How to Prepare to Restore Pre-installed Windows 10 if system wiped by accident

[wheelingbruce]

Hi All,
My Dell Aurora R6 came preinstalled with Windows 10 HOME-HE 64bit. I'm going to attempt a dual boot with my Windows 7 Pro 64bit OEM disc I bought a while back. I don't want to reinstall Windows 10. I've had the pc for a year now and all data is backed up. But before I even attempt the dual boot process which I've heard mixed reviews of it working, I want to prepare for a catastrophic meltdown in which Windows 10 doesn't boot, is erased completely, etc. My pc didn't come with a Windows disc like my other computers did. It also doesn't have a license key like all the others. It came with zero documentation except for how to turn it on.

So assuming a complete disaster happens when I try to install Windows 7, is there a way, beforehand, that I can back up not just my files but the entire system so that it's as if I never screwed it up? How do I install the preinstalled windows if I don't have the Windows 10 disc? I've read articles about how to put the windows 10 installation files on a usb drive, and also how to make system images on an external drive. What I'm worried about is that these articles were talking about store bought copies of Windows 10 and didn't mention if their process would work with preinstalled Windows 10 on my Dell.

Also, as a bonus, has anyone had success starting with a pre-installed Windows 10 and then installing Windows 7 on a separate hard drive?

Any help would be appreciated.

Specs:
Alienware Aurora R6
i7-7700
16gb Ram ddr4
Windows 10 HOME-HE 64 bit (preinstalled on M.2 PCIe SSD)
500gb Samsung 850 EVO SSD (where I want to put Windows 7)
1tb 7200rpm 6gb/s (for storage)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 video card

 

[Paul NZ]

Get the mediacreation tool and download the ISO. Then either use rufus to put it on a flash drive. Or burn it to a dvd

Normally you install Win7 / the earliest version then the latest.

And normally if you want to dual boot, you can either create 2 partitions on the same hdd then install Win7 then Win 10.

Or use 2 different hdd's connect both of them, install the earliest first update it then install the latest on the other hdd / update it.

Then it should give you the option to select either OS when you turn it on

For me I would install both Win7 and 10 on the same hdd on different partitions. If the hdd is big enough

If you use 2 different hdds for 2 OS's (and if both arent connected, when you install windows), you'll have to go into the BIOS all the time (or press whatever F key to get the bootmenu), to boot into the OS you want to use

Unless you type in some command to fix it. So you dont have to

 

[wheelingbruce]

Get the mediacreation tool and download the ISO. Then either use rufus to put it on a flash drive. Or burn it to a dvd

Normally you install Win7 / the earliest version then the latest.

And normally if you want to dual boot, you can either create 2 partitions on the same hdd then install Win7 then Win 10.

Or use 2 different hdd's connect both of them, install the earliest first update it then install the latest on the other hdd / update it.

Then it should give you the option to select either OS when you turn it on

For me I would install both Win7 and 10 on the same hdd on different partitions. If the hdd is big enough

If you use 2 different hdds for 2 OS's (and if both arent connected, when you install windows), you'll have to go into the BIOS all the time (or press whatever F key to get the bootmenu), to boot into the OS you want to use

Unless you type in some command to fix it. So you dont have to

Thank you for your response! I'm worried about installing windows 7 after the preinstalled windows 10. So what if I wipe out Windows 10. Then install windows 7 on one drive. Then reinstall windows 10 on the original drive. What worries me is that my windows 10 installation has software specific to alienware that I don't want to lose. Plus I don't want to have to reinstall all the programs again if possible.

So would this work?:
1) Create system image of my current Windows 10 setup (all my files, programs, os stuff, etc)
2) Create a bootable usb using mediacreation tool for windows 10
3) Format the Windows 10 drive leaving me with no operating system installed
4) Install Windows 7 on a separate hard drive (update it)
5) Install Windows 10 on original drive using Boot usb I made earlier
6) Restore my windows 10 installation with the system image I created earlier.

Will this get me back to my current windows 10 installation with alienware software and all other programs. Basically, exactly as if I never touched it?

 

[Paul NZ]

I have no idea if the image will work. I've never created one myself

Cant you re-download / then reinstall the dell programs from the Dell site?

 

[wheelingbruce]

I have no idea if the image will work. I've never created one myself

Cant you re-download / then reinstall the dell programs from the Dell site?

I appreciate your help. I just found out my i7 processor isn't compatible with windows 7 so it wouldn't work anyway. Thanks though

 

[Paul NZ]

Well it is compatible the prob is MS made it so you cant update Win7, if you use a Kaby Lake. But there is a way of fixing this