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I tried to reinstall Windows 11 using the installation media by following the steps on the Create installation media for Windows page. When I booted the USB, I found that it did not contain drivers for my touchpad or SSD, rendering it useless.

If I create a recovery drive following the step on the Create a recovery drive page, will that drive include the basic drivers, for example, touchpad, SSD, wifi?

If not, what is the most simple way to get a Windows installation medium with the bare minimum drivers on it?

mallwright
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Do Windows 11 Recovery Drives contain the currently installed drivers?

If you have updated drivers (yourself or via Windows updates), then no, the recovery partition from the manufacturer setup does not contain the updates.

The recovery partition does contain the original drivers needed to update the system.

You can use the Recovery Partition (Backup and Recovery) and get back the the manufacturer setup. You do not need a USB key for this.

You can make your own setup from the Media Creation Link. That is different, and does not contain your drivers. However, there is often a Driver Update step during this process and that will update drivers.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-ca/software-download/windows10

The second method normally provides newest Windows and will provide basic drivers. You might then need the manufacturer's Driver Update App to clean up.

If you cannot get the Microsoft tools to work, you will need to contact Dell Support and get a recovery USB for your model from them