Restored the recovery functionality of the Asus T100TA tablet

I finally decided to sell my Asus T100 tablet. That's because it is slow (Atom platform  is slow) and the keyboard was broken. (Read about that here) When I contacts Asus, they told me that they weren't selling the keyboard dock separately. Bastards!

I waited to see if Windows 10 can magically make the tablet experience awesome. But an Atom will always be an Atom. Windows 10 was also too slow for me on it. And I frequently got BSODs.

So it is going out of the house. That is final.

Instead of auctioning, I decided to it to Sofmap. I had no idea how much money I would receive due to the malfunctioning keyboard and the various scratch marks on the body of the tablet, but I wanted to give it a try. If Sofmap wasn’t prepared to offer a reasonable amount of money, I would go back to my regular method: Rakuten Auctions.

First things first though. I needed to load factory defaults of the tablet. I was running Windows 10 on it and I wanted to go back to Windows 8.1 that it originally came with. I tried resetting from the Settings app, and it reset back to Windows 10, and not 8.1 I don't have any recovery media to do a manual recovery either.

[Rant] Still could not get rid of the Dell Latitude 10 Tablet (part 4)

The story so far.

Part 1: Found out that recovery was broken after upgrading to Windows 8.1

Part 2: Reinstalling Windows

Part 3: Making a Recovery Partition

 

With both methods coming to a dead end (part 3 above), I didn't know what to do. This was last Thursday. I was hoping to go to Akihabara to sell the tablet on Saturday (16th of November). But with only 2 days to go and no solution, I gave one last shot. I had to put my faith on Google Gods.

After searching the internet for a while I came across a forum post which sounded promising. Apparently one guy had created a tool to automate the job in method 2 which I mentioned in part 3 of the story.

The tool is called Anarethos Recovery Tools with Media Creator. I didn't if it would work though. However, that tool has been in development for a long time and that pushed my hopes up.

I went to his website and downloaded the tool which came in the form of an file archive. I extracted the archive. I also downloaded the manual from the same location. There weren't a lot of instructions in it, so I couldn't understand how to begin at first. Without understanding all of it, I tried the instructions one by one. Then things became quite clear to me.

[Rant] Still could not get rid of the Dell Latitude 10 Tablet (part 3)

The story so far

Part 1: Found out that recovery was broken after upgrading to Windows 8.1

Part 2: Reinstalling Windows

 

Let me sum up what’s happened so far.

 

The factory recovery functionality of my Dell tablet broken when I upgraded to Windows 8.1. The usual things like going back to Windows 8 or reinstalling the recovery software didn’t fix it. I want to sell the tablet. I don’t care for anything else. But to sell the tablet, I have to have recovery working.

 

I decided to do it on my own and I removed everything on the tablet and installed Windows 8 from a MSDN disk image using the OEM key. So far so good.

 

I had come across two ways to make it work. Note that I have not tried either way before in my life. So the chances of things going wrong was pretty high.

 

Custom Refresh Image

 

The first method was to make a custom Refresh image. That’s quite easy. First, setup the OS the way you want. Then use the following command to make an image.

 

Everything You Need to Know About Creating Custom Recovery Images for Windows 8

 

 

[Rant] Still could not get rid of the Dell Latitude 10 Tablet (part 2)

Read part 1 of the story here first.

Now that I didn't have anything in the primary storage drive, I had to use a bootable Windows 8 USB drive to install Windows. I have access to MSDN so getting hold of a 32bit Windows 8 ISO file was not a problem. I decided to install the Japanese version of Windows 8 even though the tablet originally came with the English version. I wanted to sell the tablet and I didn’t want to see it being devaluated because it had the English OS.

However, I had never attempted to install Windows on the tablet with a bootable USB drive because I was afraid that I would screw up the partition structure. I always mounted the ISO file in Windows and ran the setup from there. You can do that, because of the way Windows is deployed nowadays. From past experience, I knew that the MSDN ISO files did work with the OEM CD key embedded on the tablet’s ACPI strings. There was no need to enter it manually.

 

[Rant] Still could not get rid of the Dell Latitude 10 Tablet (part 1)

Before I bought my Asus tablet, I checked with the shops if I would be able sell the Dell tablet. Otherwise I would be stuck in a spot of bother having an extra tablet that was not used for anything. Even though there was a chance for me to sell the tablet, there was one problem. The factory restore functionality was broken.

It all started a while back when I tried out Windows 8.1 Preview on it but I managed to fix it. However, the situation got elevated when I updated to Window 8.1. Apparently, when you update Windows 8 to 8.1, the inbuilt recovery features (Reset and Refresh) that uses an image stored in the recovery partition break. That sucks! However, the updated version of Dell Backup and Recovery software could fix it and repair the recovery functionality.

 

I launched recovery and it went on fine. When the recovery finished and rebooted to enter the OOBE where you configure the initial settings such as PC name, user accounts and Wi-Fi network, I shutdown the tablet and stored it back in the box it came in to sell on Monday. I thought nothing could go wrong hereafter. Recovery was working, right?

 

How wrong I was!!!

 

[Rant] Dell backup and recovery stopped working again on my Latitude 10 Essentials tablet

When I first updates to Windows 8.1 Preview, Dell Backup and Recovery stopped working properly. I could not use it to restore the factory backup image. I resolved it by reinstalling Windows from another Windows 8 32bit ISO. I didn't even have to burn it to a disc or make a bootable USB drive. Simply mounting the ISO file as a disc drive (native feature Windows 8) and running the setup sufficed. After that I downloaded and reinstalled Backup and Recovery software and it worked. 

Couple of months ago, I installed Windows 8.1 RTM on the tablet. Since it wasn't released at that time, I had to use the ISO image downloaded from MSDN to install it. But that completely broke the recovery functionality. When I used it, it would go into the Windows recovery environment and halts there. That's the same thing that happened last time too. I didn't worry about that so much at that time. 

But the tablet is too slow for my needs. It also seems to work erroneously at times. Basically, it doesn't seem to like Windows 8.1 that much. In fact, Windows 8.1 seems to run slower than Windows 8 on it. I even updated the firmware and drivers. Didn't improve anything. So I'm thinking of selling this and getting a newer tablet. Which means, I need to restore it to the original state. Which means, I need to get Backup and Recovery working. 

I tried many times to see if it would magically start to work. Nah! Magic and I never go together.

Then I updated the Backup and Recovery software as a new one that supports Windows 8.1 has come out. That's version 1.6.1.1) That didn't do any good either. I reinstalled Windows 8 32bit from an ISO file I downloaded from MSDN to see if it would fix the issue like it did the last time. No, it didn't want to recreate the joy. However, it let me create the recovery flash drive. Last time, it didn't work either. Still, I couldn't get it to work. One USB port isn't enough on the tablet. The keyboard attached to my desktop PC has two USB ports (v1.1 though) but devices plugged into it stops working after a while when plugged into the tablet. No such issue when the keyboard is plugged into the desktop PC though. Maybe the current given through the tablet's USB port isn't enough to drive more than one device, which means getting a non-powered USB hub won't work either. So basically I don't know how to get it to work without a powered USB hub. Do I need to get one of that too??? These tablets are so crippled!

Then I updated to Windows 8.1 from Windows Store. It took many hours for the entire thing to finish. I didn't have to reinstall Dell Backup and Recovery. But after a while something weird happened. Some executable ran in the background and said it is updating the PE environment. It took about 10 minutes to whatever it did. Then I got a message from Backup and Recovery saying that "You seem to have updated to Windows 8.1. If you restore that factory image, you will go back to Windows 8. But if you wanted to make a backup of Windows 8.1, you should upgrade to Backup and Restore Premium". (The exact message is a bit different, but same meaning.) That upgrade costs $40. I didn't to do that. All I wanted was to make it work. After what it did though, I felt it could have fixed the issues. 

So I opened Backup and Recovery and tried to restore to the factory backup. And it worked. Well, I didn't restore it completely. I canceled it before the actual restore process started. But it didn't halt at the Windows Recovery Environment as before. Good!

Next step, find a service that would give me highest money when I sell the tablet.

[Article] Finally managed to fix the broken System Recovery functionality of my Dell Latitude 10 Essentials tablet

Remember I said that I managed to install  a fresh copy of Windows 8 on my broken tablet? Well, I simply reinstalled Dell Backup and Recovery software which I downloaded from Dell, and checked if for some unexplainable reason , the Recovery was working again. To my utmost surprise, it did. 

Luckily, it didn't make the screen work again. So there definitely is a hardware defect. I hope they will replace the tablet I stead of putting in a new screen. 

I still haven't tried making a recovery media. It should work, but I don't wanna waste my 16GB Flash Drive for something that I might not need. Should I get a cheap new 16GB flash drive for this?

One thing I got to understand with all this is that you need more than a single USB port on the tablet. How the heck does the iPad get by with none? Maybe I should buy a cheap USB port hub for the tablet. 

There isn't anything else to tell though. I'm just glad that I managed to get rid of the traces of Windows 8.1 Preview from the tablet. (Hope they don't see this on twitter hehe). Now when can I send it to them? It's been 5 days already. They didn't send me an email yesterday. Assclowns!

[Article] What happened to the original Dell recovery image in my Latitude 10 Essentials?

I still haven’t resolved the issues with my Dell Latitude 10 Essentials tablet. It’s taking too long.

Today I got another email from Dell Support (Japan). This time as a last resort, they were asking me to see if using Windows 8’s recovery environment would fix the recovery issue. Maybe they are thinking that the issue is with their Backup and Recovery software, and I know it isn’t because Windows’ 8’s refresh functionality doesn’t work either.

This is driving me insane. They take a whole day to respond to emails. Their chat support goes off when I come home. What good is having a chat support if people cannot chat when they are at work? They should provide chat support after work hours, right?

Anyways, since they asked, I checked out what they asked me to do. Obviously, it didn’t work. But I needed to show them something. I got the following error by the way. (I wonder if they can read it because English is Greek to these Japanese people.)

They say they cannot fix the recovery thing at their factory either. I don’t understand why that is because it seems like a simple drive cloning. They say that all they can do is to reinstall Windows. And what happens if that goes Kaput? For all I know, it could be their own Recovery functionality that broke the Recovery functionality. But it doesn’t matter, because if the tablet would accept any Windows 8 32bit install media without needing a new serial number (because it should be attached to the BIOS), I can make my own restore partition using this method. I in fact could do it already, but that would completely ruin the chances of fixing the recovery functionality that’s built into the tablet.

I wonder if I can do something about it. Maybe the folks at eightforums can help me out. I’ve already posted it there.

[Article] Dell Latitude 10 Essentials tablet touchscreen issue elevated!

Remember me mentioning in my review (and here) that my tablet had a problem with the touch screen where it would stop accepting any touch inputs after resuming from sleep? I told this to the Dell support personnel over Twitter and their final response was to uninstall the touch screen driver and reinstall it. I had no idea how to do it, but for some word reason, the issue went away for few days without me doing anything. (These devices have ears!)

Well, yesterday it came back and this time it was not a random issue anymore. The touchscreen completely sopped working. Not just after waking up from sleep, but even after a reboot too. That's never happened before.

 

There wasn't much I could do from my end other than to use Factory Reset. First I tried using Windows 8's Refresh feature. For some weird reason, it asked me to enter the installation media!!! That shouldn't happen, as it should be using the source files stored in the Recovery partition. (I have done this before and every time I didn’t have to insert any installation media) Having one USB port is not enough btw. Now that the touch screen was not working, I had to have the mouse plugged to the USB port. So I cannot plug in a USB drive. I could redirect the Refresh source to a custom location as per instructions given here, but that would completely break the default recovery functionality. That's not a good thing in my book.

 

[Review] Dell Latitude 10 Essentials Windows 8 tablet user review–part 4: bundled bloat ware, Windows 8.1 compatibility, recovery and firmware updates

This is the part 4 of the Dell Latitude 10 Essentials Windows 8 tablet user review. This one is about bundled bloat ware, Windows 8.1 compatibility, recovery and firmware updates.

Note: If you missed the part 1 and 2, click on the following links to read them.

Part 1: Ease of holding the tablet and look & feel

Part 2: Usability

Part 3: The performance, the camera and battery life

OK, let’s get on with this section then.

Bundled bloat ware

 

Amazingly Dell doesn't bundle too many bloat ware with the tablet. It comes with their backup software (Dell Backup and Recovery) and some data protection software (Dell Data Access Protection, which I had to remove when updating to Windows 8.1 Preview), but I've never used them. Windows comes with its own backup and encryption software. Why would I need anything else? I know that you can remove the Data Access Protection software but I don't know if you remove the backup software it would ruin the recovery functionality. They are harmless and don't really affect the performance, so I would leave them as they are.

 

Windows 8.1 compatibility

 

I installed Windows 8.1 Preview using the  update method and it works fine. But I had a hiccup in the first attempt and succeeded the second time. I'm really looking forwards to the final version of Windows 8.1. It would hopefully make the tablet experience much better.

Running Windows 8.1 Preview as a boss

 

With 8.1 Preview, things work well, but the crashes are imminent. It's not the tablet's fault anyways.

 

Recovery

 

I believe you can use Dell's own Backup and Recovery software, but I would rather use the Refresh functionality provided by Windows 8. It works very well with this tablet. You don't have to provide any install media because it is built right into the system. I had to use it once when I was updating to Windows 8.1 Preview.

 

Firmware updates

 

I have updated the firmware twice after getting the tablet. DELL doesn't provide frequent updates but it seems like one get released once every couple of months. Updating the firmware is straightforward. You just download the EXE from DELL's product support page (here’s a clutter free page) and run it. The tablet automatically reboots and goes into the UEFI environment (you can manually access UEFI if you connect a USB keyboard and press F2 at the time of POST) and updates the firmware from there.

 

UEFI screen

 

After that's done, the tablet automatically restarts and you are done. But don't forget to read the description on the firmware update because sometimes you will have to update the drivers as well.

 

Shame they haven't released any firmware update to fix the crappy audio quality problem. Maybe it is not fixable with a firmware update.

Finally: problems, short falls and the conclusion

Want to install Windows 7 from hard disk instead of the disc ?

Found a guide online and I made my own video tutorial. Videos ftw!

No need to look for the installation disc every time something goes wrong. You will always have the installation files on the hard disk.

Install Windows 7 from hard disk (launch from bootup menu)