BIOS doesn't detect USB boot drive

[wowthatstings]

Hi All

I have an HP 14s-dq0xxx laptop which, if I recall, was bought with Windows 11 already on it. For a number of reasons, I've done clean installs 2 or 3 times using a bootable USB created with Rufus. I recently had need to do another clean install and, this time, the USB boot drive didn't work. Eventually, I created another one using Media Creation Tool and, although this worked, it has installed more as an upgrade - e.g., it still showed various programs/apps I had previously installed. As I believed one of these was responsible for the issues I was having I want to go back to a clean install.

However, I now seem to have a problem ……… the BIOS is refusing to detect/recognise my USB boot disk. When I go into Boot Manager I get two options:

- "OS Boot Manager (UEFI)" - which points to C: drive; and
- "Boot from EFI File" which, if I select it seems to point to the EFI system partition on my hard drive.

Whichever I select, the laptop just boots into the existing instance of Windows 11.

The Rufus boot drive is a 16GB memory stick, with the 24H2 version of W11. Partition scheme is GPT and the target system is UEFI. It's formatted as NTFS (this is dictated by Rufus for a W11 iso).

This is what I've tried:

1 - resetting the BIOS to its default settings - no effect
2 - updated the BIOS - no effect.
3 - enabled legacy boot & tried an MBR partition - no effect
4 - enabled secure boot & used a GPT partition (& changed the UEFI boot order so that USB flash drive is first) - no effect
5 - tried different USB sticks and all ports on the laptop - no effect
6 - tested the boot drive using MobaLiveCD. The boot drive is recognised but, irrespective of the partition scheme/target system, it always thinks it's seeing an MBR-partitioned drive.

Has anyone got any idea how I can get this thing to recognise the USB drive?

Thanks in advance

[Hawks_Eye · Accepted solution]

Hi @wowthatstings 

Welcome to the HP Support Community! We're here to help you get back up and running.

Thank you for laying out the situation so clearly. It’s genuinely frustrating when a process that’s worked before suddenly refuses to cooperate—especially when you’ve already exhausted the usual BIOS and boot configuration steps. 

Let’s walk through a few focused solutions that may help your HP 14s-dq0500sa recognize the USB boot drive properly.

---

 

Recommended Steps to Resolve USB Boot Detection Failure

 

1. Use FAT32 Instead of NTFS

Although Rufus defaults to NTFS for Windows 11 ISOs, some HP UEFI implementations only detect FAT32-formatted USBs during boot:

• Recreate the bootable USB using Rufus
  • Select FAT32 as the file system
  • Use GPT partition scheme for UEFI
  • Enable “Create extended label and icon files”

---

 

2. Disable Secure Boot Temporarily

Secure Boot can block non-signed bootloaders:

• Enter BIOS (Esc → F10)
• Navigate to Security → Secure Boot Configuration
• Set Secure Boot to Disabled
• Save and exit

Once installation is complete, you can re-enable Secure Boot.

---

 

3. Use “Boot from EFI File” Manually

If the USB isn’t listed in Boot Manager:

• Select Boot from EFI File
• Navigate to the USB drive (usually fs1: or fs2:)
• Open the folder EFI → Boot
• Select bootx64.efi and press Enter

This manually launches the Windows installer from the USB.

---

 

4. Try HP’s Official USB Recovery Tool

HP offers a recovery tool that creates bootable media compatible with your system’s firmware:

• Visit HP Cloud Recovery Tool
• Download and run it on another PC
• Use it to create a recovery USB for your HP 14s-dq0500sa

This method ensures full compatibility with your BIOS and avoids formatting issues.

---

 

5. Check USB Port Behavior

Some HP laptops only support boot from USB 2.0 ports during POST:

• Try using the left-side USB-A port if available
• Avoid USB hubs or USB-C adapters during boot

---

Let me know which method you try and how the system responds. If needed, I can walk you through creating a FAT32-compatible bootable USB or help interpret EFI file paths. 

You’ve done everything right so far—just a few more steps and you’ll be back in control.

If my response helped, please mark it as an Accepted Solution! ✅ It helps others and spreads support. 💙 Also, tapping "Yes" on "Was this reply helpful?" makes a big difference! Thanks! 😊

Take care, and have an amazing day!

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye

[wowthatstings]

Hi @Hawks_Eye

Thanks for your response. I realised as I was going through the first 3 steps that I'd tried them all previously - I may not have described them quite as accurately in my OP - and they'd all failed

Just a note about Rufus: irrespective of what I selected, as soon as I picked the Windows 11 iso, it defaulted to NTFS with no option to change it.

I also tried manually selecting the 'Boot from EFI file' but it simply opened in the existing Windows 11 instance.

However, after running the HP recovery tool, the BIOS saw the USB and allowed me to boot from a Rufus-created drive. The laptop is now going through it's updates, etc. so, hopefully, by later today I'll have a nice new install of Windows 11.

Thanks for your help.

[Hawks_Eye]

@wowthatstings You are Welcome!

Thank you for the detailed update — it's great to hear that you're making progress and that the BIOS finally recognized the USB boot drive after using the HP recovery tool. 

That small shift can often make all the difference, especially with certain UEFI configurations that can be picky about file systems or boot record structures.

Wishing you a smooth rest of the setup. If any driver or BIOS update questions come up along the way, feel free to ask.

You're awesome, and I'm honored to have been your go-to guide today! 😊

Stay fantastic, and have an amazing day ahead! 

Regards, 

Hawks_Eye