Booting to external monitor without windows

[j9oneill]

My windows OS was corrupted, will not boot attempted to do recovery could not get through it successfully due to my laptop only having half of a screen for a monitor could not see where to click to select appropriate buttons to get through the recovery what I need to do is if possible Figure out how I can boot upon start up to an external monitor either through the bios or the recovery. I tried to watch videos to where buttons might be so I could get into both the bios and the recovery and attempt to successfully get through it, but I was unsuccessful  With workarounds is it possible To even boot to an external monitor at all without windows?

[Nal_NR]

Hi @j9oneill,

Welcome to the HP Support Community. 

I'd be happy to help you! 

You can indeed boot to an external monitor through the BIOS or recovery mode on your HP Laptop 15-db0015dx, although it can be tricky without a functioning internal display. Here are steps you can take to set up your laptop to use an external monitor from the BIOS or recovery environment:

1. Connect the External Monitor

• Connect your external monitor to your laptop using an HDMI or VGA cable, depending on your monitor and laptop ports.

2. Boot to BIOS

• Turn off your laptop.
• Turn it on and immediately start pressing the Esc key repeatedly to enter the startup menu.
• From the startup menu, press F10 to enter the BIOS setup.

3. Adjust BIOS Settings (If Possible)

• Some BIOS versions allow display output to be directed to an external monitor. Look for display options in the BIOS setup menu. This might be under Advanced or Display settings.
• Unfortunately, not all BIOS versions have this option. If you don't see such an option, you may need to proceed to the next steps.

4. Boot to Recovery Mode

• Turn off your laptop.
• Turn it on and immediately start pressing F11 repeatedly to enter the HP Recovery Manager.
• If the external monitor does not display the recovery environment, try the following keystrokes blindly (assuming the recovery menu is open but you can't see it):

5. Blind Navigation in Recovery Mode

• Use an external keyboard if you have one, as it might be easier to navigate.
• Typically, once in the recovery environment, you can press the Tab key to cycle through options. Use Enter to select and arrow keys to navigate.
• Follow a tutorial or video on the recovery process for your specific model to anticipate where you need to navigate and press the keys accordingly.

Kindly check the next steps in the next post.

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.

[Nal_NR]

Hi @j9oneill,

Please find the next steps below.

6. Perform a System Recovery with a Windows Installation USB

• Create a Windows Installation USB:
  • Use another computer to download the Windows 10 or 11 installation media from the Microsoft website.
  • Follow the instructions to create a bootable USB drive.
• Boot from the USB:
  • Insert the USB drive into your HP laptop.
  • Turn on your laptop and immediately start pressing the Esc key repeatedly to enter the startup menu.
  • Press F9 to enter the Boot Device Options menu.
  • Use the arrow keys to select your USB drive and press Enter.

7. Navigating the Windows Installation

• Once booted from the USB drive, the installation process might appear on the external monitor.
• Follow the on-screen instructions to either repair your Windows installation or perform a clean install.

Additional Tips:

• Automatic External Monitor Detection:
  • Some laptops automatically detect an external monitor when the internal one is not functioning. Make sure the external monitor is turned on and set to the correct input source (HDMI, VGA, etc.).
• Disable the Internal Display:
  • If you can get into Windows or recovery mode and partially see the screen, try to disable the internal display by right-clicking on the desktop, selecting Display settings, and choosing to use only the external display.

If these steps don't work, it might be necessary to contact phone support for further assistance. 

Hope this helps! Keep me posted for further assistance

Please mark this post as “Accepted Solution” if the issue is resolved and if you feel this reply was helpful click “Yes”.