HP Pavillion p7-1147c desktop (orig W7) will not shut down following new SSD + Windows 10 install

[Hibiscusberry]

HP Pavilion p7-1147c

AAHD3-HB motherboard

Came with Windows 7 out of box.

I installed a new SSD and installed Windows 10. All went smoothly until I went to shut down the computer. The screen goes black but the tower stays on (power light is blue, not orange like it used to turn, and fans are on). I also have to disable sleep mode, because if the computer falls asleep, the monitor won't turn back on. I have to hold down power button, unplug AC power, hold power button again, then plug back in to get it to start normally and the monitor to work.

It looks like this guy had the exact same problem I'm having, under the same exact circumstances.

https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Operating-Systems-and-Recovery/HP-machine-will-not-turn-off-wh...

But I am unable to figure out how to install Windows 10 on my SSD partitioned as MBR, and get it to boot as Legacy, because the install media reformats SSD to GPT when I install Windows 10.

BIOS Mode is listed as UEFI in System Information and I need it to be BIOS Legacy.

All the guides I'm finding online to change the boot mode from UEFI to Legacy mention an elusive "System Configuration" tab, which my BIOS menu does not have.

In Advanced startup options, there is no UEFI Firmware Settings section.

My BIOS menu:

Any help or insight anyone can provide to get my firmware settings as they should be, and to get Windows booting in Legacy mode on an MBR partitioned drive would be greatly appreciated.

[Hibb1]

In the HP BIOS, UEFI is sometimes referred to as 'Secure Boot' so you'll have Secure Boot and Legacy boot as two separate enable/disable functions.

Bear in mind that any Win10 installer from 1908 (I think) onwards requires UEFI / secure boot enabled else it won't boot. Earlier versions of Win10 will boot/install OK from legacy.

I didn't read the other thread, but have you updated the BIOS to the latest version?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @Hibiscusberry :

See this link for how to enable legacy mode and disable secure boot so that you can install W10 in legacy mode.

HP PCs - Cannot Start Desktop Computer From a Bootable CD or DVD (Windows 😎 | HP® Customer Support

Them boot from the legacy boot device you are installing Windows from (DVD or USB).

You may have to clean the disk if you get an error such as indicated in the video below, which also tells you how to fix the problem.

Use of Diskpart to Format (Clean) or Wipe (Clean All) Partitions a Drive Before Windows Installation...

I have installed 20 H2 on an ancient HP nc6400 notebook made in 2006, which does not have a UEFI BIOS.

[Hibiscusberry]

The closest thing I found to a Legacy boot option was Under Storage > Boot Order, there are UEFI and Legacy Boot Sources.

The one that appears to be selected is my SSD, under Legacy. But my SysInfo still says UEFI.

So I may have to install an earlier version of W10 that does not require secure boot... I am having trouble finding information on which versions of Windows installers don't require secure boot, and where to find/download them.

BIOS is 7.07 which is the 2nd to most recent version, but from what I understand, updating to the most recent version (7.16) bricks the motherboard (explained in the post I linked as well)

[Hibiscusberry]

Hi @Paul_Tikkanen 

I did find that guide but I cannot follow it because in my BIOS menu under Security, there is no "Secure Boot Configuration" option. The original post shows a screenshot of my Security tab in the BIOS menu.

I have been cleaning the SSD and converting is to MBR in cmd before reinstalling Windows, but the Windows installer converts it back to GPT. How do I prevent this? Using an earlier version of the Windows installer?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Looking at the screenshot you just posted, when you go to install W10, select one of the legacy boot sources...The legacy ATAPI CD/DVD drive or the USB Device.

When you select a legacy boot source, then W10 should not be installing in UEFI mode.

If you are sure that you have already done that, then here is the link to an older build of W10 64 bit.

https://software-download.microsoft.com/pr/Win10_1903_V2_English_x64.iso?t=9427e8d9-9bd5-4614-8df5-6...

I selected 1903 to make absolutely sure it will install in legacy mode.

The link will be good for 24 hours from the time of this reply.

You can use the Microsoft tool that I zipped up and attached below that you will need to transfer the ISO file to a USB flash drive or DVD so that it is bootable.

If that works, click on the blue Update Now button at the link below to update to the latest 20H2 build.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

[Hibiscusberry · Accepted solution]

Thanks so much for all your help! I managed to get it booting in Legacy and it shuts down properly now and does not need a CMOS reset to get the monitor to turn on when powered on 🙂 I used the most recent Windows 10 release, did not have to use an older one.

Here is exactly what I did, since this shutdown issue seems to be a reasonably common problem when upgrading old PCs to Windows 10, for any other baby engineers/people with similar levels of tech knowledge/poor suckers who want to keep their 10-year-old desktop limping along a little longer because they're not ready to build a PC yet:

1. I made a Windows 10 bootable USB using Rufus (Windows to Go), partitioned as MBR.

2. Used this bootable USB to clean (I used clean all but I think just clean would've sufficed) my SSD and repartition it as MBR

3. Create a second USB as Windows installation media. Once the install media is made, open the USB drive, and DELETE the 'efi' folder. See bottom of page here: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/boot-to-uefi-mode-or-legacy-bi...

4. Immediately enter BIOS menu when restarting the target computer. Storage > Boot Order > USB Device (Floppy/CD) under Legacy Boot Sources

5. Save BIOS changes and exit. Continue with install.

Thanks again!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Glad that you were able to get W10 to work properly.