stated that it helped with a clean install, which many of us use anyway when we reinstall windows as some people like knowing what exactly is on our systems.

 

Hi All,

I hope that someone can help me to restore my M14xr2 to it's factory settings. I installed windows 8 and now can't get the option back in the Bios to restore to the factory image.

Here's what I have done:

1) Clean install of windows 7 using the AW windows disk, however I left the recovery partition intact
2) I re-installed Alienware respawn, and tried to restore my pc to the factory settings. Respawn finds my factory image, however whenever I click "restart" to confirm the factory restore, my laptop restarts and just boots back into windows
3) I've tried to press F8 during boot, and clicked 'repair Computer' however there isn't any option to restore from the Alienware Factory Image?

Can someone please advise? I've still got the recovery partition intact, however I can't access it at all.

Thanks,

Ryan

 

Did you create recovery media (USB or discs) using AWR when you got the 14x or before you upgraded to Win 8? - if so, you should be able to boot directly from that media by pressing F12 at boot to access the one time boot menu (make sure the media you used is either in a USB port or in the optical drive before you boot and hit F12) and then select the media to boot from - if you created discs, choose cd/dvd - if USB, choose USB. Respawn would then restore to factory state using the media you created at the outset when you got your machine.

Also, did you just upgrade to Win 8 or did you clean install it via disc/USB? - if so, did you delete any partitions in the process? (I'm presuming you just went and did an in place upgrade to Windows 8 without clean installing/deleting partitions)

If you didn't create recovery media, the only thing I can think of is to use AWR right now to create recovery media and THEN boot from it. AWR should only image the recovery partition and not your Windows 8 install or current Windows 7 install. As you said, you have the recovery partition in tact and didn't delete it when you upgraded to Win 8 so it should still be a factory image of your factory install based upon when you first got the machine.

 

I was wondering if their has been an update regarding installing awr on a w8 installation. I get an error that it can't find the "windows recovery enviroment"

 

This is due to where recovery is located on windows 8. By default on other OS like win 7 it's located at C:\recovery.

During install time for windows 8 it creates a 350MB seperate partition. This is where is stores the recovery environment.

You could assign the hidden partition a drive letter and take ownership of the recovery folder and then copy the contents to C:\recovery. This should work, i can't try yet as my alienware hasn't arrived.

 

I believe that the Respawn looses conection with the factory image even if you let it like that when you re-install Windows. But here is a thread that you might find useful.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ook-feel-after-clean-install-windows-7-a.html

 

I created two USB recovery medias on my AW. One was an out of box state, the other after installing some few things. Now I want to know if I can move those images from my USB to a DVD so I can use those USB drivers again? Also reading other threads, is it smarter to install AWR after immediately installing a fresh OS or waiting till you install all drivers first? Thanks in advance,

 

It is a matter of personal preference. If you want to have to going through the installation of drivers and apps, then do it right away. If you prefer to have a fully usable Windows installation, do it later. I prefer doing it later so if I need to restore the drive it doesn't take as much time.

Good news! The new version of AlienRespawn takes care of this for Windows 8 users. You also don't need the original factory recovery partition like the older versions.

• Download AlienRespawn: Download AlienRespawn

There is also a newer Windows 8 version of AlienAutopsy.

• Download AlienAutopsy: Download AlienAutopsy

Both utilities are Windows 7 and Windows 8 compatible.

 

Hi, thanks for the links. Thought I'd update my system as i still have to take the plunge for win 8 . I got this error message:


I'm thinking this is a spurious message and it just needs to be uninstalled first? I got my copy a couple of months ago from: http://alwdownload.alienrespawn.com/AlienRespawn_Basic.exe

 

Probably so. I have not attempted to install the new version over the old.

 

It'll be interesting to see how installing from that link works out for you. I've tried it like a thousand times now and I keep on getting some form of corrupted installation of the GUI. Just tried it again to no avail. Whilst it installs fine and creates the recovery partition, the user interface is all in code and not at all like it should be. I'm gonna try a few more things before making a new thread on the subject.

 

Apologies for the double post but I wanted to show exactly what I mean when the install process is corrupted and the GUI is FUBAR. See screenshots in spoiler!

Spoiler

..........And here's how it SHOULD look:

Now, that just ain't right! LOL - I really don't know where or IF I am going wrong or IF it's a problem for others BUT I must have clean installed Win 8 Pro more times than I care to think of recently and EVERY time, when I come to install AWR from the link posted, this is exactly what I get. Here's what i have done:

• Created Win 8 Pro USB via link in my Invoice (should say that I have created a few just incase the download was corrupted but the issues persists no matter which USB I boot from)
• Install via USB
• Turn on .NET 3.5/4 (all features) via programs>turn on or off Windows Features
• Perform all Windows Updates
• Install Intel RST (latest one from Intel)
• Install Freefall Sensor (R1 version)
• Install Card Reader (R2 version)
• Install Touchpad (R2 version)
• Install IDT (R1, of course)
• Install OSD (R1 version)
• Switch to iGFX and Install Intel's latest iGFX Driver / reboot / switch back to Nvidia
• Run Windows update again before CC
• Install Command Center (R1 version)
• Install Cyberlink Power DVD and update it
• Install Roxio Starter - no updates available
• Install MS Home & Student
• Run Windows update for updates for MS H&S (above)
• Add Windows Media Center for free via add features

At this point, I have downloaded AWR and EVERY time I run it, it ends up like the pictures in the spoiler. I tried installing drivers first and then running Windows Update, tried just installing Win 8 Pro and immediately installing AWR - nothing works. As you can see, it creates the recovery partition but how the hell am I supposed to use that GUI with any success ???

Also tried Rolling back to my factory Win 7 image and going through the process from there, tried deleting the recovery partition and extending the OS into free space with DISKPART.....

Tried re-downloading AWR several times in case of corrupted install files, tried turning off firewall/defender and downloading too....no dice.

Tried resetting Bios defaults / power drain / CMOS pull before OS installations...

Really running out of patience with it now and I am almost about to give up on it but I really wanted to be able to create a user recovery USB for Windows 8, but it seems I am not able to do it......

Hopefully, someone can shed some light on this, maybe one of the Alienware team here on the forums can look into this - maybe try it from their end on a Win 8 clean install with no pre-existing partitions.

(EDIT: Should say that I do NOT have the full version/licence, just want the ability to make the USB recovery media and be able to actually read the GUI properly LOL)

 

I too encountered this message on my 17xR3. For those of you who are still running Win7, I suggest NOT uninstalling your current install of Respawn just to 'update' with the Win8 compatible release. AW needs to research and comment on this issue. For now, keep your current version and take comfort in knowing that USB stick you made will put you right back to a fresh 'out of box' state if needed.

Excellent point.

 

Thing is fella, I can't see why it does not want to install for me yet Brother Fox's install seemed just dandy. I know he initially did an in place Windows 8 upgrade but I don't see how that makes any difference to a clean install to a drive that only has unallocated drive space.....the USB installation files are the same on a USB regardless of wether one chose to install in place or install to an empty drive. It can't be corrupted Windows 8 install files as I have made several USB's and the issue persists on all of 'em

I was thinking at one point that my issue was related to .NET or maybe C++ but they were all up to date and features activated prior to AWR install.

Driver installation order seems unlikely to be the culprit.

The download of AWR I have used has been re-downloaded many times with and without firewalls etc in place.....my thinking is that the download itself is not corrupted as I think it would be highly unlikely that I'd have had ALL my downloads of AWR gone bad.

At this point in time, I'm thinking that it must have something to do with the AWR .exe file itself not being correct.

I'm stumped!

 

Thanks, I'll wait n see, I'm in no rush for win 8. I just purchased because of the cheap offer

 

Something just dawned on me after reading a post on another thread. I'll detail it below - we obviously do not know what this "issue" is yet, but..........

Now, this is an assumption, as I don't have 680m's in SLI (more's the pity LOL) BUT......if what Chris has mentioned about 680m SLI/SSD combo in the above thread has anything to do with the halt on sales of that combo, maybe (just maybe) the combo of Windows 8 generic Nvidia drivers have issues with Dell SSD's. I think Dell are now shipping with Windows 8 Pre-installed and as such, they may have stumbled upon this "glitch" with AWR that I am experiencing. I am assuming that the Windows 8 generic gpu drivers are the same for 580m as for 680m.....and I have raided 256 Dell SSD's.........maybe that's what's causing my issue......shot in the dark but at this point, I'm grasping at straws as to why I can't install a simple app.

I think Brother Fox had modded Nvidia 680m drivers to allow them to install on his R1 (could be wrong) before successfully installing AWR. Also, he doesn't have Dell SSD's with Dell firmware.....maybe another reason behind my failure vs. his success in installing AWR..... Fox, if you read this, Bro - let me know......I might try another OS install and remove the generic Windows 8 gpu drivers and go Nvidia reference and see if it makes ANY difference, or even try installing AWR under iGFX mode......doubtful it will make a difference, but who knows..

Just a thought......

 

Steve - I sent you a PM with a suggestion for your issue. If it works, we can post it here.

The previous version of AlienRespawn that I had purchased absolutely refused to install under a clean Windows 8 installation. (My Windows 8 installations was to a drive free of any partitions. I installed to unallocated disk space.)

The previous version of AlienRespawn was installed under a clean Windows 7 installation as well. There was no original recovery partition. Respawn created one and it worked beautifully. It just failed installation under Windows 8 with a message that the Windows Recovery Environment was not present or something to that effect.

The latest version of AlienRespawn is Windows 8 compatible. It installed fine and created a new recovery partition. I created USB and BluRay recovery media.

The latest version was just released about a week ago. It can be downloaded here: http://www.alienrespawn.com/en-us/Index.html

 

Got your message, Bro - thanks.

I also tried the older AWR with Windows 8 and just like you mention above, it throws a wobbler and refuses to install with the message about "no recovery environment" - that was also on a completely unallocated disk. It was,as you say, Win 7 friendly. The link you posted above is the link where I have been downloading the .exe from - have done so several times to eradicate possible corruption of the files. No joy.

Like I mentioned previously, if AWR, downloaded from the correct link, simply refuses to install correctly on a brand spanking clean install of Windows 8 BEFORE driver updates etc, I can't see it wanting to install correctly at ANY point. Technically, there is nothing to stop it. I also tried installing it on a bare Win 8 install but with just .NET 4.5/3.5 fully enabled (via "turn features on/off) and it STILL refuses to install correctly.

Gonna try an install based on the SSD info in my last post - who knows, there could be something up with Dell SSD firmware and Windows 8 that is not compatible - as why else would Dell put a halt on sales of that combo? - beats me.....

(wish I had a platter drive to test out this "conspiracy theory" LOL.....)

 

I'm getting EXACTLY the same issues as you Stevie. It installs creates the recovery partition but the GUI is totally messed up and the program is unconfigureable Tried the older version and it wouldnt install at all due to recovery partition not found !

Uninstalled it and deleted the partition , will try again tonight

 

Wow! - thanks for letting me know, Gary - I was beginning to think it was just me!!!!

Now, the interesting thing here is that you also have a Dell SSD like me..........with an Nvidia 680m SLI gpu solution......that has since been pulled from Dell's website for reasons unknown as yet. Looks like there is a possible trend appearing here. Others aren't experiencing it as, let's face it, not many people buy their SSD's from Dell due to price. It's situations like these though that make me glad I have the warranty on mine if indeed this is an issue with Dell SSD's or firmware etc....

I've tried it countless times now, Bro - every time same end result. I just installed 310.61 beta over the top of the generic Win 8 display drivers and ran AWR again - no dice - same issue - FUBAR!

(if you delete the recovery partition, you will probably have to extend the OS volume into the unallocated space.....otherwise, I think it (AWR) throws a wobbler and wont even install)

 

All I was getting after installation was messages about toaster and IDS , beats me

Hmmmm curious that we have similar a drive setup bro , but mine isn't raided so that rules that out and I'm running 680's so thats out as well !

I guess we are slowly but surely getting to the Win 8 / Dell SSD firmware having an issue with Respawn

 

Looks that way, fella. I played around with the Dell system builder and even if you configure an R2 with 680m SLI and a single traditional Dell SSD, it throws up an alert.....meaning doesn't matter if the SSD's are raided or not, in my eyes. It also doesn't throw an alert with ANY AMD setup with a SSD, just Nvidia.

Suspiciously looking like something between Dell SSD's and Nvidia doesn't play nice together and I imagine Windows 8 is "in the mix" of this too.....

I take it as a given that you had zero issues with your SSD and 680m's whilst running Windows 7, right?

 

Yep zero issues with respawn under Win 7 with the 680's in SLi

We both use extreme cpu's , and Dell SSD's , out of interest what BIOS are you using bro ?? I'm on A08.

I wonder if it will install using Intel graphics ?

This is bugging the hell out of me for a couple of reasons a) I paid for the full version of Respawn , b) I don't like to be beaten and not know why !

Of course there is the reason of why cant you buy this combination of O/S and Dell SSD anymore ?????

 

I'm thinking that Dell know there is problems with this setup and their SSD's when using Windows 8 - might be firmware, might be Nvidia Drivers and/or Windows 8 itself - either combination, something is stuffing things up royally.

I'm gonna try an install under iGFX after yet another clean install of Windows 8 - gotta install the OSD driver to switch though LOL.....

As I have an R1 vs. your R2, I'm on a different bios altogether - running A04 for the R1.....but, as this issue is affecting both platforms with different bios versions, I'd say that bios isn't the culprit here.

EDIT: Regarding the halt on certain combo's - seems you can still order a single 680m with a Dell SSD so maybe it has something to do with SLI functionality too.....every other gpu option is configurable apart from 680m SLI when a SSD is added.

 

Just tried installing with my 580m SLI disabled seeing as how it's only 680m SLI that can't be configured with a Dell SSD for some reason - no joy.....thought it was worth a shot. 675m SLI is still available and no alerts thrown up for ordering that and they are as close to my 580,'s as you can get.....

 

If they would stop using "special" firmware and start using ordinary Samsung SSD firmware, maybe this sort of nonsense would not happen. I've never understood their logic behind installing proprietary firmware on an otherwise ordinary HDD or SSD. There have been a couple of issues with Seagate Momentus HDDs with Dell's special firmware. As much as I like the concept of getting a system built the way you want it to have all the parts covered under warranty, this sort of thing makes the logic of aftermarket upgrades more attractive for reasons not related to cost.

Steve - if you have one, grab an ordinary HDD and slap it in your beast. Install Windows 8 and Respawn and see if the problem goes away.

 

I will have a go at installing Respawn on my shop bought Momentus XT when I get back from work.

 

That would be very interesting to see how it goes.....I am kinda thinking you won't have a problem......somehow....

Gary's beat me to it! (nice one, Gary)

If I had one lying about, it would be slapped in right now, buddy. Unfortunately, I am without one....more is the pity....

This will make you laugh, but the only drive I have lying around is useless to test this theory out with.....its a 512gb Dell PM830 new in it's box LOLOL.....go figure!

 

Arghhhhh , Respawn wont let me pick which drive I want to install it on no matter where I run it from it defaults to the O/S drive

 

Gary, have you got a USB with Win 8 on it? - if so, you could whip out the Dell SSD and put the XT in, boot from the USB drive and try installing the OS to the XT. No need to touch your current OS install. The recovery partition will default to the OS drive every time...no way around that one, so you need to install the OS to the XT. If you can install to the XT, run the AWR .exe right away - don't bother about installing anything other than the OS....chances are, if it is going to install, it will install right then without need to update drivers, .NET etc......

If you did an in-place upgrade, check your Microsoft Email invoice for your Win 8 upgrade and you should have a link to re-download/create a USB or optical installation media - if you haven't got install media already sorted. I did this several times......it's something like "click here to download" near the top of the email...it's just under the "Thanks for your order!" banner on the email.

 

Tried it. Exactly the same screwed up GUI appears upon executing the AWR installer.

 

Did you or Gary try a different drive yet? Should be interesting to learn what happens.

 

Gents,

I can confirm that Respawn works on my shop bought Momentus XT

 

Thanks for confirming that, Gary. It really now looks like Dell SSD firmware is indeed the culprit regards to AWR not installing correctly for us. Mr. Fox confirms his AWR works just fine on his OCZ drives, Prime also confirms AWR has no issues on his retail 830's (which have a different firmware than the Dell flavour drives) so I reckon that it's quite fair to say we have confirmed the problem.

If Dell want to send me a small capacity traditional HDD to see if it solves my AWR install problems, I would gladly confirm this either way - and of course, return the drive if requested.

Actually, there has been a request for a new firmware for our Dell PM830 drives made to Dell already. This is in regards to lower read/write performance when compared to it's "retail brother" of the same capacity. Dell know of this issue and we have been waiting for an update on this for almost 12 months now. Samsung have already released newer firmware for the retail versions that we cannot use - thanks to Dell. We also cannot fully utilize the Samsung Magician Software either. How likely will it be that Dell actually address this issue? - who knows. That thread is below, for anyone who wants to read it.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware/638053-updating-samsung-pm830-firmware.html

All I can tell you is that I really don't want to have to wait 12 months before I can actually use Alien Respawn. It would be nice to be able to keep our expensive Dell Solid State Drives up to date with the latest firmware revisions as and when they become available. I see no justification behind Dell not keeping up with this. If I bought a car and it was recalled for a particular reason, I wouldn't want to have to chase the manufacturer to ensure my purchase was running as it should. I recall a very similar problem that was documented here on NBR with regards to Dell SSD firmware problems and it took AGES for Dell to resolve it......I hope we are not in for a long wait on this one.

 

Excellent write up Stevie. Looks like we have identified the culprit. We now wait for Dell to respond ?

Can I suggest a refund to customers who bought and paid for the full version of Respawn if there is no appetite from Dell to address this issue ?? Or issue a firmware that takes the drive back to stock Samsung configuration.

A step forward would be to least admit that there is an issue to begin with ?

 

Thanks, Gary.

Whichever way we look at things, one thing is apparent to me. AWR works on my SSD's under Windows 7 but not Windows 8 - that would suggest firmware compatibility is fine.......as soon as I put Win 8 on my SSD's, AWR goes nuts. Others have already said they have no issue using AWR with Windows 8 as long as they are not using Dell SSD's. To me, that means that AWR is Windows 8 compatible, just not compatible with Dell SSD firmware under Windows 8. I reckon Dell have two options to remedy this and they would be:

• Re-write AWR so that it is compataible with the current SSD firmware
• Update the current SSD firmware so it is compatible with AWR

Obviously, this isn't gonna happen overnight - the impression I get about Dell SSD firmware (from the thread below) and keeping it up to date is that it is not of importance to Dell. It's a bit like the old "Which came first?, the Chicken or the Egg?" scenario where Dell say they rely on Samsung providing updates and Samsung say they rely on Dell asking for them! - nothing ever happens because neither party keep each other informed or ask about updates!......it's pretty apparent from the thread that owners of OEM drives have consistently asked Dell and Dell have done nothing to bring about a firmware update. Neither have Samsung. Dell seem to adopt the approach of "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" - I can agree to a certain extent but when paying so much for a Dell SSD, owners of them should have access to the latest firmware updates possible. I can't see that there is ANY difference between a retail drive and a Dell drive other than firmware......that we can't update on our own unlike owners of retail drives. If Brother Prime's firmware is working fine, Dell should adopt that.

One alternative solution for those that DO have this problem would be for Dell to issue them with Retail Samsung replacement drives. Brother Prime has already confirmed he has no issues with the Retail version of the Dell drive. If Dell wanted to limit the impact on customers, this might prove a short term fix. Wether or not they would swallow the cost of doing so is entirely another matter...............

That's how I see it - I don't think Windows 8 is at fault, just AWR and Dell SSD's.....I guess we will have to wait and see what gives. I have PM'd Brother Pablo-R about this and he is escalating it to L3 Engineering. I personally think Dell are aware of this already and it has *something* to do with the halt on sales of Dell SSD's when a machine is configured in a particular fashion. What' weird about that is that it's just when you configure with 680m SLI - I'm wondering how/where Nvidia is embroiled in this. I also wonder if any one with any other configuration of gpu/Dell SSD has had any issue with AWR......

I totally agree with you regarding a refund of the paid full version - I just use the basic to create a USB recovery, but if you use all the features of the full version, it's not fair that you can't install it properly.

 

How do you guys feel about using the respawn on an HDD then installing RAID SSD's and using the respawn instead of doing a clean install? I noticed Mr. Fox posted that the latest respawn doesn't have issues anymore as the old one did, so would this suffice? It could save me a lot of time. I don't mind doing a clean install if it is absolutely necessary, but I would like to at least try the respawn first.

From what I remember, I still need the RAID drivers. Just install them and then restart to load from the USB (respawn)?

Thanks.

 

I'd personally prefer to clean install to the drives I will be using, update any drivers and get my machine set up the way I want it to be and THEN create a respawn image - that way, you can effectively go back to your own custom clean install image with everything up to date - no more clean installing and going through all the drivers/updates/installing your own programs again - just boot from your own USB image. That's what I would like to do, if only AWR and Dell SSD's allowed me to LOL.

 

That's a good idea. If I come across any issues with the respawn going from HDD to SSD then I will definitely do that.