Struggling to clean install Windows 8.1

[Stealthstarcat]

My machine came installed with Windows 10. It's had a host of issues ever since I got a virus on it which deactivated Windows Defender and Windows Update. Recently enough issues had amounted to the point where I felt I needed to back up my files and fix all that stuff for good.

I also figured that Windows 10 has always given me issues and that I'd rather have Windows 8.1. Even though the machine wasn't designed for Win8 (or to change versions at all), according to other things online, it seemed like it could be pulled off, even if updates were disabled (which I was already dealing with anyway).

I burned myself a Windows 8.1 installation disc, set my BIOS to boot from it, and tried to go ahead with the installation. I encountered an issue with the machine being unable to locate the drive partitions, so I went looking for SATA drivers and basically tried everything I could find. One worked, so I removed the old partition and told it to install to there. The installation seemed to go smoothly from there.

However, now, it won't boot. It gives the blue 😞 screen for a split second before restarting, which gives this:

"Recovery

Your PC couldn't start properly

After multiple tries, the operation system on your PC failed to start, so it needs to be repaired.

Error code: 0xc0000001

You'll need to use recovery tools. If you don't have installation media (like a disc or USB device), contact your OC administrator or PC/Device manufacturer."

It gives the options to try again, enter recovery environment, startup settings, or UEFI Firmware Settings.

The machine will then shut down.

Using the installation disc, I used the Startup Repair advanced option and got 'Startup Repair couldn't repair your PC.'

Tried Reset your PC, 'Unable to reset your PC. A required drive partition is missing.'

Went through the command prompt and used the Bootrec commands other posts say to enter if you have boot problems. Bootrec /scanos and Bootrec /rebuildbcd return 'Successfully scanned Windows installations. Total identified Windows installations: 0'. Bootrec /fixmbr and Bootrec /fixboot both return 'The device is not ready'.

When using list partition with diskpart, it returns 'There are no partitions on this disk to show.'

I believe that's everything I tried.

I would love to get Win8.1 working on my machine, but I'm able to create a new disc for reinstalling Win10 if necessary.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

Do you have a product key for W8.1?

It is not going to activate with the W10 key in your PC's BIOS.

I would see if this works...

Download the W8.1 64 bit ISO file from the link below, and use the tool I zipped up and attached below to transfer the ISO file to a USB flash drive so that it is bootable.

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

Have the flash drive in the PC.

Turn on or restart the PC.

Immediately start tapping the ESC key at the beginning of the HP welcome screen to get the menu of options.

Select the F9 boot options menu, and from that, select the USB diskette on key/USB hard drive, and press the enter key.

When you get to the part of the installation process where it asks 'Where do you want to install Windows,' delete every partition on the hard drive, leaving just one partition of unallocated space.   Click Next, and W8.1 should install.

Also in order to boot from a DVD, you must first go into the BIOS, enable legacy mode and disable secure boot.

See this link for the settings to change...

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

[Stealthstarcat]

I've used the product key from my old 8.1 laptop with a broken battery.

I originally tried the USB before the disc, but when I plugged it in and used F9 to change the boot order, the USB wasn't listed, even after trying multiple ports.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

I guess you will have to install from the DVD then, though I don't understand why the USB flash drive doesn't appear on the list of bootable devices.

Did you try it in legacy mode to see if it shows up?

If the W8.1 product key from your broken notebook was an OEM key, I doubt that it is going to activate.

[Stealthstarcat]

I'm pretty sure the activation worked because it did install. I couldn't have reached the drive selection screen if it didn't.

[Hibb1]

 I'm pretty sure the Win8.1 USB won't be in the bootable devices list if you have Secure Boot / UEFI enabled. You need to have secure boot disabled and Legacy boot enabled.

The latest Win10 (1909) is the opposite and will only boot of the USB if secure boot / UEFI is ENABLED.

Personally, I strongly recommend creating and installing the latest Windows 10 1909. There is NO reason why it wouldn't work, and/or be worse than Windows 8.1. It is NOT recommended to have Windows update disabled if you use this machine on the Internet.

If you got virus' in Win10, you'll still get them in Win8.1. If you keep getting crashes, BSOD's etc.. then I'd start looking at the hardware. Windows 10 is (imo) very stable and quite broadly compatible.