Trying to get Win 10 to boot up. Tried everything

[JimmyB491]

I have acquired an older HP Pavilion Product: BK256AA-ABL Model: p6342f. It booted up using Win 7 but I wanted to use my network card which is only supported by Windows 10. So I cloned the HP comp HDD (640gb) with the use of my ASUS comp HDD that I had in my main computer.  (I used my ASUS HDD to clone my SSD and it worked great, so it is a good original). 

MY boot order in the 'Boot' menu and 1st Drive in the 'Main' match as my 1st Boot Device

The error in Boot Manager: Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause."  Status: Oxc0000225

Info: The boot selection failed because a required device is inaccessible.

It advises me: "Insert your Windows installation disc and restart." I only have the cloned HDD from my computer.

I tried switching SATA ports, SATA cables, HDDs, 

I ran Diagnostics Tools and CPU, Ram, HDD, Boot path...& everything came up "Passed".

I tried my ASUS HDD (2tb) and it doesn't show anything on the screen except a "-" in the top left corner of the screen.

I pulled the CMOS battery...let it sit for awhile...installed it back in...let it sit for awhile. Tried it to no avail.

Switched up ram chips, (one by one) with a known chip.

I'm at a loss at knowing what to do next.  I was wondering if maybe my BIOS Rev 5.07  12/21/09 is too far out of date. I wonder if this could cause my issue...not too sure. But even though, HP no longer supports this antique.

Any suggestions would be much appreciated. 

I know that most of you are thinking...'"Just dump it and go buy a new computer". Sorry, that isn't a viable option for me. Senior pension doesn't supply that kind of coin after living expenses...LOL...trust me there's nothing left 

Thanks so much

JimmyB

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi, Jimmy:

Here's the problem as I see it...

You cloned a hard drive from what I assume is a considerably newer PC with a more modern processor and chipset and your old PC just doesn't know what to do with it.

So, what you are going to have to do is to reinstall W7 64 bit.

You can only do that if you can still read all 25 characters of the W7 Home product key on your PC's case.

If you can, this is the only site I know of where you can download W7.

You want the blue 64 bit download button toward the bottom of the page.

Windows 7 Home Premium Free Download ISO 32 Bit 64 Bit (getintopc.com)

I just tested it and what happens is you get 'Microsoft has blocked the file as unsafe.'

You can elect to keep the file anyway and it will download.

Then you can use the free Rufus utility to transfer the ISO file to a USB flash drive so that it is bootable.

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Set the Rufus menu up exactly as you see it in the Windows illustration, but you need to change the partition scheme from GPT to MBR because your PC does not have a UEFI BIOS.

After you boot from the USB flash drive and get W7 installed, you can download the drivers you need for your PC from this reputable 3rd party driver website.

HP Pavilion p6342f drivers (driverscollection.com)

Check to make sure that Windows is activated and if it is not, follow the steps to activate Windows.

I realize that puts you back right where you started, but now you do an in-place upgrade from W7 to W10.

To do that, make the bootable W10 installation flash drive with the Microsoft media creation tool from the link below.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

You need to use your W10 Asus PC to do that.

After the media has been created, do not boot from it.

Have your p6342f running and at the Windows desktop.

Plug in the flash drive and open it in Windows explorer if you do not get a prompt automatically to 'open folder to view files.'

After you open the drive to view the files, double click on the Setup file you see in the list of files to begin the upgrade to W10.

Your other option would be to purchase W7 recovery media for your PC from this vendor and then upgrade to W10 using the approach I just outlined.

I imagine the postage to Canada will cost a bit more.

Computer Surgeons - Windows 7 64 Bit Recovery Kit B7C92AV For HP Pavilion Desktop PC Model Number p6...

[JimmyB491]

Awesome. I hadn't thought about the huge difference between my cpu's. What you've recommended is likely precisely what I need to do. I was so frustrated with it that I put it aside and was going to weld a chain on it and put it up for sale as an anchor...LOL.

 I'll follow your instructions, (in about 10 days.), and am sure that it will remedy the situation. My wife just needs something to browse with and this is just the right speed for her.  

Thanks so much, Paul. You've been very helpful. Have a great day

JimmyB

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome, Jimmy.

You have a great day too!

Cheers,

Paul