Cannot recover using EFI on USB for win 10 on laptop

[millstoneman]

I created the recovery disk when the laptop was new and it had done the auto upgrade to win 10. After having many issues regarding windows 10 updates I decided to reset it but , as with many I have read, it would not get further than 62% and stuck there for hours after many retries. I went into recovery from F11 etc but it cannot reset. There are no restore points to use. I then inserted the USB with the recovery on. I entered BIOS and went to boot options. I chose USB as main boot but, when restarting, the laptop just goes to keyboard choice then restarts without any recovering. I disabled 'secure boot' next to ensure the USB would be used but the same thing happens. I have checked the USB which contains all the needed files include bootmgr and EFI etc.  Why won't the laptop see the boot disk and attempt recovery?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Rather than changing the boot priority in the bios, see if you can start an installation from the boot manager menu as follows.

First, load the default settings for the bios.  To do this, shutdown the notebook.  Tap away at the esc key as soon as you start the notebook to enter the Start-up Menu, then select f10 to enter the Bios Menu.  Press f9 to load the defaults ( this is sometimes f5, but the menu at the bottom will show the correct key ), use the arrow keys to select 'Yes' and hit enter.  Press f10 to save the setting and again use the arrow keys to select 'Yes' and hit enter.

With the machine still powered on, insert the installation flash drive and Shutdown the notebook with the media still inserted, by holding down the power button for 10 seconds.

Tap away at the esc key as soon as you press the power button to enter the Start-up Menu and then select the Boot Options Menu ( f9 ).

Use the arrow keys to highlight the Flash drive option and hit enter.

Regards,

DP-K

[millstoneman]

Hi

Thank you for the reply.

I had already tried the F9 and had chosen the USB efi which was listed. This did nothing as before. I could even drill down as far as choosing the bootmgr or EFI version from the USB key when in boot mode. 

I have now solved the problem by using windows media creation tool and installing a clean copy.  This has been a revelation. The laptop (small SSD of 32gb see prev posts on problems) has now got a clean windows O/S on AND 17.2gb of free space. Before I struggled with 1.5 - 2gb even using CCleaner etc. It has taken some time via hardware manager and the HP download assistant to update all the items with yellow exclamation marks but its a great little machine now. WAY better than the HP installation.  I would not recommend this route for novice users as they may run into issues with poorly driven hardware.  Now very pleased with the machine.

[DavidPK · Accepted solution]

That's good to hear

All the best,

DP-K