Proper method to clean install Win10 on ZBook 15 G2?

[sejarzo]

I recently bought a used Zbook 15 G2 that had the 500 GB HDD installed, and I want to do a clean install of Win 10 v1903 on a lightly used Samsung 840EVO SSD from another notebook. I have read several different guides on how to properly create a bootable USB stick and configure the Zbook BIOS so Win 10 is installed in UEFI mode, but it seemed to only way I could get the installation to proceed was to do it by using another computer to first clean the 840EVO with diskpart then setting it to MBR rather than GPT. I know that isn't the right way to install Win 10, but now I am not entirely sure how the BIOS Boot Options were set by the previous owner. So...

1. The MS Media Creation Tool created a FAT32 formatted stick. Is that correct for a UEFI installation?

2. After I clean the SSD, should I initialize it as GPT or simply remove it from the other PC and installed it in the ZBook as an unintialized disk? Does it matter? I know that when I have clean installed Win 10 with brand new SSDs, the installation always defaulted to UEFI. 

3. What are the proper BIOS settings to ensure that the installation proceeds as UEFI?

Current settings are:

Secure Boot...
Secure Boot: Not checked
Clear Secure Boot Keys: Not checked
User Mode: HP Factory Keys

Boot Mode: UEFI Hybrid is selected

UEFI Boot Order: I moved Generic USB Device to the top. Which is the proper setting for a USB stick?

Legacy Boot Order: Does that matter during installation from a USB stick, and if so, what should it be?

Perhaps I have missed something else?

I have done fresh installs of Win 10 on a ProBook 640G1 and an older HP 6300 SFF within the past week and they all defaulted to UEFI installations without me doing anything in the BIOS, which is why I am confused on why this is happening with the ZBook.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[GSFAKIAN]

In order to boot in UEFI mode your USB stick should be formatted as GPT from a tool like Rufus and pass the iso image of installation disc there. Then the best for the HDD is to delete any partion on it and leave windows to make them. From bios its better to choose UEFI Normal and not hybrid (if exists) and then when the laptop starts using boot menu to select boot from USB... This is a clean install of windows in uefi mode..

[sejarzo]

Thanks for the advice, but that wasn't necessary. It's now installed as UEFI from the stick that I made with MS Media Creation Tool.To be honest, I am unsure exactly why it made a difference this time around, but when I got to the "Where do you want to install Windows?" screen, I followed these steps that I found on an MS forum:

Press Shift+F10 at the Windows 10 Setup Partition Screen. A DOS prompt will open.
Type diskpart.
Type List Disk.
Type Select Disk=0 to activate your disk.
Type List Partition.
Type Clean.
Type List Partitions.
Type exit, closing DiskPart.
Type exit, closing the command window.
Click Refresh.
Click new and then Apply.

When I previously cleaned the SSD using diskpart on the other PC, then used Disk Management to view the disk, it showed a single unallocated space. There were no residual Recovery or EFI partitions visible, and the total space shown was correct. Why going through the above steps after I put the SSD in the ZBook and started the installation made it complete correctly, I have no idea.

[GSFAKIAN]

No problem! You also did a clean installation in other way... My answer was based on the first info that you provided 🙂

Cheers