HP, 15, bw011dx, can't get into bios to set to boot from USB, will not boot from win10/win11 USB.

[Fieroguy]

4-15-24, Hello, HP, 15, bw011dx, original 4gb 2400 mem stick (1), original hdd, 256gb, spinning drive. I tried to upgrade to an extra 8gb 2400 ram stick & a 1tb  SSD. It will not boot. I could see the screen back light go on, off, on, off. Hold start button till off. Swap original parts back in, it boots into windows. Since I cleared cmos, f10 will not bring up the bios screen. f1, f2, f9, f10 will not work. The f10 shows on the bottom of the screen but just sits there, no bios screen.  reboot & it boots into windows & works but slow. Can't change boot order to install windows 10/11.  Am I locked out? Is there a special key combination to unlock?   

Any help will be appreciated. Thank you.  [personal information removed]   4-15-24

[WAWood]

If you were to remove the HDD and connect both it and the SSD to a working PC, then you could CLONE the first to the second, and when you then put the SSD into the laptop in place of the HDD, it should simply boot without issue.

One app that I have used to do this is Macrium Reflect and the free TRIAL version is still available from their website, as far as I know.

The PAID version allows you to CLONE from a larger capacity drive to a smaller one, but I don't know if the TRIAL version allows that.  If it does not, then you would have to use a partitioning tool to shrink down the partitions on the HDD to be small enough (in total) to fit onto the SSD with room to spare.

[Fieroguy]

Hello. Thank you.  I had cloned the drive just as you mentioned. With the 8gb mem stick in it would not boot. I did not try the SSD with only the 4gb mem stick. The unit seems to be using 3.6gb of 4gb of ram. It runs very slow & choppy.   I could get into the bios by f10 before. Since I cleared the cmos, f10 does not work any more. The cmos battery reads 3 volts.  How do I get into the bios now?   Thank you very much.  Glenn 

[WAWood]

All I can suggest is to try pressing the Esc key rapidly, repeatedly -- to see if the BIOS senses that keypress.

[Fieroguy]

Hello, Thank you.  When I press Esc key the word "Pause" shows on the bottom left screen and nothing happens after that. Same with f1, f2, f9, f10.  I don't think it can be the cmos battery reads 3 volts,  and it boots into windows & does not give any cmos messages. The Crucial mem did not work. 8gb, DDR4, 2400mts, original 4gb, DDR4 2400mts, is Samsung I believe.   How fussy are HP laptops for memory?    Thank you.  Glenn.                     

I am a senior citizen trying to help an older senior citizen. I have been building desktops for over 20 years. This HP laptop is different. 

[WAWood]

I've been building desktops for a very LONG time too,  and you are correct -- laptops are a very different story.

Pressing Esc should have brought up a BIOS menu, including options for running diagnostics.  I don't know why that did not work on this laptop.

I don't know about memory sticks/brands and HP laptops.  I have upgraded a couple of laptops and I guess I was lucky in buying memory sticks that worked.

The CMOS battery only saves the BIOS/UEFI settings when the power is turned off, so I don't see how it can affect the BIOS's ability to see keystrokes.

[Fieroguy]

Thank you very much for your time. Be well & happy..