General Issues Upgrading Dell Devices to Windows 10

Table of Contents:

1. Before you begin.
2. Upgrading encrypted hard drives to Windows 10
3. Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8
4. Cortana is not available in all regions.
5. Adobe Flash Player not installed in Windows 10
6. Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature does not work on most Dell computers.
7. Intel Wireless Display (WIDI) users may encounter various issues in the Windows 10 operating system.
8. Some tested computers with 32-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 lose touchpad function after upgrade.
9. Upgrade support for devices with low free storage space.
10. Reinstalling Windows 10 after operating system recovery on computers shipped with a previous version of Windows

Before you begin.

Be sure to check our list of Dell computers tested for Windows 10 October 2020 Update and previous versions of Windows 10. If you want to proceed with upgrading or updating an untested computer, see the Microsoft Windows Help website. Microsoft may provide generic drivers for the hardware as part of Windows 10, but some features and functionality may be lost.

Many Windows 10 upgrade issues can be resolved by updating the computer BIOS and drivers after upgrade, and running Windows Update. For updated drivers and BIOS, see our Drivers and Downloads FAQs. For more information about Windows Update, see Microsoft's article, "Windows Update FAQ."

Upgrading encrypted hard drives to Windows 10

If you use data encryption software (such as Dell Data Protection | Encryption) to encrypt your hard drive, Windows 10 upgrade may fail and tell you that your upgrade is being blocked due to the presence of a specific application. To resolve this issue, consult the manufacturer of your encryption solutions as many have steps to transition to Windows 10 with their product in place.

Dell Encryption supports in-place Windows 10 Feature Upgrades as of November 2018 with version 10.1.0 and later. For any questions or concerns, the Dell Encryption team has generated a best practice article for supporting Windows 10 updates, see Knowledgebase article, "DDP | Enterprise Edition & Personal Edition for Windows Best Practices for Windows 10 Upgrade / Migration."

Compatibility for Dell Encryption and Windows Feature Updates can be found at https://www.dell.com/support/article/sln307922.

Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8

For users of Dell Backup and Recovery 1.7 or older, you must update to Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8 BEFORE you upgrade to Windows 10. For more information about Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8, see article Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8: Overview and Install.

Dell Backup and Recovery 1.8 requires an update after a successful upgrade to Windows 10. During the week after Windows 10 has been installed, Dell Backup and Recovery will download and install an over-the-air update that will allow it to work normally in Windows 10. No action is required by the user for this update to take effect.

For more information about this issue, see the Dell Backup and Recovery website.

Cortana is not available in all regions.

For information about why Cortana is not available in all regions, see Dell Knowledgebase article, "Why isn't the Windows 10 Cortana application in my region or language?"

Adobe Flash Player not installed in Windows 10

After a successful upgrade to Windows 10, Adobe Flash Player may appear to not be installed. Microsoft Edge and Google Chrome both have Adobe Flash that is integrated into their application. If you use Mozilla Firefox, you must install the latest version of Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe website.

Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature does not work on most Dell computers.

Windows 10 Hello Facial Recognition feature requires an Intel RealSense or 3D Camera to support facial unlock features.

As of July 14, 2015 only five Dell computers are equipped with an Intel RealSense/3D camera.

• Inspiron 2350
• Inspiron 5457
• Inspiron 5557
• Inspiron 5459
• Inspiron 7459

The only exception to this is the Latitude 3470s and 3570s which use an IR camera also seem to work.

Intel Wireless Display (WIDI) users may encounter various issues in the Windows 10 operating system.

For information about WiDi issues in Windows 10, see Knowledgebase article, "Intel Wireless Display (WIDI) users may encounter various issues in the Windows 10 operating system." (Note: English only)

Some tested computers with 32-bit versions of Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 lose touchpad function after upgrade.

A few computer models that are tested by Dell for Windows 10 upgrade with 32-bit operating systems will lose the function of their touchpad after upgrade. 

Upgrade support for devices with low free storage space.

Devices with smaller hard drives (32 GB or less) or hard drives with low free disk space may receive an error during the Windows 10 upgrade. For more information, see Dell Knowledgebase article, ""Windows needs more space" error during upgrade to Windows 10." (Note: English only)

Reinstalling Windows 10 after operating system recovery on computers shipped with a previous version of Windows

If you must reinstall Windows 10, and your computer was upgraded to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or Windows 8.1, you must reinstall the original operating system and then upgrade to Windows 10 again.

To get backup media for your original operating system, see our Media Backup page.

For instructions on upgrading to Windows 10 from a previous operating system, see our Windows 10 upgrade walkthrough.

Recommended Articles

Here are some recommended articles related to this topic that might be of interest to you.

• Windows 10 upgrade walkthrough
• Dell Computers Tested for Windows 10 2022 Update and Previous Versions of Windows 10
• How to Roll Back Windows 10 Upgrade to a Previous Operating System
• Intel Wireless Display (WiDi) Users May Encounter Various Issues in the Windows 10 Operating System
• Install compatible Windows 8.1 drivers for computers upgrading to Windows 10
• Windows 10 crashes to a blue screen
• How to Troubleshoot Slow Performance Issues

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