Opgrade to Windows 10 - HP Compaq 6200 Pro Small Form Factor PC

[sfinksen]

Hi

I want to opgrade from Windows 7 Pro( 64 bit ) to Windows 10 Pro ( 64 bit ) with a clean install.

I am aware that I have to choose the UEFI mode in the boot menu, but is there anything I have

to enable/disable inside BIOS before I boot the installation DVD ?

Regards

Knud Erik

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

Hello sfinksen ;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

I read your post about upgrading your PC to Win10 and wanted to help.

First off, you do not require UEFI to install Win10 Pro 64-bit.  I have that installed on a desktop using BIOS and MBR and it works just fine.  Are you even sure that an SFF PC even provides the UEFI option?

Second, personally, I would advise against the update.  The problem you're up against is that Microsoft only supplies drivers with the most basic functionality, and what you really need for FULL functionality in laptops is the specialized drivers written for the specific hardware found in laptops -- and unfortunately, there are no HP Win10 drivers for your laptop.  HP only guarantees Win10 compatibility for machines made after August, 2013. HP does not have any schedule indicating when, or IF, they will be producing drivers for the older machines.

To further complicate matters, the Win10 GoBack function has been demonstrated to be unreliable, so when folks try to rollback to an earlier OS, when it does not work, it can leave the machine in a corrupted state, such that only a full factory reset from HP Recovery Media will get it back to a working condition, and not only do you have to purchase that media, you end up losing all your data, settings, and applications in the process.

However, you can protect yourself from such problems if, BEFORE you do that, you consider using a third-party imaging/restoration application like Macrium Reflect to image off your machine so you can easily restore it if anything doesn't work.  And, do NOT rely on the Win10 GoBack function to revert to Win7, it is unreliable and can leave your machine in a corrupted state.

Macrium Reflect (MR) provides a FREE version that can be used to image and restore partitions or entire drives.

What I recommend is the following:
1) Download and install Macrium Reflect (MR)
2) Run MR and choose the option: "Create an image of the partition(s) required to backup and restore Windows" to write a full backup to an external drive or USB stick
3) Use the option to create a boot USB stick or CD

I use this all the time and it typically takes less than 10 minutes to do the image backup and about the same time or less to do a restore.  Plus, MR has the option to Add a Recovery Boot Menu entry.  This allows you then to boot into WinRE, and you can then use that to do a restore -- when you can't boot into Windows!

NOW, you have the means to restore a full working system from the external drive or USB stick in only a few minutes.

Furthermore, a clean-install of Win10 will only activate in the following circumstances:

1) using build 10240 (the RTM), a previous in-place upgrade has already been done and confirmed to have Activated.

2) using build 10586 (the November update), a valid prior OS product key has been entered.

So, if you are planning on doing a clean-install, you would do best using the MS Media Creation Tool (MCT) : Installing Windows 10 using the media creation tool - Windows Help

With this tool, you have the option of (1) creating Win10 installation media (USB or DVD), (2) downloading an ISO file, (3) updating the PC directly.  If all you want to do is update this PC, then choose the option: Upgrade this PC now.  This tool will automatically select build 10586 -- giving you the option of entering a product key to activate it.

Good Luck

I am a volunteer and I do not work for, nor do I represent, HP.
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