Can't perform a Factory reset or reboot my Alienware R3 15" (Windows 10)

I have an Alienware R3 15" that I tried to factory reset directly without a USB-windows-image (at first), here are the steps that I followed :

1. I had an Ubuntu partition (on dual boot) on this pc so I followed this guide to remove it. Note that I don't have exactly the same partitions as I have an additional HDD & SSD...
2. I then rebooted and got the message (in french) : "Windows n'a pas pu terminer l'installation. Pour installer Windows sur cet ordinateur, redémarre le programme d'installation", which translates to "Windows could not finish the installation. To install windows on this computer, reboot the installation program".

Since this didn't work, I went and applied these steps :

1. Next I went to the dell (From another pc) support & downloaded the utility to burn an image on a USB.
2. Booted windows from the USB using F12, did a system reset by deleting all user files...
3. System reset finished and I still get the message: "Windows could not finish the installation. To install windows on this computer, reboot the installation program".

I think I messed up something during the selection of primary & secondary boot because I can still see the "Ubuntu" as the secondary boot even if the partition no longer exists.

Here are all the boot options (in order):

UEFI OPTIONS:

1. Windows boot manager
2. Ubuntu
3. Onboard NIC (IPV4)
4. Onboard NIC (IPV6)
5. USB1 - UEFI OS(SanDisk)
6. HDD2 - Windows Boot Manager (Samsung SSD CM871 M.2 2280 128FB)

OTHER OPTIONS:

1. BIOS Setup
2. Diagnostics
3. Peripheral Device Setting (OPROM Setting) [This one is greyed out]
4. Change Boot Mode Setting
5. BIOS Flash Update

Could you please help me figure out how to factory reset my computer? Thanks

2 Answers

You say that you have a boot media for Windows 10 that was created by the Media Creation Tool.

In that case, doing a reset to the disk is simple: Boot with it and do the installation. When you arrive at the disk selection step, select the disk and quick-format it, so it becomes totally Unallocated.

Now select the disk and install Windows. It will allocate the required partitions and install itself.

Alright, so I finally got my pc to work and was able to format it.

As a side-note, whatever you do, don't turn your boot mode to legacy within the BIOS, because your pc won't be able to turn on anymore and you'll have to reset the bios manually by disassembling the pc and taking out the CMOS... I digress.

This answer is specifically for dell users as I said in the comments above, the factory reset can (and should) only be done using dell's utility software because they identify the computer's serial number and serve the software with windows genuine software key.

1. Download the software via dell's support, I used the following link but make sure you find the right link, from the website relevant to where you made your purchase.
2. Put it in an adequate USB
3. Disconnect every "extra" hard drive or SSD or RAM you put yourself on the pc as they seem to interfere with the factory reset. (By opening your pc and removing the said components). Keep only the original stuff the computer came with.
4. Restart your pc and press F12 or F2 to select the USB as a boot option.
5. Make sure you have an internet connection as you need to "Factory Reset and download the updates" and not just "factory reset".
6. Follow through the procedure
7. When your pc is up and running install additional updates.

These are the steps that worked for me.