DW Blackjack RACK 2U - Windows 10 IoT System Recovery

Technical Bulletin

To: DW® Customers

Date: April 2023

Re: DW Blackjack RACK 2U Recovery

DW Blackjack RACK 2U – Windows 10 IoT System Default Instructions

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Affected Model Numbers: DW-BJRR2UxxT, DW-BJRR2PxxT, DW-BJRR2XxxT, DW-BJRR2YxxT

Operating System: (W10 IoT) Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC

Last Edit: April 12, 2023

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DW Blackjack RACK System Recovery Guide

In the rare event that the embedded Windows 10 IoT operating system of a DW Blackjack RACK 2U has become corrupted, infected with a computer virus, or is otherwise not operating as it should, system administrators can attempt to use recovery options to restore the system to a working condition.

This document will outline how to restore a malfunctioning DW Blackjack RACK 2U unit using either:

Option 1: Windows 10 IoT Partition Recovery Method – the Blackjack unit’s operating system is not operating normally and must be reset and restored.
Option 2: Windows 10 IoT USB Key Recovery Method – the Blackjack unit’s operating system will not load properly, and the embedded restoration tool is not accessible. An external resource (USB) must be used to recover the system.

**NOTE: Data will be deleted during the formatting process. DW Blackjack units use separate drive partitions to preserve DW Spectrum Media archives but if you are using a custom-built server or have altered the default save location of the DW Spectrum Server Media, it is recommended to backup the media archives. For more information on manually backing up server archives, you can refer to the article “Large Storage Backup from a DW Spectrum Server”.

Option 1: Windows 10 IoT Partition Recovery Method

The DW Blackjack RACK 2U includes a built-in recovery partition that can be used to restore the computer’s operating system and default applications. Follow the directions below to use the recovery partition on a server with Windows 10 IoT edition.

You can confirm the Microsoft OS edition by opening the Start W menu and searching for “Activation Settings”.

Part 1.1 – Start the Windows 10 Recovery Environment

Boot the DW Blackjack RACK 2U into the Windows Recovery Environment.

There are two methods with which the Blackjack unit can be booted into using the recovery partition:

Method 1: When the system initially starts in Windows Boot Manager, the user will be asked to choose between starting “Windows 10” or “Windows 10 Recovery”.
1. Select the “Windows 10 Recovery” option to reboot into the Windows Recovery Environment.
2. If neither option is selected within 5-seconds, the system will automatically attempt to boot into the regular Windows environment.

Method 2: From the Windows desktop, right-click on the Windows Start icon W and select “Settings”.
1. In the Settings menu, use the search box to search for “Change advanced startup options” or “Recovery”. This will open the Recovery menu.
2. In the Recovery menu, look under the Advanced startup section and click on “Restart now”.

1. In the resulting window, select the “Use another operating system” option then select “Windows 10 Recovery”. The Blackjack will then reboot into the Windows Recovery Environment.

Part 1.2 – Using the Windows Recovery Environment

Allow the Blackjack unit to load the recovery wizard which will walk you through the recovery process.

When the Windows Setup window appears, select your preferred language, time format, and keyboard input, then click “Next”.

Click the “Install Now” tile to begin using the windows Setup wizard.

You will be prompted to enter a Windows Product Key. The Blackjack unit uses an embedded version of the Windows operating system, so you can click on “I don’t have a product key” and the copy of Windows will be automatically activated later.

The Microsoft Software License Terms appear, review the notice then toggle the “I accept the license terms” checkbox to accept the license terms. Click “Next” to continue.

When asked which type of installation to use, choose to use the “Custom: Install Windows only (advanced)” option.

Selecting the drive partition for the reinstallation of Windows:
1. First locate the drive partition marked as “Recovery” (40 GB total size).
2. IMPORTANT: The drive partition that you should select is the partition that follows, immediately below the “Recovery” partition. For example, if “Drive 1 Partition 4: Recovery” is the recovery partition, you should select “Drive 1 Partition 5”.

**NOTE: The number of drive partitions that appear in the list will vary depending on the DW Blackjack RACK model that you are using.

After selecting the partition, click on “Format”.

The setup wizard will display a warning pop-up disclosing that files in the selected partition will be lost. This must happen to clear out the corrupt files that are likely creating issues for your system.

Click “OK” to accept the message then click the “Next” button. The selected drive partition will then be formatted. Allow the process to complete.

When the format process has completed, you will be shown the drive partition list again. Select the same drive partition that was just formatted then click the “Next” button to proceed.

The setup wizard will then begin to reinstall Windows to the disk. This may take an extended amount of time to complete, up to approximately 10 minutes.

Once the installation has finished, Windows will need to restart. Allow the system to restart then continue.

Part 1.3 – Final Recovery Steps

After using the Windows 10 Recovery Setup Wizard, some basic setup will be needed to complete the DW Blackjack RACK recovery process.

When greeted by the “Choose an operating system” window, select the first “Windows 10” option.

Allow the Blackjack to be discoverable by other devices within the local network.

A pop-up message will display above the Windows Service Tray about the NVIDIA Control Panel. To reinstall the NVIDIA Control Panel, double-click on the NVIDIA RTX graphics driver file located in:

C:\Drivers

Accept the NVIDIA software license agreement and install the graphics driver.

The NVIDIA Control Panel will be accessible through the Windows Service Tray once the installation has completed.

Next, make sure that the Dell SupportAssist application is installed. To install, double-click on the SupportAssistInstaller driver file located in:

C:\Drivers

You can open the Dell SupportAssist application to obtain the Dell Service Tag and device information when seeking further device support from Dell.

Option 2: Windows 10 IoT USB Key Recovery Method

If the DW Blackjack RACK 2U’s built-in recovery partition is not accessible, a USB key containing the Windows 10 IoT may be used to recover the system. You can contact DW Support for a USB recovery drive if needed.

Part 2.1 – Setting the Boot Order

The USB Recovery Key uses an automated script to run recovery options when restoring a system. Perform the following steps to prep the Blackjack for USB recovery:

Insert the USB Recovery Key into USB 2.0 port, located in the rear panel of the DW Blackjack RACK 2U then power on the system.

If the unit is already ON, please restart the machine to reset the startup process.

As the system is powering ON, tap the F11 key on the keyboard to access the Boot Manager, then select “One-shot UEFI Boot Menu”.

In the UEFI Boot Option menu, select “Disk connected to back USB1:…”

The Clonezilla GNU GRUB menu will appear.

Use the keyboard to select the first option in the list, “clonezilla live with img DWblackjack_withoutkeys”.

Allow the Clonezilla script to run and for the installer to complete the process. This process can take between 5 ~ 10 minutes to complete. You can track the progress in the Partclone progress window.

Once the process has completed, tap the Y key to confirm.

Use the keyboard to select “Reboot” and allow the system to restart.

Allow the system to reboot. You may remove the USB Recovery Key once the system has booted to the desktop login screen.

There are some follow-up steps that must be completed to finish the recovery process. Please refer to Part 1.3 – Final Recovery Steps to complete this process.

This concludes the system restoration guide for the DW Blackjack RACK 2U using Windows 10 Enterprise (IoT).

For More Information or Technical Support

DW Technical Support:

Toll-free: 866.446.3595

https://www.digital-watchdog.com/contact-tech-support/

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