Can I Install Windows 10 with an HP Compaq dc7800

[musicman1617]

Recently, I got a used HP dc7800. It was astoundingly cheap, but the only catch was that it has no OS. I loaded the Windows 10 installer onto my flash drive, and booted up from it. When I tried to install the Windows files, it said that "This device may not support booting to this disk. Check your BIOS configuration for this disk." Is there something I might be doing wrong?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

I have a dc7800 CMT running the latest version of W10 Pro 64 bit just fine, so yes, the PC can run W10.

If your dc7800 is the SFF or CMT, what I suggest you do is to update the BIOS to the latest version, which is v01.35 .

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp73501-74000/sp73582.exe

After you update the BIOS to v1.35, you should then have the option to set the drive controller setting in the BIOS to AHCI.

That setting would be the best one for a single drive configuration.

You can update the BIOS without Windows being installed.

Using another windows PC, format a USB flash drive with the FAT32 file system.

Using another windows PC, run the BIOS update file from the link I posted above.

An info page will open.  Read the instructions under the F10 BIOS Setup Flash method.

Copy and paste the file contents of the DOS flash folder to your USB flash drive.  Just the files, not the folder.

Insert the flash drive into your PC's USB port.  Turn on the PC, and immediately start tapping the F10 key to get into the BIOS.

Select the File tab, Flash System ROM command.  Select the USB flash drive.

The PC should 'see' the files on the flash drive.

Follow the on screen instructions to update the BIOS.

Then go into the BIOS menu>Storage Options, and you should have 3 setting to choose from...IDE, RAID and AHCI.

Select AHCI, save the setting there and again when you exit the BIOS.

Then see if you can install W10.

You can delete the BIOS update file from your other PC, which should have been created in a C:\SWSetup folder.