Is it possible to copy the (Dell Diagnostics) OEM partition to a new hard drive?

[lishaohua]

I'm not sure where to put this question, but this seemed to be as good of a section as any, since the computer in question was originally a Windows 7 computer - which included a Dell Diagnostics OEM partition on it.

A while back, I had bought a solid-state drive and installed Windows 7 on it, and then I upgraded to Windows 10 when it became available in July. I kept the original internal hard disk drive, formatted it, and connected it as a slave drive. Even though it was formatted, I still see now - in Disk Management - that the (39 MB) "OEM partition" is present. I didn't know what it was previously, so I looked it up, and apparently it is for Dell Diagnostics, that can be run if F11 or F12 is pressed during boot-up. However, it can now no longer be used because it is on the slave drive and not the boot drive.

Question #1: Does the pre-boot Dell Diagnostics tool still work when upgrading from Windows 7 to Windows 10? For example, if I had kept using the original hard disk drive which had the original OEM partition on it, and then upgraded to Windows 10 on that drive, would the Dell Diagnostics still work on it now?

Question #2: If the answer to Question #1 is "yes", my second question is then: Is it really that important to have the Dell Diagnostics tool? I don't recall ever using it before - although I might have done so and not remembered it - and I have gotten in the habit of keeping AOMEI Backupper disk backups in case I have any major problems, so that I can just revert to a previous backup without having to do a re-installation or some seriously heavy debugging/error-checking.

Question #3: If the answer to Questions #1 and #2 are both "yes", then the last question, Question #3, is the question asked in the thread title: Is it possible to copy the Dell Diagnostics OEM partition to a new hard drive? I am planning to do a clean install of Windows on the same solid-state drive - which would involve re-installing Windows 7 before upgrading once again to Windows 10 - and this time, I was wondering if it would be possible to copy the OEM partition from the original hard disk drive (now the slave drive) to the solid-state drive before doing the installation... so that I would have the Dell Diagnostics available once again.

Thanks again to the people here who help out. I've been grateful for all the assistance I've received here.



My computer specifications, if needed, are as follows:

Dell Inspiron 580 (desktop)
Intel Core i3 CPU 550 @ 3.20 GHz
8.0 GB RAM
Windows 10 Home, 64-bit (upgraded from Windows 7 Home Premium, 64-bit)

 

[Samat]

I read that EaseUS Partition Master might be able to copy that OEM partition over. Not sure if it will work though, but you can try? And you don't need to reinstall Windows 7, if you already upgraded to Windows 10 you can do a direct clean install. Just make a Windows 10 USB drive if you don't have one.

And to question 2, that Dell diagnostics tool is for diagnosing hardware problems (scroll down to 'Dell Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA)'). Not sure if it is that important, but it won't hurt having it around though I guess.

 

[lishaohua]

I read that EaseUS Partition Master might be able to copy that OEM partition over. Not sure if it will work though, but you can try? And you don't need to reinstall Windows 7, if you already upgraded to Windows 10 you can do a direct clean install. Just make a Windows 10 USB drive if you don't have one.

And to question 2, that Dell diagnostics tool is for diagnosing hardware problems (scroll down to 'Dell Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA)'). Not sure if it is that important, but it won't hurt having it around though I guess.

Thanks for replying, Samat.

I've heard of EaseUS. Is it different from AOMEI? Since I already have AOMEI, perhaps I could use that instead of installing another similar program?

Regarding the direct re-installation of Windows 10, I thought I read somewhere that it can't be done unless your computer was originally a Windows 10 computer, because the Windows 7 product key won't work on Windows 10 clean installation... maybe I'm mistaken about that. It would certainly be easier doing it that way - if it's possible.

 

[Samat]

I read that EaseUS Partition Master might be able to copy that OEM partition over. Not sure if it will work though, but you can try? And you don't need to reinstall Windows 7, if you already upgraded to Windows 10 you can do a direct clean install. Just make a Windows 10 USB drive if you don't have one.

And to question 2, that Dell diagnostics tool is for diagnosing hardware problems (scroll down to 'Dell Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA)'). Not sure if it is that important, but it won't hurt having it around though I guess.

Thanks for replying, Samat.

I've heard of EaseUS. Is it different from AOMEI? Since I already have AOMEI, perhaps I could use that instead of installing another similar program?

Regarding the direct re-installation of Windows 10, I thought I read somewhere that it can't be done unless your computer was originally a Windows 10 computer, because the Windows 7 product key won't work on Windows 10 clean installation... maybe I'm mistaken about that. It would certainly be easier doing it that way - if it's possible.

I'm not sure if AOEMEI can move these partitions, but you can certainly try.

Since you have already upgraded your computer to Windows 10 once, you can directly install Windows 10 on it now. Install normally from Windows 10 install media but DO NOT enter a product key when installing, activation is tied to your motherboard and it will get automatically activated then it connects to the activation servers. Latest build of Windows 10 can also be installed directly with Windows 7/8(.1) code, you can download this from Microsoft software downloads.

 

[lishaohua]

I read that EaseUS Partition Master might be able to copy that OEM partition over. Not sure if it will work though, but you can try? And you don't need to reinstall Windows 7, if you already upgraded to Windows 10 you can do a direct clean install. Just make a Windows 10 USB drive if you don't have one.

And to question 2, that Dell diagnostics tool is for diagnosing hardware problems (scroll down to 'Dell Pre-Boot System Assessment (PSA)'). Not sure if it is that important, but it won't hurt having it around though I guess.

Thanks for replying, Samat.

I've heard of EaseUS. Is it different from AOMEI? Since I already have AOMEI, perhaps I could use that instead of installing another similar program?

Regarding the direct re-installation of Windows 10, I thought I read somewhere that it can't be done unless your computer was originally a Windows 10 computer, because the Windows 7 product key won't work on Windows 10 clean installation... maybe I'm mistaken about that. It would certainly be easier doing it that way - if it's possible.

I'm not sure if AOEMEI can move these partitions, but you can certainly try.

Since you have already upgraded your computer to Windows 10 once, you can directly install Windows 10 on it now. Install normally from Windows 10 install media but DO NOT enter a product key when installing, activation is tied to your motherboard and it will get automatically activated then it connects to the activation servers. Latest build of Windows 10 can also be installed directly with Windows 7/8(.1) code, you can download this from Microsoft software downloads.

I've decided that the Dell Diagnostics isn't really worth the trouble - since I don't recall ever using it before. Also, I always have the option of re-installation or reverting back to an AOMEI Backupper disk backup in case anything goes wrong. It is possible that the diagnostics is for hardware problems - that re-installation or backups might not solve - but I'll just have to take that chance... since, like I said, I've never needed to run the diagnostics before.

Thanks for the information on doing the Windows 10 re-installation directly. I'm burning the DVD right now. I appreciate all your help, Samat.