Source
r/Dell•
Emman262

Should I clean install my Dell XPS 17?

Discussion

So my replacement laptop is arriving today (fingers crossed for no defects) and I was wondering if it was safe to clean install. Those who have cleaned install their Dell XPS 17, is everything fine with it?

Posted Jul 17, 2020, 1:33 PM UTC

04
modernlife73•

No problems with mine. Two things that I remember:

  • Install the Realtek audio drivers from the Dell site. The ones installed by Windows just produced a static noise.
  • If you do want to install any of the Dell apps, some of them require some registry updates so that the Microsoft Store recognises the laptop as a valid device. I can provide what I used if needed.
3
Emman262OP•

Good to hear! I'm kinda confused on what registry updates are tho. Is it something I download from the Dell or Microsoft website?

1
modernlife73•

I can't remember where I found the fix but it wasn't the Dell site. It's basically a batch file that will identify what the make and model of your laptop is and then add some registry entries with these details. You'll only need it if you want to install some of the Dell apps that are only available on the Microsoft store - you'll see an error about the device being incompatible or similar without them and it won't let you install.

1
onefish2•

Keep in many of the installed Dell apps are Windows Store apps. They are sandboxed and very easy to uninstall. The only regular app that I got rid of was McAfee as I do not like it and its a resource hog.

2