Trouble erasing Win 8 from hp laptop

You have an EFI BIOS and if this is a Win8 machine then you also have Secure Boot. You'll need to tap the HP F2 key to enter BIOS setup and disable Secure Boot.

Then you either install Win7 in UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) - Install Windows 7 with - Windows 7 Forums, or Bypass UEFI to Install WIn7 .

To help understand new-generation UEFI which is replacing the BIOS better watch this video: Technical Note: UEFI BIOS vs. Legacy BIOS - YouTube

I went into F2 and found no place mentioning Secure Boot let alone disabling it. I see the UEFI but this is system information. The BIOS offers a rollback. There are two partitions EFISECTOR Ata is partition 1 and Ata, Master is drive partition 2.

If this is a PC which came with Windows 8 then it will have Secure Boot setting, otherwise it won't.

Do you want to install in UEFI mode or normally? I gave you a video to help you decide, and steps for installing in either mode. Do you have any questions?

I do want to use the UEFI BIOS but I am unable to find the Secure Boot line. I am at work now so I will try this again when I get home. Thanks

Did the laptop come with preinstalled Win8, or was it installed later? If it's preinstalled Win8 laptop then there will be a Secure Boot setting on one of the BIOS tabs to Disable. Check each tab carefully. You can also read the Manual on the Support Downloads webpage for your PC model.

It was pre-installed, I'll look further when I get home, thanks

>> MS doesn't want to make it too easy.<<
They aren't hahahaha!

1) Downgrade to Windows 7.
Downgrade Windows 8 to Windows 7
Warning you must have the uEFI/BIOS firmware setting in Step Three set.


2) If Using a USB Pendrive on a PC with a uEFI BIOS.
USB Pendrive need to be formated to FAT32 as in
UEFI Bootable USB Flash Drive - Create in Windows
Take note of Step 11 for Windows 7.
Also you will need to use a USB 2.0 port, as there are no USB 3.0 drivers in Windows 7.

Britton30 said:

What you're looking for may be well buried in a sub menu of a sub menu, MS doesn't want to make it too easy.

Some OEM manufacturers are locking end-users out of the options in BIOS on consumer PC’s, on business PC’s there not.



Windows Hardware Certification Requirements for Client and Server Systems

Microsoft said:

Mandatory. On non-ARM systems, the platform MUST implement the ability for a physically present user to select between two Secure Boot modes in firmware setup: "Custom" and "Standard". Custom Mode allows for more flexibility as specified in the following:

It shall be possible for a physically present user to use the Custom Mode firmware setup option to modify the contents of the Secure Boot signature databases and the PK. This may be implemented by simply providing the option to clear all Secure Boot databases (PK, KEK, db, dbx), which puts the system into setup mode.

If the user ends up deleting the PK then, upon exiting the Custom Mode firmware setup, the system is operating in Setup Mode with SecureBoot turned off.

The firmware setup shall indicate if Secure Boot is turned on, and if it is operated in Standard or Custom Mode. The firmware setup must provide an option to return from Custom to Standard Mode which restores the factory defaults. On an ARM system, it is forbidden to enable Custom Mode. Only Standard Mode may be enabled.