XPS 2720 wont boot Windows Normally

[Martell1977]

Dell XPS 2720 wont boot to Windows Boot Manager after power failure. I have to press F12 and select it every time the machine is restarted or turned off. HDD is set to 1st boot device and Windows was corrupted as well but I reinstalled Windows 10.

I haven't updated the BIOS as if they are damaged, I don't want to brick the machine.

 

[boodaddy]

You can try to restore factory deafults in the BIOS, and see if that helps. Usually if it doesn't boot to the boot manager it's a problem with the boot sector on the drive. Did you delete the partition and fresh install when installing Windows, or just install over it?

 

[Martell1977]

I did the command prompt repair of the MBR, then reinstalled Windows over the other. Windows was corrupted and just endlessly blue-screened, so i had to reinstall. I did set the BIOS to factory default and nothing changed.

The BIOS are out of date, but not sure if I should in case they are corrupted as well.

This is not the first time this machine has had MBR issues, think the HDD could be bad or going bad?

 

[boodaddy]

I did the command prompt repair of the MBR, then reinstalled Windows over the other. Windows was corrupted and just endlessly blue-screened, so i had to reinstall. I did set the BIOS to factory default and nothing changed.

The BIOS are out of date, but not sure if I should in case they are corrupted as well.

This is not the first time this machine has had MBR issues, think the HDD could be bad or going bad?

What I would recommend trying first is a fresh install. When installing Windows 10 click on the "Custom: Install Windows Only. (Advanced) button. After that, you will see the partition screen.

Make sure (All) drives except for the OS drive are disconnected before doing this.

Next you will see the partition screen...If you have any other partitions you need to be careful here not to delete the wrong partition. If it's the OS only, and you don't need anything on the drive, I recommend deleting ALL partitions, and then they will merge into one single partition. This will delete the MBR as well which is good.

Don't worry about clicking on format, or new...After the partitions are deleted, and you only see one partition just click on Next.

Keep in mind if you had a partition with files, music, movies...You only want to delete the primary partition. If it's an OS only drive, delete all partitions...After this give it a shot, and get back to me...

Giving the Bios an update is a good thing as well, after your finished with Windows...

 

[gator70]

Same problem with my Dell xps 2720. Update Win not working because apparently the previous Win update deleted the Win OS. I can go into MS DOS command line interface. ** I would like to upgrade my 2TB hdd to a 2TB SSD. Then perform a mirror image.

 

[Martell1977]

Same problem with my Dell xps 2720. Update Win not working because apparently the previous Win update deleted the Win OS. I can go into MS DOS command line interface. ** I would like to upgrade my 2TB hdd to a 2TB SSD. Then perform a mirror image.

This issue ended up being a failing HDD. I contacted the client to try the fresh Windows install and the HDD failed before I could. Luckily the client had backups of all her data so she didn't lose anything.

If your having the same issue and looking to change to a 2TB SSD, then it's a good idea as the HDD is likely dying anyways.

 

[gator70]

Same problem with my Dell xps 2720. Update Win not working because apparently the previous Win update deleted the Win OS. I can go into MS DOS command line interface. ** I would like to upgrade my 2TB hdd to a 2TB SSD. Then perform a mirror image.

This issue ended up being a failing HDD. I contacted the client to try the fresh Windows install and the HDD failed before I could. Luckily the client had backups of all her data so she didn't lose anything.

If your having the same issue and looking to change to a 2TB SSD, then it's a good idea as the HDD is likely dying anyways.

Which 2TB SSD is recommended for our Dell XPS 2720. I contacted Crucible and Dell and both replied no SSD.

 

[gator70]

I was told by tech assistance that this ssd was not compatible with our XPS 27” AIO 2720

Crucial MX300 1TB SATA 2.5
Crucial MX300 1TB SATA 2.5" 7mm (with 9.5mm adapter) Internal SSD
1 x $289.99

I presently have a failing 2T hdd

 

[Martell1977]

Not sure why it would be incompatible, just take out the HDD and replace it with the SSD. However, the 2720 also has a SSD (not a 2.5" drive though) already in it and it's set for a RAID setup to act like a high speed cache. You would need to disable that, then you could replace the HDD with an SSD, and the 32gb SSD with a larger one.

Use Crucial's system scanner to see what compatible upgrades they have. It says it's for RAM upgrades, but it shows SSD options as well.
http://www.crucial.com/
I use the system scanner often on my clients various machines and Crucial is a reputable company.