Boot from USB Windows 10 restore drive

[TOADintree3]

I have a HP Pavilion dv4 (circa 2008), still with all original hardware, that runs great. It is a back up computer to my eighth generation Dell XPS 8930 VR, and yes the HP is 100 times slower and ancient technology, but it still works and my philosophy is that if it works don't chuck it, for it may have a use someday.

Presently it is running Win 10, 64 bit Home edition. I would like to refresh the OS as it has been two years, and the click lock mouse feature does not work, and the OS seems to be a bit slugish. I have a recent (burned in the last 30 days) Windows 10 OS restore disk on a 16GB USB 3.0 drive.

Do I just tap tap tap on the Esc key after I start up to change the boot order in the BIOS, or is there another proceedure that I can follow? After that, what do I select to proceed without touching my files and programs, is it the selection to retain those? Reason being, I do not have a License key for Windows 10 as it came as an upgrade during the time when we could do that, and I have encounterd the message where we have to compatibilty issues and need to enter one, otherwise, we have to go the total restore avenue which wipes everything out but the new OS. While I encountered this message on a Dell restore done last week, I am guessing it might happen on the HP as well and I am just trying to prepare before trying this restore method.

Another method I might try is to do a restore back to Vista from the D drive (if possible), then boot from the USB Windows restore drive, and restore Windows 10 from there. Is this a better route or only a last restort? Why would I do this? Because if my mouse and other small issues are traced back to what is needed on Vista then going back and then forward might fix them as opposed to trying just a Windows 10 restore. Windows 10 doesn't have a Troubleshooter for the mouse that I know of anyway. Thank you in advance for any technical advice you can provide.

[Lil_Boy_Blue]

Hi

KeyFinderInstaller may help....
https://www.magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

Doing research, and none of the methods are mine, I have some, simple single lines of code that will list the same value for your Windows 10 Product Key…
W10 Using cmd.exe as an Administrator (copy and paste accordingly).

wmic path softwarelicensingservice get OA3xOriginalProductKey >> c:\ProdKey.txt
Creates a text file called ProdKey.txt on your C:\ area.

Next is a PowerShell command, as Administrator...
(Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey

but it will run within W10 using cmd.exe as an Administrator.
powershell (Get-WmiObject -query ‘select * from SoftwareLicensingService’).OA3xOriginalProductKey

That may give you a copy of the KEY. 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10

Can give you a Bootable USB (or even a DVD).

I have used the Microsoft .iso and done an over the top re-install, which does not delete anything and creates a WINDOWS.OLD folder with the previous USER date stored there.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi, @TOADintree3 

On your old model, you should just be able to tap the F9 key at the beginning of the HP welcome screen to get to the boot options menu.

If not, then yes, ESC then select the F9 boot options menu when you get to the main menu provided by the ESC key.

If you plan on reinstalling W10, when you get to the section where you are asked to enter a product key, select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 will install and activate once you are connected to the internet, since Microsoft has a record of your PC having been previously upgraded to W10.

Follow Lil_Boy_Blue's last sentence regarding how to reinstall W10 and be able to retrieve your files.

One note of caution...while whatever W10 build you have on there now may be working fine, the latest build may not.

I don't know what happens as the newer build releases roll out, but many times they cause havoc with the drivers and devices that used to work, no longer work and there is nothing you can do to fix the issue.

Hopefully that won't happen in your situation.

[TOADintree3]

I surged forward this afternoon, reinstalled 10, got a fresh start, and will see what works and what doesn''t.

I was able to reinstall via the USB by booting from within the Windows 10 Recovery using that route. But I now know by your post, what f key (9) to hit to get to the boot screen. Thank you.

I still have the Vista restore (D) partition, which I suppose, if need be someday, I could go back to and restore Vista and then roll my current Restore disk version of 10 onto that? Or just wipe everything out, use the original recovery disks, and install 10 on top of that. Why? To get some of the HP software that is there and not on my HP anymore, then lay 10 on top. If possible.

For some reason, my mouse click to lock feature still doesn't work, even under the new restore today. Oh well. Not a big deal. Now I will have to reinstall what I want and forget the rest as this is just a back up computer and very very slow one compared to the 8th gen i7 XPS VR I type this on now. I suppose its something that the HP is still up and kicking after almost 12 years. As HD's go that is pretty good I've been told.

I did not realize what you said about the newest rollout's... Dell never told me that one... but then I never knew to ask. So far things seem to work fine. I'll keep an eye on that. I am pretty sure the handful of APPS I need to use, and the half dozen Windows Store APPs I like will work just fine. Lucky for me the HP isn't my main computer anymore.

I'll have to see what tomorrow brings. I'm really over my head with these PC's. I did so much better with Macs.

[TOADintree3]

Thank you for replying. I can kind of follow all that, but it won't be necessary as I did figure out how to reinstall via the Recovery path in Update & Security. Windows reinstated my ID as it tagged to when I upgraded 2 years ago from 7.

As I've been told as long as my HP motherboard is alive (still kicking after almost 12 years), so is that tag to Windows 10 key verification... though if I ever run into difficulties, I will use your suggestions... If I can actually do it.. this stuff is still way over my head.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I do not believe that you can do an 'in place' upgrade with Vista.

I guess you have nothing to lose by trying though.

Worst case scenario is W10 tells you that you have to do a clean install.

[TOADintree3]

Thank you for responding, again, though I do not know what "in place" means.

I am guessing it means jumping over everything (10) back to the original D partition factory restore starting place? I do have original restore disks and so forth, and I've never used them once. 12 years and they just sit. Upgrades to 7, 8 and 10 served that purpose.

After seeing how things work today, I've lost CyberLink's suite and some other software which allows the HP to be an interesting multimedia computer and watch movies and so forth... but then the system is slow, by today's standards, and I look at a nice Dell 27" monitor as I type this, so why would I want to watch a movie on a 13" laptop... unless I am hiking up a mountain, lugged it with me, had a movie to watch, and my battery could last the two hours. I don't drive and look at anything other than the road ahead.

I think this is what others refer to "some things don't work in 10 that did in 7, and/or Vista" (besides my mouse click lock feature)? The only reason I would restore to the original is to reload now missing software and use it, if it even still works under 10. The quick launch buttons on the top stopped working after I left Vista, but I only used those for a year anyway before 7 arrived. Primarily, I used a laptop for getting onto public wireless and accessing email and browsers to keep current when we were on the road out of town. These days people do that with smart phones, but we only have a circa 2008 Trac phone, and land line, and don't plan on buying a smart phone anytime this decade, or beyond. The Trac still has its original battery and double minutes. As long as that phone doesn't die, I get to keep the double minutes. Imagine that.

This restore exercise has endeared me once again to old technology, and the realization that when the HP goes, I will go out and buy a decent new laptop and try to figure that out too.

Then there is our Acer (the turtle), circa 2004 that still works, runs XP, stopped accessing the internet in 2009 but is still in the closet for only one reason... because it is the only way we can port raw video into computer land for editing from our Panasonic video camera, which has to have XP as Panasonic in its short sighted wisdom did not write drivers for my camera that would be reconized on Vista, 7, 8, or 10. How odd.

Nice camera though and works great. Stockpiled lots of brand new DV tapes too.... however, the Acer is beginning to make strange grinding noises... and that's another concern, for it might be the HD is getting rusty, not being used too much, kind of like humans in that regard...

Thank you again for your help.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Yes, 'in place' means you factory reset the PC, so it has Vista and all the original HP software in it.

Then you pop the W10 DVD in and let it run from the Vista desktop.

If it lets you upgrade to W10 by keeping the currently installed programs and files, then you may be good to go.

I'm thinking though, that the disk will tell you that you can't upgrade from Vista to W10 and you would have to do a clean install, thus putting you right back where you are now.  No HP programs that originally came with your PC.

FWIW, I have shared the link to my skydrive folder below where you can download the W10 version of the Cyberlink PowerDVD12 software which will allow you to play DVD's.  Hopefully, it will work for your model PC.

https://1drv.ms/f/s!ApMb5dJXSS-Dggen6t_Lt2eggvfZ

You want the zip file labeled sp75514.

Download, unzip and run the setup application.

[TOADintree3]

Wow! Thank you again. I will try that and cross my fingers, but before that, the exact system name is HP Pavilion dv4 1020 Entertainment Notebook. HP does not have support for anything before a 1200 series, unfortunately.

1. I cannot watch any kind of DVD movie when I insert a DVD into the drive. I don't know whether I can use the SATA port, or the other fancy ports on the side (HDMI, etc.) I did download all the stuff available under the Windows 7 64 bit, 1200 series model, though when I tried installing the Media Suite, it failed, so I won't even try any of the other stuff... except maybe the mouse and keyboard drivers, unless someone here advises against that. No DVD program in the Windows store worked either, so hopefully your solution will.

2. I have the Windows 7 updrade, so I would roll back to Vista using the Restore disks, then vault forward to 7, then use the Windows 10 restore disk I burned a few weeks ago last. It has already worked twice, once for a Dell laptop, and once on the HP... hopefully it will again. I always have the ISO on DVD burned two years ago... but with all the updates in between....

3.Surely something will work where I can watch personal DVD movies I own on the HP. The Windows 10 Movie and TV app included in 10 works fine, it plays the trailers and anything else available there... except you have to rent and or buy those movies...

So, I try your link and program. I'll try downloading it to this computer first (faster) and transfer it over via USB.

[TOADintree3]

Update on my progress. I downloaded and sucessfully installed the Cyber Link Power DVD program you linked. Thank you. However, when it came to playing a DVD movie I have around the house, no such luck. The program states that I must upgrade to another version (18.x) from the current (12.x) as the 12 verions does not support DVD movie playback.

I am not sure if the Windows 10 install is missing a driver or what, becasue at this point even the Windows 10 Movie and TV app that came with the 10 restore, does not play a DVD movie that you put into the DVD drive. At this point, right now, to completely go back to Vista, then 7 and 10 layered on top just to maybe get to see a DVD that I can watch on this computer or any TV in the house seems a bit much... though my desire to try to fix it does nag at me to find a solution, because the restore of 10 on two older laptops this past week has noticebly improved their performance, and in essence given both a  much needed enema.

Should I try all the files I found in the Windows 7 HP downloads for a 1200 series laptop? Or is that just too risky and not going to amount to a hill of beans anyway?

Do you have any other suggestions?