About to format Dell partitions to install vanilla W11, can you tell me what each partition is for?

jbcarreon123 · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
How do you go about adding the host drivers on the same flash drive as the bootable flash drive I created with Windows 11 Media creation tool?

Create a folder under Sources. then put the driver on there so you can recognise the folder.

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

jbcarreon123 said:
Create a folder under Sources. then put the driver on there so you can recognise the folder.

This

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
How do you go about adding the host drivers on the same flash drive as the bootable flash drive I created with Windows 11 Media creation tool?

Have a look here, under the section "Manually install RST drivers during set up" Follow from #3 down

Some Images May Not Have the Required Driver When Installing Windows 10 on Intel 12th Generation Computers Using ISO Images | Dell UK

Sephirote · Jan 30, 2022

KYHI said:
You need to export the Host Drivers to a folder - then point to that folder to "Load" the Storage Driver

jbcarreon123 said:
Get a another USB drive, then put the drivers on the another USB drive, and plug it in while on Setup. Press Load Driver while on the Partition page.

I've added the host drivers on another USB drive. When in Windows setup I press load drivers, navigate to the root of the USB drive with the host drivers and it says it couldn't find any signed drivers.

I think I need to point to the exact subfolder

How can I identify which folder applies to my laptop?

jbcarreon123 · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
I've added the host drivers on another USB drive. When in Windows setup I press load drivers, navigate to the root of the USB drive with the host drivers and it says it couldn't find any signed drivers.

I think I need to point to the exact subfolder

How can I identify which folder applies to my laptop?

Point to a .inf file. or the folder consists of the disk drive driver.

Much better, if you logged in a another device to ElevenForum, then put your laptop into the Install, so we can see what's happening (if you pictured the screen.)

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

Did you download this one?

Stigg · Jan 30, 2022

I think you guys are just making a simple task more difficult for the OP.

Back up any data on the drive you want to save (if any), and boot your Windows installation.
Delete all partitions and proceed to install.

Any drivers not found by Windows (if any) will be easily found.

Sephirote · Jan 30, 2022

CornishRattler said:
Have a look here, under the section "Manually install RST drivers during set up" Follow from #3 down

Some Images May Not Have the Required Driver When Installing Windows 10 on Intel 12th Generation Computers Using ISO Images | Dell UK

Thanks man!
This link was the answer.
No need to use a DISM command to download 4GB of host drivers (At least with a DELL laptop)

I just needed to go to the Dell support page which automatically recognizes my Service Tag and with it my config, go to the drivers section and download the IRST drivers. When you execute the .exe you can either install the drivers or extract them. I've extracted them into my Windows 11 bootable flash drive. Booted up Windows 11 setup, loaded the drivers by navigating to F6>VMD>f6lpy-x64 and boom I was able to see all my partitions.

So I think I now I get why my partitions weren't showing. The IRST drivers were not included in the Windows 11 installer. Hope they fix that in the future.

I'm typing this from XPS15 running a clean W11 install. With my Dell pre-installed W11, when cold booting it was using 26% of my 32GB of ram.
Now with the clean W11, only 14%. Super happy right now and I'll be able to start to fully enjoy my new laptop.

Thanks everyone for the help, you are seriously legends for sticking around and helping me, I really appreciate it.

jbcarreon123 · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
Thanks man!
This link was the answer.
No need to use a DISM command to download 4GB of host drivers (At least with a DELL laptop)

I just needed to go to the Dell support page which automatically recognizes my Service Tag and with it my config, go to the drivers section and download the IRST drivers. When you execute the .exe you can either install the drivers or extract them. I've extracted them into my Windows 11 bootable flash drive. Booted up Windows 11 setup, loaded the drivers by navigating to F6>VMD>f6lpy-x64 and boom I was able to see all my partitions.

So I think I now I get why my partitions weren't showing. The IRST drivers were not included in the Windows 11 installer. Hope they fix that in the future.

I'm typing this from XPS15 running a clean W11 install. With my Dell pre-installed W11, when cold booting it was using 26% of my 32GB of ram.
Now with the clean W11, only 14%. Super happy right now and I'll be able to start to fully enjoy my new laptop.

Thanks everyone for the help, you are seriously legends for sticking around and helping me, I really appreciate it.

Looks good! Now WU will install the drivers (some optional)

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
Thanks man!
This link was the answer.
No need to use a DISM command to download 4GB of host drivers (At least with a DELL laptop)

I just needed to go to the Dell support page which automatically recognizes my Service Tag and with it my config, go to the drivers section and download the IRST drivers. When you execute the .exe you can either install the drivers or extract them. I've extracted them into my Windows 11 bootable flash drive. Booted up Windows 11 setup, loaded the drivers by navigating to F6>VMD>f6lpy-x64 and boom I was able to see all my partitions.

So I think I now I get why my partitions weren't showing. The IRST drivers were not included in the Windows 11 installer. Hope they fix that in the future.

I'm typing this from XPS15 running a clean W11 install. With my Dell pre-installed W11, when cold booting it was using 26% of my 32GB of ram.
Now with the clean W11, only 14%. Super happy right now and I'll be able to start to fully enjoy my new laptop.

Thanks everyone for the help, you are seriously legends for sticking around and helping me, I really appreciate it.

Glad you got it up and running.

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

Stigg said:
I think you guys are just making a simple task more difficult for the OP.

Back up any data on the drive you want to save (if any), and boot your Windows installation.
Delete all partitions and proceed to install.

Any drivers not found by Windows (if any) will be easily found.

Nope, IRST drivers must be installed manually on a clean install, otherwise set up will not see the drive

Ghot · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
Thanks everyone for the help, you are seriously legends for sticking around and helping me, I really appreciate it.

Good job.

zbook · Jan 30, 2022

The latest BIOS was release this month: Jan 2022

If not already upgraded this is a link:

Dell XPS 15 9570 System BIOS | Driver Details | Dell US

Code:

Fixes & Enhancements
- Firmware updates to address security vulnerabilities.
Version
1.23.0, 1.23.0
Release date
12 Jan 2022
Category
BIOS
Importance
URGENT

barman58 · Jan 30, 2022

First thing I do with a new system that comes with an installed Operating system is to make a complete image and store it away - that is the baseline and whatever happens in the future, you can recover to this point, (and do it more quickly that the OEM recovery system) Use your preferred System Imager ( Macrium Reflect is the one liked by members here and can be setup to perform a quick recovery).

There is also something to be said for repeating this task when you have the system setup to the way you decide to run - these two Images, and their recover tool will allow you to "play" as much as you like and always return to a Working system.

Obviously you should also decide on and keep to a backup plan for your system and most importantly your Data

Sephirote · Jan 30, 2022

CornishRattler said:
Nope, IRST drivers must be installed manually on a clean install, otherwise set up will not see the drive

Out of curiosity, in the future, will Microsoft include IRST drivers into their Windows installer iso?
Is there a specific reason why they couldn't include them?

It's the first time I've faced this issue, I've installed Windows on many machines and it was always able to see the partitions (meaning it had the drivers for these built-in already)

Is there a reason why Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers cannot be added to a Windows installer?

CornishRattler · Jan 30, 2022

Sephirote said:
Out of curiosity, in the future, will Microsoft include IRST drivers into their Windows installer iso?
Is there a specific reason why they couldn't include them?

It's the first time I've faced this issue, I've installed Windows on many machines and it was always able to see the partitions (meaning it had the drivers for these built-in already)

Is there a reason why Intel Rapid Storage Technology drivers cannot be added to a Windows installer?

I highly doubt it, it's an Intel thing not a Microsoft. Windows include the generic drivers that can be used to boot with most systems

Sephirote · Jan 30, 2022

CornishRattler said:
I highly doubt it, it's an Intel thing not a Microsoft. Windows include the generic drivers that can be used to boot with most systems

That's interesting. I didn't realize that Microsoft only included generic drivers in Windows installer.
Thanks

Wynona · Jan 30, 2022

Stigg said:
I think you guys are just making a simple task more difficult for the OP.

Back up any data on the drive you want to save (if any), and boot your Windows installation.
Delete all partitions and proceed to install.

Any drivers not found by Windows (if any) will be easily found.

I am in complete agreement with @Stigg.

AdvancedSetup · Jan 31, 2022

CornishRattler said:
Nope, IRST drivers must be installed manually on a clean install, otherwise set up will not see the drive

Interesting. I've performed a lot of clean installs of Windows 10 on many different types of hardware and various manufacturers and so far all of them have seen SATA, SSD, and NVMe for me and installed without issue and without manually installing RST drivers.

However, I have not performed a clean install on an Intel 12th Gen system.

Alder Lake - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Intel officially announced 12th Gen Intel Core CPUs on October 27, 2021

I see that ASUS also has an article about this issue

[Notebook/Desktop/AIO/MiniPC] Troubleshooting - Cannot find drives when installing Windows 11/10 | Official Support | ASUS USA

Perhaps I've just been lucky, as I see many people needing the RST drivers on a Web search. I've had to install drivers or slipstream drivers in the past but Windows 10 ISO has so far always found the drive for me.

Thanks for the input, confirmation.

zbook · Jan 31, 2022

This is from an Intel link:

Code:

Q: Why is the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management Application not available on Download Center?

In compliance with Microsoft new Universal Windows Platform (UWP)*, Intel has stopped bundling the Intel® Rapid Storage Technology applications with the Intel® RST drivers.

UWP requires that all driver-dependent applications be made available only through the Microsoft Store. Find more information about UWP.

During the installation of the Intel RST driver (version 17.9 and later) you will have an option to download and install the Intel® Optane™ Memory and Storage Management application from the Microsoft Store if an Internet connection is available.