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    XPS 14 - Windows 7 Downgrade - Can't boot from USB

    Discussion in 'Dell XPS and Studio XPS' started by swooph, Mar 13, 2013.

  1. swooph

    swooph Notebook Geek

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    So pulled the trigger on a XPS14 / 8gb / 512GB SSD

    Lovely little thing.

    Trying to downgrade to Win 7 but struggling at the first hurdle. I can't boot from USB nor find the option to select it in the BIOS.

    Any help here please? Anything else I will encounter on my downgrade travels?
     
    swooph, Mar 13, 2013
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  2. Dell-Jesse L

    Dell-Jesse L Company Representative

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    Hello Swooph,

    Unfortunately, the XPS 14 does not have the boot from USB option in the bios. Below are the options to boot from when pressing the F12 key.

    •Internal HDD
    •CD/DVD/CD-RW Drive (Appears only when an external Optical Drive is connected)
    •On board NIC
    •Diagnostics (starts the Pre-boot System Assessment, or PSA, diagnostics)
    •System Setup

    Thank You,
    Dell-Jesse L
    Dell Social Media and Communities
     
    Dell-Jesse L, Mar 14, 2013
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  3. swooph

    swooph Notebook Geek

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    Yes it does.
     
    swooph, Mar 14, 2013
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  4. seeker_moc

    seeker_moc Notebook Virtuoso

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    Lol.

    Anyway, make sure that USB Legacy Mode (or any option to that effect) is enabled. Also, make sure any option regarding Legacy EFI or Legacy Boot is enabled, and that Secure Boot is disabled.
     
    seeker_moc, Mar 14, 2013
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  5. satchmobob

    satchmobob Notebook Geek

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    You'll need to disable Secure Boot, enable Load legacy option rom, and change sata operarion to ahci.
    Also use the usb port closest to the rear of the lappy and make sure you have formatted your usb drive correctly. have you pressed f12 during post for the boot menu?
    You have to be real quick to beat the win8 loader.
    Heres how to format your USB drive and boot win7 installer.
    Insert your USB drive.
    First open command prompt with elevated privelages. (type comm on win 8 metro screen and press ctrl, shift and enter to do this)
    in CMD window type diskpart and press enter.
    type list disk.
    From the list select your usb drive by typing select disk (and the number of your drive) eg select disk 2.
    type clean
    type create part primary
    type select part 1
    type format fs=fat32 quick
    type active
    type assign
    type exit
    type exit again.

    Done! Now just copy the contents of your windows 7 media to the usb drive restart, press f12 select your usb device and off you go!
     
    satchmobob, Mar 14, 2013
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  6. swooph

    swooph Notebook Geek

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    Thank you.... took some working out, but I got there.
     
    swooph, Mar 14, 2013
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  7. swooph

    swooph Notebook Geek

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    Thanks for this... I used an almost Identical technique and can confirm this works a treat.
     
    swooph, Mar 14, 2013
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  8. satchmobob

    satchmobob Notebook Geek

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    Are you for real?!? An actual Dell representative any you don't even know how to boot a modern laptop from a usb drive?

    Michael Dell, If you want to employ me to answer questions and support your products on these and other forums give me a shout!!!
     
    satchmobob, Mar 14, 2013
    #8