Trouble erasing Win 8 from hp laptop

[Rider113]

I used the feature in Win 8 to erase everything so I can load my new Win 7 disc but its still here. I'd like to get this off of here what am I missing? All the erase procedure took out were the programs I had loaded. All help appreciated. Thanks

 

[strollin]

You can't "erase" an OS from the booted OS. Boot the Win 7 install disk and do a "clean" install which will format the drive and install the OS.

 

[Rider113]

It won't install, clean or otherwise. I click install from the disc file and it just does nothing, just comes back around to the same window with buttons that say check compatibility on line and install.

 

[bobkn]

As Strollin posted, boot from the Windows 7 DVD. Do not launch the Windows 7 DVD from within Windows 8. If you boot from the DVD, you should be able to delete the partitions from the hard drive, wiping everything.

I'm not sure what hotkey HP uses to bring up the boot menu for their laptops, but it may be F12.

 

[Rider113]

I will try that. I don't have much/any experience with this so please forgive my ignorance.

 

[SIW2]

Booting means starting up a big program.

In this case that big program is windows 7.

Booting from a dvd means start the machine,usually before the manufacturer logo appears - there should be a prompt to press an f key or del or something - to get a boot menu, or boot selection, or similar.

You have to press that quite quickly.

A little window pops up listing available boot devices.

Arrow down to dvdrom or cdrom - whatever they call it on your list.

Put win 7 dvd in the drive, close it, give it a few seconds, then press eneter.

You will get another prompt - "press any key to boot from dvd"

( If you don't see that on your screen , you may need to enter bios setup )

 

[Rider113]

I have entered the start-up menu and found the following;
F1 Sys info
F2 Sys Diagnostics
F9 Boot Device Options
F10 Bios Setup
F11 Sys Recovery

After pressing F9 it goes to Boot Option Menu followed by;
OS Boot Manager
Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive (UEFI)
Boot from EFI File
Notebook Harddrive
Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive

I went into CD/DVD ROM drive UEFI and it took me to a 'Windows' window and would not allow me to boot from there.
There are 5 different lines but they all say I am not allowed to boot from any of them. I'll do another restart and write them down.

 

[Rider113]

I boot from EFI file, it says windows is loading files, setup starts, asks which type of install, upgrade or advanced? I choose custom from advanced. It says windows can not installed be to any of the 5 partitions. I tried Upgrade and it says to insert disc after starting Windows normally. This doesn't work either. Thanks in advance...

 

[whs]

I would do the following - your BIOS must be in legacy mode:

1. Boot your PC with your Windows 7 installation disk and find the Command Prompt - see here how (option 1)

2. Run the following commands:

Diskpart
List disk
Select disk n (where n is the number that was given for your disk in List disk)
Clean
Create partition primary
Format fs=ntfs quick
Active
Exit

3. Install Windows 7 with your installation disc into this partition.

 

[Britton30]

You probably have a UEFI BIOS with Secure Boot enabled. try the steps Greg has laid out here:
http://www.sevenforums.com/installa...installed-windows-8-laptop-3.html#post2178898

Whs has the same info.

 

[gregrocker]

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

 

[Rider113]

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.

 

[gregrocker]

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?

 

[Rider113]

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

 

[gregrocker]

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.

 

[Rider113]

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

 

[Britton30]

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.

 

[Rider113]

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

 

[theog]

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.

 

[theog]

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

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.