Help with Windows 11 Installation on HP OMEN 16 from FreeDOS

[Pedro_Costa]

Hello,

I recently purchased an HP OMEN 16-ap0032ns that came with FreeDOS. I am trying to perform a clean installation of Windows 11 and I need help with the process, as I am encountering an issue that is blocking the installation.

Here are my laptop's specifications and what I have already tried:

• Model: HP OMEN 16-ap0032ns

• Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 8940HX

• Initial Situation: Laptop came with the FreeDOS operating system.

• Goal: Install Windows 11.

Steps Taken & Problem Encountered

1. I created a bootable Windows 11 installation USB drive using balenaEtcher.

2. I was able to access the BIOS and boot the system from the USB drive.

3. The Windows 11 installer starts, but it stops at the screen where I should choose a drive to install the system. The message that appears is "We couldn't find any drives. To get a storage driver..."

What I have tried to solve the driver problem

1. I downloaded the AMD Chipset Software (.exe) from the official AMD website.

2. Since I only have a MacBook, I tried to extract the driver files from the .exe using The Unarchiver and, later, the 7zcommand in Terminal.

3. The extraction attempts did not work; the necessary driver files (.inf, .sys) were not visible.

My main difficulty is obtaining the storage driver files so that the Windows installer can detect the SSD.

Could anyone who has successfully installed Windows 11 on this specific model (or a similar one with a Ryzen 8000 Series processor) provide a detailed guide on the process, especially on how to handle the storage driver?

Thank you for any help!

[Pedro_Costa · Accepted solution]

Hey everyone,

Just managed to install Windows 11 on my new HP OMEN 16-ap0032ns (BZ1N9EA) that came with FreeDOS. It was a tough one, but here's how I solved the main issues:

1. USB Boot with Windows 11 Installer - Not Detected

The Initial Problem: My biggest headache was that the system running FreeDOS wouldn't even recognize my bootable USB drive at first. Even when I managed to boot from it, making changes in the BIOS Boot Settings, it still didn't recognize it.

My Solution: The key was using Rufus to create the bootable USB. As I only had a MacBook, I had to run Rufus inside a Windows 11 virtual machine (using Parallels on my MacBook). Rufus allowed me to properly format the USB for UEFI boot and crucially "inject" the necessary storage drivers directly into the Windows installation image, making the USB drive visible.

2. Partitioning Errors (Windows 11 Installation)

Problem: Even after the USB drive was recognized during the Windows installation process, specifically on the partition selection screen, the installer couldn't use the existing SSD/HP partitions. It showed errors like "unrecognized partition type" or "volume offline."

Solution: I used DiskPart from the Windows Installer screen (Shift + F10).

• I typed diskpart then list disk.

• Selected my SSD with select disk 0 (be careful here!).

• Used the clean command to wipe all existing partitions. This made the entire SSD show as "Unallocated Space," allowing Windows to create new partitions and proceed.

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Hope this helps anyone else facing similar challenges!

Pedro