Friday, April 1, 2016

Boot to CD Fix on HP x64bit - UEFI PC


My Windows 10 PC would not go into restore or repair mode. So I decided to reinstall the OS. I had a repair disc for Windows 10 and a Windows 10 system image. Neither of them worked. Every time I attempted an install, repair or restore, the computer would restart normally.
I searched the Internet and the findings were roundabout, because instructions differed depending on the model of computer. I determined that how your primary disc is partitioned, governs whether you boot into BIOS or UEFI. The Microsoft article, “Boot to UEFI or Legacy Mode”1 explained that if your hard drive is GPT you should boot using UEFI. In contrast, if your hard drive is partitioned to use MBR you should use BIOS. Choosing the wrong option could cause installation or boot failures.  I also found some posts of users that experienced issues with Secure Boot and installation. Secure boot protects your computer from manipulation by allowing only trusted software to load at startup.

So I began to troubleshoot the Secure Boot scenario. First, I disabled Secure Boot and enabled Legacy Support, however my installation failed. Next, I disabled Secure Boot, enabled Legacy Support then booted into UEFI. However my installation failed. Finally, I enabled Secure Boot, disabled Legacy Support, restarted and booted directly into UEFI using the F9 button. I knew I was successful when I got press any key to boot screen.



So if you are experiencing issues booting to a CD, first determine if you are booting to UEFI or BIOS.  The “Boot to UEFI Mode or Legacy Bios Mode”2 article has the best set of instructions I found to change the boot mode. Since the function key varies depending on your model, you’ll either have to guess or consult your manufacturer’s website for more information.
  





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