No luck with Windows 10 pre-installed

CAcreeks said:

I believe setup skipped account set-up, because it never asked me to supply credentials.

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You should hit the screen below during Windows setup. Dells Windows setup instructions mention having to setup a Username. so they aren't providing a default account, which makes sense since Win10 is so integrated to Onedrive.





http://www.dell.com/support/article/us/en/19/SLN127699#Windows-Setup

Windows needs some information from you before starting the Windows desktop:

1. Country, Language and Keyboard Layout
2. User Name (required) and Computer Name (fills based on User Name, but you can change if you like)
3. Login Password (recommended for security purposes, but not required). Note that if you lose your password and do not have a Password Reset Disk, other than the hint provided the only other option is to reinstall Windows. Be sure to create a Password Reset Disk as shown below.
4. Agree to the Microsoft and Dell license terms.
5. Set your computer security settings. Dell strongly recommends using the recommended settings.
6. Date and Time settings
7. Configure your wireless settings, if applicable. Select from the available wireless networks or click "Connect to a hidden wireless network" if you are not broadcasting your wireless ID. Be sure to select the correct Security Type and security key as needed.
8. Set your location for wireless settings.
9. If there is a HomeGroup on your network, you may elect to share data or printers with other computers. The HomeGroup setup screen will tell you where to find the HomeGroup password.

Thank you
Russell

JPEG Shooter said:

Archer66 said:

Get someone who knows computers to set it up for you, it's not rocket science

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Maybe not to you. But for many, it is. And that's one reason why people buy computers with the OS Pre-Installed. They should be able to hook it up, turn it on, and be up in running within minutes after the Welcome screen and a few clicks of their mouse.

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Windows 10 seems harder to configure than Linux Mint is to install. As I said, Linux booted from USB stick.

Now I'm having adventures with DISKPART and diskmgmt.msc (Disk Management), reformatting the USB stick so I can write the Windows ISO to it. Learn something every day!

I hope the XPS15 SSD is not defective.

CAcreeks said:

JPEG Shooter said:

Archer66 said:

Get someone who knows computers to set it up for you, it's not rocket science

Click to expand...

Maybe not to you. But for many, it is. And that's one reason why people buy computers with the OS Pre-Installed. They should be able to hook it up, turn it on, and be up in running within minutes after the Welcome screen and a few clicks of their mouse.

Click to expand...

Windows 10 seems harder to configure than Linux Mint is to install. As I said, Linux booted from USB stick.

Now I'm having adventures with DISKPART and diskmgmt.msc (Disk Management), reformatting the USB stick so I can write the Windows ISO to it. Learn something every day!

I hope the XPS15 SSD is not defective.

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I did 5 upgrades to Win 10 on desktops, laptops and tablets using a Win 10 ISO on a USB stick. Zero install problems other than a couple of incompatible driver situations that were ultimately corrected. Good luck with your Win 10 adventure.

digital ed said:

I did 5 upgrades to Win 10 on desktops, laptops and tablets using a Win 10 ISO on a USB stick. Zero install problems other than a couple of incompatible driver situations that were ultimately corrected. Good luck with your Win 10 adventure.

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Thanks for the reassuring words, Ed.

This is not an upgrade, it is an install from the Windows 10 ISO, which I just downloaded and copied to thumb drive.

I'm hoping everything is self-evident because I can't find good instructions anywhere.

CAcreeks said:

digital ed said:

I did 5 upgrades to Win 10 on desktops, laptops and tablets using a Win 10 ISO on a USB stick. Zero install problems other than a couple of incompatible driver situations that were ultimately corrected. Good luck with your Win 10 adventure.

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Thanks for the reassuring words, Ed.

This is not an upgrade, it is an install from the Windows 10 ISO, which I just downloaded and copied to thumb drive.

I'm hoping everything is self-evident because I can't find good instructions anywhere.

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As I recall, most of the install process was simple and smooth.

However, creating a local account may not be as intuitive; Microsoft wants us to use MS accounts, which is OK but I prefer the local account for non-Insider installs.

Honestly if I was You, already packed the laptop and send back to Dell, I think in the new computer one time you plug the power and turn on the computer, the computer go to connect with Microsoft where you can create an account, and after this process you can use your Windows 10, install your program and start to have a fun!

Send back with a not nice letter

Hoping you solve soon your problems

Happy New Year

Cariboou!

Exactly, Dell "assumes" it knows more than the consumer.

Once you get into W10, I would check the Activation Key tab under settings. If OK, you can always download the full W10 install, put it on a USB stick using MS Windows 7 USB Creator and then you can do a fresh install, and I believe W10 will pick up any needed drivers.

This is similar to Canon and Epson not allowing certain paper types through certain fed paths because "they know more" than an educated user.

Good luck. Impressed with Linux Mint myself, picks up inbuilt and USB WiFi adapters perfectly and allows option to create WiFi hotspots, something that Mac OSX also does adroitly.

Good luck.

I've had good experiences with USB to Ethernet adapters. Even have my HP Stream7 connected to the Internet that way, including through one that includes a USB hub.

Reading your description - especially the part about disabling everything - it sounds like you are trying to take control of things too much.

Windows 10 is designed to work best in a certain context and in my experience it is best to stick with that context. In particular you had better let it set yourself up with a Cloud account. When I originally installed Windows 8 I tried to use only local accounts like on Windows 7. Disaster - whenever I tried to make a non-administrator account it was unusable, logged me out straight away. I went over to using non-administrator cloud accounts and everything worked ok.

I now have two laptops upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8 plus one Windows 10 tablet preinstalled, all done by accepting default values during installation. I have had no problems.

Franglais91 said:

Reading your description - especially the part about disabling everything - it sounds like you are trying to take control of things too much.

Windows 10 is designed to work best in a certain context and in my experience it is best to stick with that context. In particular you had better let it set yourself up with a Cloud account. When I originally installed Windows 8 I tried to use only local accounts like on Windows 7. Disaster - whenever I tried to make a non-administrator account it was unusable, logged me out straight away. I went over to using non-administrator cloud accounts and everything worked ok.

I now have two laptops upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 8 plus one Windows 10 tablet preinstalled, all done by accepting default values during installation. I have had no problems.

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Actually, the problem with non-administrator accounts isn't new to Windows 10 and isn't specifically related to local accounts. It used to happen a lot with Vista and still happens with 8.1 and 10. It happens when you have a corrupted registry, which you can find and correct. That's not exactly fun but hardly a disaster. It happens. A lot.

Windows doesn't handle multiple accounts very well, since back in the 1980s and 90s Microsoft never anticipated multiple users on a single PC. Every user would have their own PC. In contrast, UNIX was always built around the concept of networking and multiple account, which is why I've never seen similar problems with OS X, BSD or Linux.

Sometimes it's easier to assume a problem is related to a new version of Windows rather than being a fundamental, recurring bug in every version of Windows.

For the record, no Windows 10 user needs to login to a Microsoft account, except if they're using the App Store, which is something a software Ghost Town anyway - very few quality or well supported first party apps but lots of dubious third party junk. If you're using Windows 10 as a tradition desktop platform, I'd actually advise against ever logging into a Microsoft Account or OneDrive. Use a local account.

Good advice.

The reality of W10 and others is the continual prompting to be signed in across the entity's universe the entire time one is on the computer. Master account, Office, OneDrive, OneCloud, Mail, Store ...

It's not just Microsoft. Apple, Google, Amazon, Mailbird, Adobe, Firefox now even has a sign-in account prompt regularly. Almost every entity offers and urges a cloud experience. Takes some discipline to resist.

CAcreeks said:

My new XPS 15 9550 arrived today, prematurely, and in an unbelievably small box. I guess Dell is taking Q4 revenue!

Anyway, it supposedly had W10 Home pre-installed. The second page "legal stuff" was at least 20 pages long and said at the top I should read before accepting. WTF?

First I tried custom settings, disabling everything, and when I reached the login page it said my account had been disabled, contact my administrator, which is me.

Then I tried to customize using Express settings, but it went into a black screen (trackpad still worked). Same with using Custom settings but leaving everything enabled. A rather old post on tenforums.com complains of this issue, but so far has no answer.

So Scott Eaton is probably correct, W10 is not ready for prime time. Or maybe Dell installed it wrong. Who knows. Anyway, I was able to disable UEFI secure mode (F12 at power on, menu pick) and boot Linux Mint from a USB stick. After this experience, I really don't care to waste any more time with W10. And I can stop reading about it!

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There lies your problem, you disabled everything.

"The reality of W10 and others is the continual prompting to be signed in across the entity's universe the entire time one is on the computer. Master account, Office, OneDrive, OneCloud, Mail, Store ..."

I only get signin prompts on my systems when I change the password on the associated account, which I do every 3 months. Tedious but a necessary precaution. (Onedrive, Google, Apple, Facebook, Work, My Customer, DPReview, my NAS, etc.).

I also have change the Cloud passwords on my terminal devices (Android phone, IPAD, Android tablet). The whole point of using the Cloud is to have some of my data in one place accessible from all my terminals. In my case its Onedrive which I access via my Cloud login. Makes no sense to use a local account.

Paulmorgan said:

CAcreeks said:

My new XPS 15 9550 arrived today, prematurely, and in an unbelievably small box. I guess Dell is taking Q4 revenue!

Anyway, it supposedly had W10 Home pre-installed. The second page "legal stuff" was at least 20 pages long and said at the top I should read before accepting. WTF?

First I tried custom settings, disabling everything, and when I reached the login page it said my account had been disabled, contact my administrator, which is me.

Then I tried to customize using Express settings, but it went into a black screen (trackpad still worked). Same with using Custom settings but leaving everything enabled. A rather old post on tenforums.com complains of this issue, but so far has no answer.

So Scott Eaton is probably correct, W10 is not ready for prime time. Or maybe Dell installed it wrong. Who knows. Anyway, I was able to disable UEFI secure mode (F12 at power on, menu pick) and boot Linux Mint from a USB stick. After this experience, I really don't care to waste any more time with W10. And I can stop reading about it!

Click to expand...

There lies your problem, you disabled everything.

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That's not the case at all. If anything, limiting Microsoft's data collection and invasive telemetry makes for a more stable, less resource intensive operating system.

Cariboou said:

Honestly if I was You, already packed the laptop and send back to Dell, I think in the new computer one time you plug the power and turn on the computer, the computer go to connect with Microsoft where you can create an account, and after this process you can use your Windows 10, install your program and start to have a fun!

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I would do this, except the hinge-spring broke on my 8-year old laptop, and I need a new one.

Cariboou said:

Send back with a not nice letter. Hoping you solve soon your problems. Happy New Year

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Thanks, Cariboou. I had a very nice hike with my kids instead of watching the Rose Bowl.

It sure takes a long time to download the Windows 10 ISO! It is at least 3x as large as the Linux Mint ISO.

CAcreeks said:

Mint 17.3 does not yet support the DW1820A wireless card, which is a rebadged Broadcom 4350. The XPS 15 9550 does not have an Ethernet port, and I need the network to download optional software packages.

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I'm really liking the look of 17.3. As soon as the Xfce version is released, I'll be upgrading my laptop and replacing Xubuntu on my HTPC.

CAcreeks said:

Alternatively I could open up the chassis ans substitute an Intel 7265 BT/WiFi card, $28 at Amazon.

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The sounds like a plan -- you're screwed without WiFi or Ethernet. In fact, I'd add the wifi card and invest in a USB3->Ethernet adapter, just to be safe

The XPS 15 sounds really nice but I'm disappointed at the lack of Ethernet out-of-the-box.

noflashplease said:

For the record, no Windows 10 user needs to login to a Microsoft account, except if they're using the App Store

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A minor exception to this is if one signs up for the Insider program; Insider logins have to use a Microsoft account.

noflashplease said:

, which is something a software Ghost Town anyway - very few quality or well supported first party apps but lots of dubious third party junk. If you're using Windows 10 as a tradition desktop platform, I'd actually advise against ever logging into a Microsoft Account or OneDrive. Use a local account.

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I agree. All my non-Insider devices use local accounts.

malch said:

Member said:

Mint 17.3 does not yet support the DW1820A wireless card, which is a rebadged Broadcom 4350. The XPS 15 9550 does not have an Ethernet port, and I need the network to download optional software packages.

Click to expand...

I'm really liking the look of 17.3. As soon as the Xfce version is released, I'll be upgrading my laptop and replacing Xubuntu on my HTPC.

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Arch Linux offers Xfce for you and Cinnamon for me. Arch might support the Broadcom 4350 now, but uses an alternate installation method, pacman. It's already hard enough keeping track of YaST versus Aptitude.

I wonder, why did Dell put a Broadcom 4350 in there, instead of using a tried-and-true Intel card? Maybe it cost less, or performs better. Anyway it's a PITA for Linux users.

Member said:

Member said:

Alternatively I could open up the chassis and substitute an Intel 7265 BT/WiFi card, $28 at Amazon.

Click to expand...

The sounds like a plan -- you're screwed without WiFi or Ethernet. In fact, I'd add the wifi card and invest in a USB3->Ethernet adapter, just to be safe

Click to expand...

Ha ha!

CAcreeks said:

digital ed said:

I did 5 upgrades to Win 10 on desktops, laptops and tablets using a Win 10 ISO on a USB stick. Zero install problems other than a couple of incompatible driver situations that were ultimately corrected. Good luck with your Win 10 adventure.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reassuring words, Ed.

This is not an upgrade, it is an install from the Windows 10 ISO, which I just downloaded and copied to thumb drive.

I'm hoping everything is self-evident because I can't find good instructions anywhere.

Click to expand...

The Win 10 forum would b a good place to start.


Regards Patsym

Patsy Murphy said:

Patsy Murphy said:

I'm hoping everything is self-evident because I can't find good instructions anywhere.

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The Win 10 forum would b a good place to start.

http://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-windows-10-clean-install.html

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Thanks Patsym, but here is a sentence from my original post:
"A rather old post on tenforums.com complains of this issue, but so far has no answer."

Russell Evans posted good instructions in this thread, which I will use when the W10 ISO finishes downloading. Thanks!

P.S. Interesting that Microsoft's MediaCreationTool.exe fails to recognize a Sandisk Cruzer USB drive, so I have to download the ISO and copy it. The Dell BIOS did recognize the USB drive when it had Linux Mint on it.