Installing OS on ELITEDESK 705 G1 DM HOW?

[PaulCKruger]

Having lots of difficulty trying to install clean OS on ELITEDESK 705 G1 DM

Tried so far that's failed.

System will boot USB because I have both an Android and LInux live boot USB stick and they boot perfectly.

• Made Bootable USB flash drive.  HP just keeps saying "trying to boot from USB device"   never does.
• Make bootable USB HDD with install files.  HP won't even recognize as existing.
• Put new HDD in another PC, format NTFS, make active, copy iso's contents to drive. HP says no bootable hard drive found.
• Use External USB CD ROM with DVD install disk. It boots but thereafter says it can't find CD install media and asks me to browse for the path to the CD containing the installation files but the USB CD drive does not appear as an available device to select.

If HP had just included a second SATA port I could easily connect a CD drive to that for install purposes?

How do you install an OS on this darn thing with no CD?

Next step...abandon Windows go to Linux...

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You have to go into the BIOS, enable legacy mode and disable secure boot.

W7 is not compatible with secure boot.

See this link for the settings to change...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03659945

You also have to boot your USB flash installer from one of the PC's USB 2 ports.

It won't work from a USB 3 port.

To select the boot options menu, turn on the PC, tap the ESC key at the beginning of the HP welcome screen to get the menu of options.  Select the F9 boot options menu.

Boot from the legacy USB flash drive.

[PaulCKruger]

UPDATE

Had to download rufus to make workable USB install drive. It boots and loads to install but then there is another problem

I get error at the outset: "unable to locate CD/DVD driver, browse to the file"  Doh!  This is a DM mini and has NO DVD not even a SATA port to connect one!  Can't get past that stupid error. Why did MS not have a "skip" option for systems without any optical drive ???

It is looking more and more impossible to use this PC with Windows without having an original system HDD from HP with Windows pre-loaded. So far hours wasted and no closer to a functional PC.

Really looking like a good candidate for Ubuntu the more I fight MS's stupid antics. I have been doing this stuff since the days of MS DOS and 3.1 !  Why is this machine such a **bleep** to load an OS?

// grrrrrr

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Did you boot from the USB 2 port?

W7 does not have the USB 3 drivers in order to install.

Otherwise you will have to add them during the installation process.

The PC probably came with an internal W8.1 product key in the BIOS.

Why not just install W8.1 with no muss, no fuss, no drivers needed for a soon to be unsupported OS?

Do it like this...

Install W8.1 by creating the Microsoft installation media, using another Windows PC, if yours is not working...You want W8.1 64 bit.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

Only if you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, use this generic key.

This is the generic key for W8.1 Pro

XHQ8N-C3MCJ-RQXB6-WCHYG-C9WKB

If you had to enter the generic key, manually change the generic product key to the W8.1 Pro key in your PC's BIOS in the PC settings menu.

After you get W8.1 installed, and you had to manually enter the W8.1 generic product key, you will need to run the free utility I zipped up and attached below, that will show you show the W8.1 product key in your PC's BIOS.

I have also zipped up and attached below, the Microsoft tool which hopefully will transfer the ISO file to a DVD or usb flash drive so it is bootable.

Then you can install the available drivers and software from your PC's support page.

[PaulCKruger]

I burned two new attempts. Used Rufus to make successful USB install and burned a fresh instal DVD

Disabled the secure boot ( legacy was enabled )

But the problem is not in the booting now.  It is a dumb attribute of MS install system that demands the driver for the dvd that does not exist on the DM mini.  Not even a second sata port to connect a dvd to.

There is no option to skip so how can one install Win 7 on this pc when a dvd driver is required but there is not even a dvd to drive and no port to connect it to anyway?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

See my reply above...

[PaulCKruger]

W8 no media and  the COA not valid for W8.

I did find the issue about no USB3 driver on HP site and did download the missing driver.

Have done that several times already and still no USB3 ports.

I get in devices a caution symbol on a network controller (network works fine) and two cautions on USB (nothing specifies version 2 or 3)

I have to assume this device was sold with working USB3 ports so there must be a fix for this problem on Windows 7 Pro which was the original OS and COA.

Spoiler

[Paul_Tikkanen]

OK, so you got W7 to install and you need a couple of drivers?

Here is the link to the AMD chipset driver you need to get the USB ports to work.  Select the W10/W7 file and restart the PC.

Looks to be the 4th file down on the page.

https://www.amd.com/en/support/chipsets/amd-9-series-chipsets/990fx

Network Controller:   There can be one of a few wifi adapters HP could have installed.

Please post the hardware ID for the network controller, so I can see who makes it and I will then post the link to the wifi driver you need.

Use this guide for how to find the hardware ID for a device...

https://www.howtogeek.com/193798/how-to-find-drivers-for-unknown-devices-in-the-device-manager/

[PaulCKruger]

Downloader installer tool. Does not function. Stalls on running the win utility to make disk bootable. But did make successful disk with rofus toll which worked flawlessly https://rufus.ie/

As of now have system up and running after over 7 hours of hair pulling. I can prove it...Im bald now!  The only hang up is 4 non-functional USB3 Ports  even after removing and reinstalling from HP,  SP-66928 whick is the provided USB3 driver for this specific PC.  Even trying to install manually from the unpacked .inf file says no compatible driver found.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

See my reply above.

You're posting too fast for me...