[REQUEST] My First (and probably my Last ever) Dell AIO

[Gegen Stück]

So a work colleague asks me to have a look at her home PC. Unfortunately her "PC" is a Dell Inspiron 2320 AIO
I'm totally not a fan of AIO kit and the last / only time I "fixed" a Dell AIO was by doing a factory reset. Backed up the data with Fabs, of course.

This one shipped with W7 home and a ton of Dell software & drivers. It then was updated using the GWX to Windows 10 and has been working fine until a power outage - It is now doing the Automatic repair failed - Reboot loop.
System Restore fails too as the OS now shows as E: whereas Restore Point dated 2/2/19 shows Windows was on C: ???
Dell shows no W10 support for this model (Tag 5JQQ9Q1) I presume the TV mode works via media player?

So...
1. Do I revert it back to w7 if the Dell recovery partition works , then update to 10?
2. Wipe the drive and do a clean install of w10 and hope to find drivers & software?

 

[frase]

Could be a bad drive as well, best to disassemble and check HDD, I use CrystalDiskInfo.
Easy to take apart - just six screws on the bottom and lift back cover, there may be clips at the top of bezel. Carefully use a pry tool to unclip back from bezel.

If drive is ok Nuke n Pave, I wouldnt worry about the software as is just bloat Dell crap. Win10 should pick up drivers automatically, if not use Snappy Driver.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Make sure the hardware is fine and then just nuke and install Windows 10. Stop freaking over it being an AIO. It's a PC just any other pc that needs drivers. You are making it harder than it is. Windows will very likely find the drivers just fine. If not then you should have Snappy Driver Installer Origin to help with missing drivers. Or just hit the Dell website punch in the ser # and download the proper drivers beforehand.

 

[fincoder]

2. Wipe the drive and do a clean install of w10 and hope to find drivers & software?

This.

If the customer doesn't supply a Windows 10 recovery drive or system image (I've never had that happen) then clean install it is. Drivers aren't a problem, Snappy Driver Installer Origin and/or Windows Update sort out those.

Regarding Dell supplied software, some might be available on the Dell download page for that model but this is unlikely. It might be possible to find the software installers on the drive and save them for reinstall.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Dell software is all bloatware. you don't want any of that crap.

 

[carmen617]

Doesn't matter if the drive passes tests - replace it with an appropriately sized SSD and put a clean copy of 10 on there. Client will be happy, system will boot and run hugely better, you will be a hero. Haven't seen an AIO from Dell that wouldn't run 10 smoothly, regardless of whether Dell says it's supported or not.

I used to hate AIOs and say they had all the disadvantages of a desktop (big and immobile) with all the disadvantages of a laptop (cramped space, custom components). But actually I've come around - it's kind of nice to have a large screen desktop that takes up minimal physical space and doesn't create a spaghetti tangle of wires. Dell and HP manage to make consumer AIOs that are relatively easy to disassemble and upgrade with SSDs. I think it's a fine way for a home user to go.

 

[timeshifter]

Doesn't matter if the drive passes tests - replace it with an appropriately sized SSD and put a clean copy of 10 on there. Client will be happy, system will boot and run hugely better, you will be a hero. Haven't seen an AIO from Dell that wouldn't run 10 smoothly, regardless of whether Dell says it's supported or not.

I used to hate AIOs and say they had all the disadvantages of a desktop (big and immobile) with all the disadvantages of a laptop (cramped space, custom components). But actually I've come around - it's kind of nice to have a large screen desktop that takes up minimal physical space and doesn't create a spaghetti tangle of wires. Dell and HP manage to make consumer AIOs that are relatively easy to disassemble and upgrade with SSDs. I think it's a fine way for a home user to go.

I agree with everything you said and could have written the same myself.

I've been pleasantly surprised over the last couple of years how easy it is to work on all-in-one PCs (not Apple). The HP and Dell units I've upgraded are really simple once you know how to crack them open.

And as others have said, put in an SSD. Screw that old drive! A 250GB SSD is $50. The time spent backing up the spinner is better spent on the SSD.

Oh, and all the things you're complaining about in the OP are not related to it being an all-in-one.

 

[Markverhyden]

Ditto on the SSD. Dirt cheap and those aren't too difficult to replace on most Wintel AIO's. That's an Inspiron 2320 which is pretty old so an SSD will have a noticeable impact.

 

[Porthos]

Drive passed ok, just waiting for Macrium to finish cloning.

Who cares. replace with a SSD.

Easy to take apart - just six screws on the bottom and lift back cover, there may be clips at the top of bezel. Carefully use a pry tool to unclip back from bezel.

This one is.

put a clean copy of 10 on there.

Excatly.

 

[frase]

I actually enjoy taking apart AIO's - maybe I am crazy. It ticks ones brain as to how they are put together, most are similar though.

 

[Porthos]

WLMail

I am using eMclient now. The WLmail users like it and it is not EOL. Free for up to 2 mail accounts.

 

[sapphirescales]

I used to hate AIOs and say they had all the disadvantages of a desktop (big and immobile) with all the disadvantages of a laptop (cramped space, custom components). But actually I've come around - it's kind of nice to have a large screen desktop that takes up minimal physical space and doesn't create a spaghetti tangle of wires.

AIO's do have all the disadvantages of a laptop with no portability. Yes it's nice to have a large screen, but to me it's not worth the hassle when something goes wrong to mess with them. I want to be able to upgrade or replace more than just my RAM/HDD/SSD. I would NEVER recommend an AIO for business use. If something goes down you can't just fix it easily. Half the time when an AIO goes down in a business I have to just replace the whole unit. I don't want to be a computer replacer. It's too easy for Walmart or Amazon to steal my job.

When one of my business clients has a motherboard die, I want to just be able to swap the thing in 20 minutes and be done with it. When there's an issue with the screen, I want to be able to just put another one in its place. An AIO is just a big laptop that you can't take around with you. Similarly, an iPad is just a big iPhone that can't make a call. I have nothing against laptops. I fix them every day. But I prefer desktops and I prefer REAL desktops in business environments because when something DOES go wrong, downtime for the business is minimal, profits for me are higher, and costs are lower for both myself and my client.

 

[Porthos]

Media Center for the TV.

Does that not get removed and have to be reinstalled after each feature update? Luckily I have no clients using it so I do not know.

 

[frase]

AIO's do have all the disadvantages of a laptop with no portability. Yes it's nice to have a large screen, but to me it's not worth the hassle when something goes wrong to mess with them. I want to be able to upgrade or replace more than just my RAM/HDD/SSD. I would NEVER recommend an AIO for business use. If something goes down you can't just fix it easily. Half the time when an AIO goes down in a business I have to just replace the whole unit. I don't want to be a computer replacer. It's too easy for Walmart or Amazon to steal my job.

When one of my business clients has a motherboard die, I want to just be able to swap the thing in 20 minutes and be done with it. When there's an issue with the screen, I want to be able to just put another one in its place. An AIO is just a big laptop that you can't take around with you. Similarly, an iPad is just a big iPhone that can't make a call. I have nothing against laptops. I fix them every day. But I prefer desktops and I prefer REAL desktops in business environments because when something DOES go wrong, downtime for the business is minimal, profits for me are higher, and costs are lower for both myself and my client.

I just did the exact same thing for a business here. Built an 8th Gen system with SSD and supplied a 27" Monitor.

 

[pcpete]

As already said, just get rid of that crappy drive, over the last two years our profits are up over 80% (in a supposedly dying industry) due to upgrading the majority of everything that comes through our shop with an ssd.

 

[frase]

no I disagree - a SSD might help - though still stuck with bottleneck CPU on older AIO. No use pumping $$ into them, just build or source a new current gen PC. A laptop or desktop yes, though wouldn't even bother with AIO.

 

[brandonkick]

Yes I agree with the comments above.
Some people just don't want to learn how to use new software. If ti was mine, or a paying customer, I would have installed Thunderbird, Plex or Media Portal 2, and put in an SSD. The original old 2TB could live in a caddy,.or the trash.
Of course there was no backup of like 6 years of photos, documents etc

Did you get the contents of the old drive and migrate the data (pictures, docs, favorites) over to the new drive? Even with windows not booting, you can still run fabs against the old drive..

 

[sapphirescales]

Apologies for not updating...

Yes, Fabs & SDI saved the day. And of course 5 days later the drive failed totally making a screeching / rattle noise and not showing in BIOS
Fortunately I still had the data backed up, so put in an 500gb SSD ( Just like everybody here said I should do.) Wow.
Did she bleat about only having 500gb and not 2tb ! Who cares about the vast speed improvement and the quieter running.
So she got billed for another spinning 2tb and I kept the SSD.

That's what happens if you don't explain it properly. I would have quoted a 2TB SSD or a 2TB external hard drive and let her choose between those two options. I refuse to install spinners as OS drives these days. It just makes no sense.

 

[Porthos]

Did she bleat about only having 500gb and not 2tb !

Many clients only see the size of the drive as the part of a computer that makes it "special". They see that it is like a downgrade even if they even after years of use they only are using 40-60 gigs of the space with data if even that much.

 

[JoeTech]

Many clients only see the size of the drive as the part of a computer that makes it "special". They see that it is like a downgrade even if they even after years of use they only are using 40-60 gigs of the space with data if even that much.

I also get the "But what if I decide I want to start storing more stuff and then run out of space?" They won't ever start doing that but it just seems to make them feel better that they have that extra space.