<div>
Hi Mark,<br />
<br />
I have not run into this situation before, but when I looked up .WIM files (windows image), I found MS does indeed have software to &quot;deploy&quot; these files:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj979425(v=winembedded.81).aspx" rel="ugc nofollow">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj979425(v=winembedded.81).aspx</a><br />
<br />
this part in particular seemed like it would be useul to your situation:<br />
<a href="http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj979690(v=winembedded.81).aspx" rel="ugc">http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/jj979690(v=winembedded.81).aspx</a><br />
<br />
Looks like you need to know which of those two WIM files you have are neede to deploy.<br />
<br />
It also appears that those SWM files in the dll folder can be opened with 7zip<br />
<a href="http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Recovery/How-do-I-restore-backup1-swm-files-created-during-system/td-p/1414171" rel="ugc">http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Recovery/How-do-I-restore-backup1-swm-files-created-during-system/td-p/1414171</a><br />
<br />
Sounds like a pretty hairy situation with no recovery disks, &nbsp;Good luck. &nbsp;(By the way, wont dell let you download the recovery disks?)
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<div>
If the Inspiron is still under warranty and you're in the US you can order re-installation media by using your Service Tag here:<br />
<a href="https://www.dell.com/support/diagnostics/us/en/19/nondiagnostichome?c=us&l=en&s=dhs" rel="ugc">https://www.dell.com/support/diagnostics/us/en/19/nondiagnostichome?c=us&l=en&s=dhs</a><br />
<br />
Your CoA sticker should be in the battery compartment or it will be a BIOS embedded product key. &nbsp;Either way you need a Win8 boot environment to launch the recovery from which without a bootable environment or an OS DVD you simply don't have.<br />
<br />
Why aren't Dell helping?
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<div>
This wasn't the solution I asked about, but in the end, was the one that worked. I obtained an ISO of the correct Dell reinstallation DVD and it worked perfectly.
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<div class="content wysiwyg-content">
Hi,<br />
I have a Dell Inspiron 3521 with Windows 8. It has no COA label/activation code on the underside (presumably it's license is tied to the BIOS). &nbsp;The disk is damaged, unbootable and no recover disks were ever made. &nbsp;However, I was able to get the full contents of the 4th and 6th partitions which seem to house the recovery setup. &nbsp;I've also gotten most of the data from the windows partition.<br />
<br />
Partition 6 has two small .wim files and 4 .swm files which are 3-4Gb in size. &nbsp;I've attached a screen dump to show the partition's files and directories.<br />
<br />
Some points to note:<br />
I can't get a recovery DVD from Dell or any other source<br />
I don't have any other Windows 8 media to work with<br />
<br />
My question is, is there any way I can restore this PC to a new disk using what I've saved from the recovery partitions? &nbsp;I've attached screenshots showing the files/folders of partitions 4 and 6 with the WIM and SWM files highlighted.<br />
<br />
Thanks in advance!<br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2014/01_w01/826427/partition-4.gif" target="_blank" class="file-inline" title="contents of 4th partition (17 KB)"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path d="M67.508 468.467c-58.005-58.013-58.016-151.92 0-209.943l225.011-225.04c44.643-44.645 117.279-44.645 161.92 0 44.743 44.749 44.753 117.186 0 161.944l-189.465 189.49c-31.41 31.413-82.518 31.412-113.926.001-31.479-31.482-31.49-82.453 0-113.944L311.51 110.491c4.687-4.687 12.286-4.687 16.972 0l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.685 12.283 0 16.969L184.983 304.917c-12.724 12.724-12.73 33.328 0 46.058 12.696 12.697 33.356 12.699 46.054-.001l189.465-189.489c25.987-25.989 25.994-68.06.001-94.056-25.931-25.934-68.119-25.932-94.049 0l-225.01 225.039c-39.249 39.252-39.258 102.795-.001 142.057 39.285 39.29 102.885 39.287 142.162-.028A739446.174 739446.174 0 0 1 439.497 238.49c4.686-4.687 12.282-4.684 16.969.004l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.689 12.279.004 16.965a755654.128 755654.128 0 0 0-195.881 195.996c-58.034 58.092-152.004 58.093-210.048.041z"/></svg>partition-4.gif</a><br />
<a href="https://filedb.experts-exchange.com/incoming/2014/01_w01/826428/partition-6.gif" target="_blank" class="file-inline" title="contents of 6th partition (20 KB)"><svg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 512 512"><path d="M67.508 468.467c-58.005-58.013-58.016-151.92 0-209.943l225.011-225.04c44.643-44.645 117.279-44.645 161.92 0 44.743 44.749 44.753 117.186 0 161.944l-189.465 189.49c-31.41 31.413-82.518 31.412-113.926.001-31.479-31.482-31.49-82.453 0-113.944L311.51 110.491c4.687-4.687 12.286-4.687 16.972 0l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.685 12.283 0 16.969L184.983 304.917c-12.724 12.724-12.73 33.328 0 46.058 12.696 12.697 33.356 12.699 46.054-.001l189.465-189.489c25.987-25.989 25.994-68.06.001-94.056-25.931-25.934-68.119-25.932-94.049 0l-225.01 225.039c-39.249 39.252-39.258 102.795-.001 142.057 39.285 39.29 102.885 39.287 142.162-.028A739446.174 739446.174 0 0 1 439.497 238.49c4.686-4.687 12.282-4.684 16.969.004l16.967 16.971c4.685 4.686 4.689 12.279.004 16.965a755654.128 755654.128 0 0 0-195.881 195.996c-58.034 58.092-152.004 58.093-210.048.041z"/></svg>partition-6.gif</a>
</div>
</div>


partition-4.gif

partition-6.gif

Hi,
I have a Dell Inspiron 3521 with Windows 8. It has no COA label/activation code on the underside (presumably it's license is tied to the BIOS).  The disk is damaged, unbootable and no recover disks were ever made.  However, I was able to get the full contents of the 4th and 6th partitions which seem to house the recovery setup.  I've also gotten most of the data from the windows partition.

Partition 6 has two small .wim files and 4 .swm files which are 3-4Gb in size.  I've attached a screen dump to show the partition's files and directories.

Some points to note:
I can't get a recovery DVD from Dell or any other source
I don't have any other Windows 8 media to work with

My question is, is there any way I can restore this PC to a new disk using what I've saved from the recovery partitions?  I've attached screenshots showing the files/folders of partitions 4 and 6 with the WIM and SWM files highlighted.

Thanks in advance!

Windows 8 reinstallation using files from recovery partition (damaged disk)

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