Dell XPS 9560 Clean install guide + custom ISO download.

Agreed. Just wanted Ramez to be aware his partitioning was different to mine but it wasn't likely to be related to his BSODs.

Sorry, it's maintained manually! I started a spreadsheet to track the BSODs and all the various configuration changes I was trying as remedial actions and the table of firmware/drivers versions was a byproduct of that activity. As I believe I've found the root cause of my BSODs, I've largely discontinued the diary of changes but have continued to maintain the firmware/drivers table as a scratch pad of upgrades I still have to consider.

 

O.K. I've made a clean install using Anniversary ed., but it reboots from sleep again. I removed all partitions and created one for the installation. Looking forward to your help again... Thanks.

 

True clean install or have you installed anything?

*edit

I think now you ruled out your old install and still have this issue it may be a defective motherboard or SSD, either way I would have it out with Dell on the phone and explain your actions so far or if you really think you can fix this make a new thread as we have reached the end point for my ISO from what I can see.

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

This problem used to occur on my system too. I contacted Dell and they didn't help much.
After updating the BIOS and resetting it to default and updating my windows it stopped happening since then.
So I suggest that you use the latest version of BIOS and update your OS. (In case you didn't done that already)

 

Yes, it happened again right after I made a clean install. I did not install anything and waited...

Interesting thing is that it happens when it's on battery, not on AC. When I have it on AC, it does not seem to happen. When I looked for a post, the issue seems to be similar to the one below. I will post there, too.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/threads/dell-xps-15-9550-huge-sleep-problem.791550/

 

Yes, I have the latest BIOS (1.2.14) and made all Windows security updates. I switched from RAID to AHCI, but it happened even before the switch. On BIOS, I just enabled "secure boot" as GoNz0 said.

 

I solved this

I solved this problem by downgrading the BIOS from 1.2.14 to 1.2.10. Hope this helps if anyone has this truly annoying issue.

 

First of all i want to say thank you GoNz0 for all your work, this really helped a lot!

I only am very unsure about my configuration of the 1tb hdd with 32gb ssd Cache.
I did everything like in your guide, wiped all partitions and reinstalled, also resetted BIOS to Default, so it should be in RAID mode.

How can i see if my 32gb ssd Cache is working correctly? The Intel RST Drivers are installed but i have no idea if i am only using the 1tb standart HDD or if i am using this 32gb ssd Cache too.

 

try
this may be more out of date http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/4/SLN147923/en

 

That 32GB cache is junk. Very slow. It was an OK stop-gap some 5 years ago. Sell it on ebay for ~US$20 and purchase a real SSD.

If you purchased a refurb unit, check to ensure everything indeed is installed on your HDD. The refurb depot tends to put Windows on the 32GB SSD which is not viable as Windows and its updates alone are too large; that is an error by the techs.

 

Yea i know it is not optimal, i will probably just buy an SSD in the future, but until then i wanted to at least use this 32gb cache thing correctly.
The Dell was new and i wiped all the partitions (would never install Windows on 32 GB )

@GoNz0 thanks, will check it out later

 

Hi guys,

Everything was running smoothly untill a few days ago. Switching between user accounts is very annoying, very long black screen untill if loads from 30 seconds up to 2 mintues.

Second issue. It seems my resolution has change since, intel graphics says 1920x1080 but its not.

And also when I open windows 10 mail it just crashes.

Anyone having these types of issues since doing the custom install?

 

No m8 and tbh it is unrelated to this thread so best to open a new thread in a windows not Dell forum for help on that.

 

I have no sound over HDMI after installing W10 with this ISO.

I had it on the factory install before and when I boot up a live Ubuntu from a stick I also have sound.
I uninstalled all Intel and NVidia drivers, cleaned everything with tools, reinstalled several times in different
orders, but couldn't get it to work. I don't know what devices the Device Manager listed before, but I now only have

• Bluetooth Handsfree Audio
• Intel Display Audio
• Realtek Audio

Inserting HDMI does nothing on that tab.

 

Try to reinstall the realtek audio drivers

Sent from my SM-G920F

 

Sadly, this didn't work either, but I fiddled with it a bit and for the afterworld:

Order to install drivers for audio over HDMI ( at least for me )

Use Display Driver Uninstaller to remove NVidia drivers
Normally uninstall Realtek drivers.
---
Install Intel drivers
Install Realtek drivers
Install Nvidia drivers

Hope it helps.

 

Created a system image backup (default supplied by Dell) from within Win 10 then worked through this guide using GoNz0 's custom bloatware-free image.

Did run into a few minor issues along the way. Now bear in mind this could all be down to me being a totally new user on any Dell XPS laptop but I'll post here just in case anyone else who performs this clean install faces the same problems.

Firstly I reset BIOS to default settings as suggested.

The BIOS image in first post which shows:

Boot mode is set to: UEFI; Secure Boot ON

I saw that but below it instead of Windows Boot Manager and USB Flash Drive, I had Windows Boot Manager and my SSD boot drive listed only, nothing else. The two arrows to the right would allow you to switch one above the other but not allow you to select the bootable USB flash drive. I rebooted a few times, entering BIOS and kept seeing the same thing. I think in the end I deleted the boot option of my SSD (BIOS > General > Boot Sequence) then applied settings before exiting?

When hitting F12 during bootup and arriving at the boot sequence screen, I was seeing:

Boot mode is set to UEFI; Secure Boot OFF

Had thought that resetting BIOS to its default settings would have left Secure Boot ON but alas not so again went into BIOS and enabled that (BIOS > Secure Boot > Secure Boot Enable).

Now I had the option of selecting:

UEFI USB Flash Drive
UEFI Samsung PM951 SSD

Whereas the image in first post shows:

Windows Boot Manager
UEFI: USB Flash Drive

I selected the bootable Flash Drive and went through setting up a custom install of Win 10 Pro.

Next step in guide was:

Figure out what drive is the one you want to install windows and proceed to delete all the partitions until you are left with a single unpartitioned drive, click on it and hit next and windows will install.

I was unable to delete all of the smaller partitions. For some reason, two remained, in addition to the main one which were:

Drive 0 Unallocated Space 628.0 MB
Drive 0 Partition 1 901 GB of 940 GB
Drive 0 Unallocated Space 12.4GB

When I clicked on the top or bottom partitions, the option to delete was greyed out.

I highlighted Partition 1 and formatted that even though this step was not included in the guide. Not sure if it was necessary but chose to do it anyway.

After the installation completed, just out of curiosity I had a look in the BIOS under boot sequence and was surprised that my SSD boot drive is still no longer listed as it was originally prior to doing this clean install. Should it be?

I wish to create another system image backup before I start installing programs, should I run the Dell update software etc to get all drivers up-to-date first or will that cause some devices to stop working?!

Was slightly surprised that after installing this bloatware free version of Win 10 Pro, that the free space on my boot drive now stands at 887GB, previously it was 901GB free of 940GB available.

Big thanks to GoNz0 for creating and sharing this custom .ISO

 

Use Macrium reflect Free, take an initial image then a differential as it will only be the size of what you have installed/updated. Best of both worlds and you can restore either (you need both for the differential)

 

Okay, will do that now.

Thanks.

Next task will be running some tests to check temperatures before trying my hand at this undervolting malarkey. Wish me luck, lol!

 

I've got Macrium Reflect creating a backup image now to external USB 3.0 portable HDD. 2 hours 55 mins remaining. Perhaps I shouldn't have bothered selecting 'verify' option?!

Does 55GB not sound far too big for a fresh bloatware free install of Win 10? I've not installed else anything yet. I can see there's still a 12.4GB recovery partition of some description which was there previously as well.

 

55 is about right tbh, normally no need to verify but if you have the time then fair enough

 

Well that probably saves me re-doing the whole thing again, this time booting into diskpart first to remove all of the partitions (something I had to do when installing Win 10 Pro 64-bit on a Samsung 850 Pro 1TB SSD in my desktop PC after first getting a message stating that the OS could not be installed onto a MBR drive, it needed to be GPT).

Only opted for verify option this time round as it was going to be the first and one of, if not, the largest backups. Won't for future ones.

It's still running now! 25 mins remaining.

 

Anyone used the recovery USB stick that came with the laptop? I tried to used yesterday but I run into a continuous loop. The steps that I took were: reboot the PC, F12, select the USB stick (Toshiba .....), reboot, select the EN-US language, select US keyboard. After this, any option I choose it takes me back to that blue menu with Reset the PC, Recover from a external drive, etc. Is there a special procedure for this?

PS. I tried also Gonzo's procedure with the Rufus USB stick but it was not recognized as a booting device. Maybe I did something wrong when I created the bootable stick.

Thanks.

 

Ha I see they still don't have the correct drivers on the Dell recovery stick then, maybe turning secure boot off but TBH why would anyone want to put the dell crap back on

I have listed a few things like resetting the BIOS and also using the other USB port sometimes works. Just recheck the guide, check you did FAT and not NTFS during the rufus build.
Some have had to turn off secure boot to get the stick to be seen, afraid with so many sticks on the market some just don't like it. Always use Sandisk Ultra or Extreme USB3 drives here.

 

Okay, so either I did something wrong when setting Macrium Reflect to save a system image or something else isn't as it should be? Expected to find laptop switched off this morning as had set it to shutdown at the end of verifying the backup but instead was met with an error message that there is not sufficient space on the target external drive (despite there being 869.97GB free space at the start!

Think I'm going to do the whole custom install all over again and see if things work out differently second time round?

 

Currently re-installing GoNz0 's custom .ISO after having firstly removed all partitions using Diskpart. For anyone who is wishing to do the same, here is how I did it:

Insert your bootable USB flash drive containing .ISO image and restart machine tapping F12 key until you reach the BIOS boot manager, highlight the USB flash drive and hit enter.

Select language, time/currency and keyboard then hit next.

Now select 'Repair your computer' on next screen.

On 'Choose an option screen' select 'Troubleshoot'.

On 'Troubleshoot' screen select 'Advanced Options'.

On 'Advanced options' screen select 'Command Prompt'.

Now type DISKPART and hit enter key.

Type LIST DISK then hit enter key.

You should have only two entries listed, Disk 0 which will be your boot drive and Disk 1 which will be your USB flash drive.

Type SELECT DISK 0 then hit enter.

Type CLEAN then hit enter key. This will remove all partitions and then will assign them as unallocated space and is recommended for SSD's. If you're using a mechanical drive then you can instead type CLEAN ALL which writes zeroes to the entire drive.

This part is obvious but I'll mention it all the same...doing this will result in you losing any data that was on the drive. If you need any of it, you should back it up BEFORE proceeding!

Close down command prompt by pressing the [x] in top right or by typing EXIT then hitting the enter key.

On the 'Choose an option' screen select 'Turn off your PC'.

Switch machine on and again hit F12 key until you reach the BIOS boot manager screen, select USB flash drive and proceed with Windows installation.

Hope of some help.

 

Can't you simply use the partition tool in Windows when it boots up off the USB drive? I recall when I did a fresh install the last time off USB, you could select that you wanted to repartition and format the drive prior to installation. Saves you from going into the command prompt no?

 

Perhaps but when I tried to do so on my 9550 there were two small partitions that it would not allow me to delete and create just one large unallocated partition hence why I had to jump through hoops to do so on the second attempt.

Edit: Just checked the size of the two system images that I've created using built-in tools within Win 10. First one (default Dell install) was 21.8GB. Second one (custom install of Anniversary Update) is 35.7GB.

Quite a difference!

 

This has been an amazing thread, big shout out to GoNz0! I just went through all 38 pages of this thread, completed a fresh install and just a few quick questions I need clarification on.

1. When I run a "Detect Driver Updates" on Dell's website, they find 4 items:

a. Chipset - Intel Management Engine Components
b. Chipset - Intel Dynamic Platform and Thermal Framework
c. Chipset - Intel Serial IO Driver
d. BIOS - v1.2.16

The BIOS I'm going to skip as it continues to be plagued with the screen flicker issue, at least on my 4K display. The only BIOS that works flawlessly is v1.2.0.

Regarding the other 3, should I be installing these? I'm not even sure what they would do. All items in the Device Manager are setup properly with no errors/exclamation points.

Lastly, should I install the Nvidia drivers and Graphics Experience? I never play games on this laptop, it's strictly used for business/work purposes and I'm not entirely sure what I would gain from those drivers. The same goes for Premier Color which I have not installed, even though I have a 4K display.

The only items that show up in "Programs and Features" as installed after this clean install are:

1. Intel Graphics Driver
2. Realtek Card Reader
3. Realtek High Definition Audio Driver

Anything else I should be considering here?

Thanks again for the awesome thread/post.

 

By all means update the 3 drivers as this thread is a bit out of date, Nvidia experience is optional, it is your call

 

Did anyone tried to boot from an USB stick plugged in the USB Type-C connector? For me it doesn't seem to see the stick when is plugged in the Type-C connector. I tried the same stick, with the same files, on a regular USB and is booting.

Thanks.

 

I had that problem with a USB3 stick but eventually got it to work. The "new" USB are still going through growing pains.

I can't remember the "fix" (actually workaround) but found some helpful tips searching on NBR in the XPS threads.

 

Hi,

I have used the provided ISO for reinstalls a few times in the past 12 months without any problems. A week ago I upgraded to a samsung ssd SM961. The install wend perfectly ok. Since then however, I am getting BSOD error at least 3 -4 times a day. I noticed from the info in the device manager that windows recognizes it as samsung SM951 instead of SM961. It possible that the ssd is the cause of these BSODs? Any help on this or idea where i can donwload original firmware for the ssd?

Many thanks!

 

Might you have it disabled in BIOS setup?

 

Did you install the Samsung SSd drivers as suggested on this forum? (and this thread)

 

Yes, I did all as per your instructions ( I've done it a few times before )....I did not install any additional drivers (only the ones that come with the iso anniversary file). the bios setup is also correct (AHCI , Legacy off, secure boot on, etc...) The BSOD started even while windows was still applying up the initial settings...After that the BSODs continued every few hours... tried to use the whocrashed app, but there was nothing on record.. no dump. The dumping process always stuck at 0%.

 

In the device manager under storage controllers, has the microsoft nvme driver changed to samsung?
You must be in AHCI mode for this.

 

@GoNz0

I've done a clean install using your Anniversary update .iso

I've read a few members mention to try and avoid using Dell Update Manager and so don't currently have that installed on my device. Is there a list of components that have since received updated (and importantly, working) drivers with version numbers so I can check what I currently have installed and what's now available since you created your last custom Win 10 Pro image please?

Thanks.

 

Just use the Dell driver page for your laptops service tag. Everyone has different needs so it is hard to say what each person needs.

 

No. I was using the original MS drivers for the storage controllers (the ones that came with the Windows installation). After a dozen of BSODs in a couple of days (all while using chrome explorer), I downloaded the Samsung NVME driver (v2.1 from Dec 2016) from the Samsung website and installed it despite the fact that the manual stated that the Samsung NVME driver supports only 950 PRO, 960 PRO, and 960 EVO (while my SSD model is SM 961). After the installation of the Samsung NVME driver, I checked again the status of the controller in the device manager - the name of one of the two controllers was changed from Microsoft to Samsung. so far ....I have not had any BSODs for the past 2 days...

And yes, the BIOS is set to AHCI.

 

Where did you find the files? Gonzo provided me the link to them here: https://onedrive.live.com/?authkey=!ADPCf0xzaufxjv4&id=746088B0DA3FC0B4!84250&cid=746088B0DA3FC0B4

But I honestly don't even know how to install it. I downloaded the file and I can't seem to open it. I'll look back at this thread to see if there are steps I missed. Do I disable the current driver before downloading the Samsung? I am lost. I need to read more into this specific thread.

 

Answered in the other thread, I think your default file types screwed up as they are zip files containing an exe installer.

 

Hi, I used the Windows 10 file provided by GoNz0. After doing a fresh windows install on a formatted hard drive, I installed the Samsung NVME driver from Samsung's page ( http://www.samsung.com/semiconductor/minisite/ssd/download/tools.html - the Samsung NVME driver is towards the bottom of the page. ) The did not uninstall the original driver in advance; the installation of the Samsung's driver removes the previous driver.

The windows 10 file that GoZo0 created is on page 1 of this thread.

 

When I do a custom install there are several partitions, should you delete all the other partitions? There are 3 recovery, one WinTools, and a reserved. Does it matter?

 

From my 1st post

 

So far so good. Even with other partitions but I'll delete them to be safe

 

Don't delete them after the install or it won't boot windows again. It replaces what is needed, recovery, EFI and windows.

 

Can I use this on the 9560?

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk

 

It should be fine but if you can hold on for a few days I am planning to make a new one for my 9560

 

I haven't even had this laptop for one day and I've gotten more BSODs with it than I've had in my entire life.

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk