Can I boot from a usb memory stick on a Pavilion laptop with no DVD drive

[HaroldReg]

I am configuring a New laptop bought for a local charity. The only storage is a SSD. I have installed Macrium Reflect, which I use on my own computer, and created a recovery USB stick, as well as creating a disk image on an external disk.

I  need to understand whether I will able to boot from the recovery USB stick if there should be a failure of Windows 10. On my own computer I have change the boot sequence to look for a DVD Drive first. On the HP Pavilion, it is unclear weather a memory stick is acceptable. It seems that a USB connected drive  or DVD will be OK, but it is silent on the use of a USB flash stick. I don’t want to use trial and error to find out!

Harold Reglar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You should be able to.

If the PC does not boot from the USB flash drive straight away, then you may have to enable legacy mode and disable secure boot in the BIOS.

There is no need to change any boot sequence in the BIOS.

Have the flash drive in the PC, turn on or restart the PC.

Tap the ESC key at the beginning of the HP welcome screen to get the menu of options.

Select the F9 boot options menu and from that, select the USB diskette on key/flash drive, and press the enter key.

If you do not see the device listed, then you will need to change those BIOS settings I mentioned, and boot from the legacy USB diskette on key/USB flash drive.

Here is a link which provides more info on enabling legacy mode and disabling secure boot in the BIOS.

https://www.support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03736054/