Wrong USB picked

[DuGo2Guy]

During the USB creation process I select my newly formatted USB. I'm then prompted that I'm about to lose all data on a 2tb device I use for backup. Uuuugh, Like What-Up/

[NonSequitur777]

@DuGo2Guy,

Welcome to our HP Community forum!

It sounds like either the HP recovery media creation tool may have identified the wrong removable drive, or you selected the wrong (USB) drive from the drive list, possibly because it was confusing because multiple USB storage devices were connected.

Do not continue if the tool is warning that your 2 TB backup drive will be erased. The recovery media creation process completely reformats the selected target device.

To avoid accidentally deleting data:

1. Cancel the recovery media creation process.
2. Disconnect your 2 TB backup drive and any other external storage devices.
3. Leave connected only the USB flash drive you intend to use for the recovery media.
4. Reopen the HP recovery creation utility and verify that the displayed drive capacity matches the USB flash drive.
5. If you're unsure which drive is which, open Disk Management in Windows and confirm the size and drive letter before proceeding.

If the tool has not yet started writing to the 2 TB drive, your backup data should still be intact. If the process already began and formatted the drive, stop using it immediately to maximize the chances of data recovery.

If you can provide your HP computer model and tell us whether you're using HP Cloud Recovery Tool, HP Recovery Manager, or another recovery utility, I can provide more specific guidance.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DuGo2Guy]

Yes, I suspected as much as I've been battling one HP got-cha or another since, @ Martin Meritta headed to the Lockheed Martin Corp., my HP's minicomputer days.

The first issue was when I discovered that those that did the original sys-gen on my Amazon purchased, Laptop 15-fd1095c1 planted their page files et al smack in the middle of the SSD so when I attempted to shrink to a normal C partition, no worky, and HP's boot manager locks took me on a ride to the bottom.

I haven't gone back to the recovery gen process, but it would be helpful, or at least to this HP user to have the SW wherewithal to be able to Recover to a normal C partition of 64-300G and not the near 1TB the original left me with.

RSVP Por Favor. 😅

[NonSequitur777]

@DuGo2Guy,

I understand what you're describing. On many factory-installed Windows systems, the initial partition layout may leave the OS partition consuming most of the SSD, and certain immovable files (pagefile, hibernation file, shadow copies, recovery components, etc.) can prevent Windows Disk Management from shrinking the partition as much as you would like.

Regarding HP recovery media, the recovery process is generally designed to restore the drive to HP's factory partition layout rather than allowing you to specify a custom-sized C: partition during recovery. In other words, HP recovery media is intended to return the system to its original out-of-box configuration.

If your goal is a smaller C: partition (for example, 64–300 GB) with the remainder allocated to a separate data partition, the usual approach is:

1. Complete the recovery or Windows installation.
2. Disable hibernation and, if necessary, temporarily disable the page file and System Restore.
3. Reboot and attempt to shrink the Windows partition.
4. Create a new partition from the unallocated space.

If Windows still cannot shrink the partition sufficiently, some users use third-party partition management software to move immovable files and resize partitions offline. As with any partitioning operation, a current backup is strongly recommended before making changes.

For your HP Laptop 15-fd1095cl, are you planning to:

• Use HP Cloud Recovery to restore the factory image, or
• Perform a clean Windows installation and then create your own partition layout?

The answer makes a big difference, because a clean Windows installation gives you complete control over partition sizes during setup, whereas HP factory recovery typically does not.

To get back to some of the commonly used partition-management utilities, these are:

• GParted — Free and open-source. Typically run from a bootable USB Linux environment. Very capable for moving and resizing partitions offline.
• AOMEI Partition Assistant — Popular Windows-based utility with both free and paid editions.
• MiniTool Partition Wizard — Offers partition resizing, moving, and disk management functions. Some advanced features require a paid version.
• EaseUS Partition Master — Another widely used commercial partitioning tool with a free edition for basic operations.
• Paragon Hard Disk Manager — Long-established commercial product with advanced partition and backup features.

For the specific problem you described —Windows refusing to shrink C: because of immovable files— these tools can sometimes move filesystem metadata that Windows Disk Management cannot move whilst the OS is running.

That said, before recommending third-party software, I'd first like to verify whether you actually need it.  Meaning, on a new HP Laptop 15-fd1095cl, if the objective is simply to have a 100–300 GB C: partition and a separate D : data partition, a clean installation of Windows is often the simplest approach because Windows Setup allows custom partition sizing during installation. No post-install partition gymnastics are required.

A caution worth mentioning: any partition resize or move operation carries some risk of data loss if interrupted by a power failure, hardware issue, or software error. A verified backup should exist before proceeding.

If you still got the factory installation and have not yet recovered or reinstalled Windows, I'd like to know how much free space is currently available on your C: drive and exactly how much you are trying to shrink it.

Sometimes there are built-in Windows methods that can achieve the desired result sans using third-party tools.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[DuGo2Guy]

I'm not asking for anything custom, C partition or not I'm asking for the MS Windows standards as widely published to be implemented.

I also can see by your response that no one in this forum understands the extent HP has put the kruckes to a clean install and the EFI File standard bootmgfw.efi install with a BIOS that intervenes at every attempt via HP's CUSTOM WinPE SW.

So, You are correct in that my options are only commercial partitioning SW which has some risk too or invest in the same SW/HW SSD programming equipment HP uses to corrupt a clean install to begin with.

Thanks for the input but as I've bin there and done that it still would be nice if HP would allow, like I said, the published Microsoft standard Windows 11 to be installed.

[NonSequitur777]

@DuGo2Guy,

OK, please allow me to respond in the most comprehensive way I know how.  And why not: perchance I may mention something useful for you or someone else who is browsing through these discussion threads.

Anyway, HP does not permanently corrupt the SSD firmware or sabotage standard Windows installation media if that is what you mean. However, I'll admit that they do configure their consumer BIOS with two modern roadblocks that would give the illusion of a blocked clean install:

1. Missing Intel VMD Controller Drivers: The laptop features a newer Intel Core Ultra processor. Modern Intel platforms default to Intel Volume Management Device (VMD) technology to handle storage. Standard Microsoft Windows 11 installation media does not bundle this Intel driver. When you boot to the installer, the drive selection screen appears completely blank or locked, making it look like a proprietary blockade.
2. Secure Boot Factory Keys: HP's BIOS defaults to strict factory configuration keys. If the installation USB is built using third-party formatting tools (like certain configurations of Rufus), the HP BIOS flags it as an unsigned execution hazard and interrupts the process.

Step-by-Step Blueprint for a Pure Microsoft Clean Install:

If you so choose, you can bypass HP's custom recovery WinPE layer entirely and enforce standard Microsoft partitioning by using the following protocol:

Step 1: Inject the Storage Driver onto the USB

Because the standard Windows installer cannot natively "see" the storage controller on this Intel chip, you must feed it the driver manually.

• Create a standard bootable Windows 11 USB using the official Microsoft Media Creation Tool.
• Go to the HP support page for the Laptop 15-fd1095cl (15-fd1000) on a working computer.
• Download the Intel Storage Driver (Intel RST/VMD) driver package (usually an .exe file).
• Extract the contents of that driver package using a zip utility (like 7-Zip) and copy the driver folder (which contains .inf and .sys files) directly onto the root directory of your Windows 11 installation USB.

Step 2: Clear the HP BIOS Hurdles

• Turn the laptop completely off.
• Power it on and immediately tap the F10 key repeatedly to open the BIOS menu.
• Locate the Security or Boot Options tab.
• Find Secure Boot and temporarily switch it to Disabled.
• Ensure USB Boot is set to Enabled.
• Press F10 to Save and Exit. If the laptop reboots and prompts you with a 4-digit PIN code on a black screen to confirm the Secure Boot change, type the numbers and press Enter.

Step 3: Nuke the Storage Drive using Command Line

Wiping the drive completely prevents HP's background recovery layers from executing or re-locking the partitions.

• Insert the USB drive and restart the laptop, tapping F9 repeatedly to trigger the Boot Menu. Select your USB drive.
• Once the Microsoft purple "Install Now" screen loads, press Shift + F10 on your keyboard to open a Command Prompt window.
• Execute the following clean sequence:
  cmd as Administrator, one command at a time:

  diskpart

  list disk

  select disk 0 (Ensure 'disk 0' matches your internal ~1TB SSD size)

  clean

  exit

  exit

  Use code with caution.
• Warning: The clean command instantaneously deletes the partition table, completely erasing HP's factory image and freeing up the entire drive as raw unallocated space.

Step 4: Load the Driver and Set Custom Partitions

• Click "Install Now" and advance to the custom installation screen where you select your installation drive.
• The drive grid will likely look empty due to the Intel VMD controller issue. Click Load Driver at the bottom left.
• Click Browse, navigate to the USB drive, and select the Intel storage driver folder you added in Step 1. Click OK.
• Once the storage controller is recognized, your full SSD will instantly appear as one large block of Drive 0 Unallocated Space.
• Select the unallocated space, click New, and manually type in your desired size for the C: partition (e.g., 102400 for exactly 100 GB).
• Click Apply. Windows will automatically create its baseline EFI and MSR partitions alongside your custom C: partition. Select the new primary partition and click Next to finish the installation.

Alternative: Adjusting Post-Install Constraints Without Wiping

If you choose not to reinstall everything and prefer to try shrinking the existing factory C: partition again, Windows Disk Management will only let you shrink it if you turn off the background processes holding files hostage in the middle of the disk:

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator and run powercfg /h off to completely delete the massive, unmovable Hibernation file.
2. Go to Advanced System Settings, click Performance Settings, navigate to Virtual Memory, and temporarily select No Paging File. Reboot the machine.
3. Turn off System Protection / System Restore entirely to clear out shadow volume copies.
4. Run Windows Disk Management again; the partition should now shrink seamlessly down to your preferred size. (Remember to turn your page file back on afterward!).

Hope this was helpful.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777