Windows OS issue on HP Envy 15 j110TX

[Sudhakar_kb]

Hi, 

I am having HP Envy 15-J110TX Notebook PC [[Intel(R) Core(TM) i5-4200M CPU]]. It earlier had windows 8.1 OS. As the machine was running slow, recently I removed old 1TB SATA hard-disk and added new 1TB SSD.

The support for Windows 8.1 has reached EOS since January 2023, so I installed Windows 10 Pro Version-21H2 (trial edition) and it is asking for activation of Windows. Currently headphone is not working. I understand that I need to update drivers from HP site, however issue is with OS and hence I am unable to fix this as well.

Currently laptop is not under warranty, so I need help from experts here to address the issue that I am facing on OS installation.

My queries:

a) Which version of Windows 10 is supported in the system. Would Windows 10 Pro Version-21H2 without any issues.

b) I can restore my Windows 8.1 copy from old hard-disk. How do I upgrade my old windows 8.1 to Windows 10? Is this upgrade option possible from HP website?

c) is upgradation from Windows 8.1 to Windows 10 is it same as fresh installation of Windows 10 on my laptop?

d) Can I install Windows 10 directly from HP site on my machine by providing some details about my earlier OS product id?

e) Do I need to install Windows 10 Pro Version-21H2 by purchasing license from third party (I contacted Microsoft support team and they suggested me this approach)

Kindly request you to help me in setting up Windows OS and guide me accordingly. 

Regards,

Sudhakar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Sudhakar:

On your current unactivated W10 installation...

First, install the free Showkey Plus app from the Microsoft Store.

ShowKeyPlus - Microsoft Store Apps

That is going to tell you the version of W8 your notebook came with from HP.

It is going to be W8.1 or W8.1 single language.

Then make a bootable W10 USB installation flash drive with the Media creation tool from the link below. 

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

You will need this for later use to upgrade from W8.1 to W10 for free.

Please post back and let me know the version of W8.1 the product key is good for.

It will look something like this...(My product key is good for W8.1 Pro).

OEM Edition: Win 8.1 RTM Professional OEM:DM

After you do that, I will give you a free way to reinstall the correct version of W8.1 so you can upgrade to the correct version of W10 Home.

[Sudhakar_kb1]

Thanks Paul for your response 

I have run the ShowkeyPlus on current windows 10 OS and following is the output

Product name: Windows 10 Pro

OEM Key: xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-xxxxx-82KVT

OEM Edition: Win 8 RTM Core OEM:DM

Is OEM key related to windows 8 product key here?

I will keep the Windows 10 bootable ready on USB flash drive.

Kindly request you to let me know the next steps.

Thanks & Regards,

Sudhakar

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

You're very welcome, Sudhakar.

OK so your notebook originally came with W8 Standard 64 bit from HP.

Here is how you can reinstall W8.1 for free by using the W8 product key in your notebook's BIOS.

Print and save the OEM W8 product key you got from the showkey plus report.

Install W8.1 by creating the Microsoft installation media...You want the plain W8.1 64 bit ISO file.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows8ISO

Use the free Ruifus utility to transfer the ISO file to a USB flash drive so that it is bootable.

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Set up the Rufus menu exactly the way you see it in the illustration on their website for Windows installations.

Boot from the installation media.

At the beginning of the installation routine, you can delete every partition on there.

If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, use this generic key.

This is the generic key for W8.1 'standard.'

 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT

If you had to enter the generic key, manually change the generic product key to the W8 'standard' key in your PC's BIOS in the PC settings menu.

Then you can install the available drivers and software from the PC's support page.

HP ENVY 15-j110tx Notebook PC (ENERGY STAR) Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

After you have connected to the internet, check to make sure that Windows 8.1 is activated.

The next step is to upgrade from W8.1 > W10:

Have your PC running and at the Windows desktop.

Plug the bootable W10 installation flash drive you made into your PC's USB port.

Do not boot from the flash drive.

Open the flash drive in Windows Explorer.

You will see a list of files on the flash drive.

Double click to run the Setup application to begin the upgrade process to W10.

After that process is complete, you should have an activated version of W10 Home.

[Sudhakar_kb1]

Hi Paul,

I went through your response.  I have downloaded Windows 8.1 ISO file after selecting edition Windows 8.1 (English - United states).

You mentioned in your response

[[[If you are asked to enter a product key during the installation process, use this generic key.

This is the generic key for W8.1 'standard.'

 334NH-RXG76-64THK-C7CKG-D3VPT

If you had to enter the generic key, manually change the generic product key to the W8 'standard' key in your PC's BIOS in the PC settings menu]]]

I have to boot the machine from W8.1 ISO installation media  and enter generic key during W8.1 installation. That is ok. 

I didn't understand last statement - I didn't get what do you mean by "in the PC settings menu". My query is once I enter generic key during installation, later what would be the product key in my BIOS, will it be same OEM key that showed in ShowKeyPlus screen print? Do I need to change to OEM product key in my PC's BIOS, when I restart post installations and get into BIOS using F2?

I understood quiet a bit from your response thread and I progressed to some extent. Final step is installation (W8.1-> W10)

Regards,

Sudhakar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Sudhakar

The W8 OEM product key the showkey plus report is the one you need to enter after you get W8.1 installed.

Here's how to change the generic key you entered (which will not activate Windows) to the W8 OEM product key from the showkey plus report.

How to Change the Product Key in Windows 8.1 - YouTube

You may ask:  "Why can't I just enter the W8 OEM product key on the initial W8.1 installation?

The answer is for some reason it doesn't work when you try and enter the key to install W8.1, but it works fine after you install W8.1.

You don't need to change any keys in the BIOS, etc.

Just as I have written.

[Sudhakar_kb1]

Hi paul,

I created bootable USB drive and installed W8.1 after deleting all partitions (without formatting the hard drive). During installation, it didn't ask me to input generic product key as it might have taken my machine product key from bios in device firmware.  After this I ran the showkeyplus to verify the installed key. It was same as my laptop OEM key.

Post that I tried installing the drivers from HP site as given by you. By default the website showed Windows 10, I selected W8.1 and clicked ok. It asked me to install HP support assistant which gave error for missing .NET framework 4.7.1 and directed me to install the dependency.

I installed .NET framework 4.7.1 and then installed HP support assistance.

After I installed the .NET framework 4.7.1, the touch pad stopped working (mouse pointer is frozen and at times it is invisible) 

I tried troubleshooting the issue

I went to Device manager, to menu of mouse options and updated the driver again.

This didn't help me even after restart, I then took help of HP virtual assistant and tried following options..

1) double tap the top left corner of the touch pad to release if locked.

2) followed the process of power button press for 15 minutes 

Both these options didn't work.

Now I am going to reinstall W8.1 from boot drive to see if this problem reoccurs..

My query is

1) after I install W8.1 from Boot drive, can I directly install W10 without updating the drivers from HP site?

Regards,

Sudhakar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Sudhakar:

Now that you are an expert at installing W8.1, after it is installed, just install the W8.1 Wi-Fi driver so you can connect to the internet.  Don't waste your time installing anything else.

Then plug in the W10 USB installation flash drive and upgrade W8.1 to W10.

You just need an internet connection.

Hopefully, W10 will install most of the drivers your notebook needs automatically.

[Sudhakar_kb1]

Hi Paul,

Thanks for your guidance and prompt response to my queries to me to get to the speed.

I have installed W10 using bootable USB. 

After the installation, touchpad stopped working. It seems driver was updated or misguided with some windows 10 updates .

I tried the following

1) Updated synaptics driver from Device Manager

2) Touch pad reset using finger click on top left corner

Then I read some forums and tried various options. The restarted machine in safe mode (after changing system configuration settings, which loads minimal drivers) and touchpad worked in safe mode and also some updates were rollbacked in safe mode.

Then I changed system configuration to start in normal mode - touchpad worked. 

A Big thanks to you....:) Appreciate your help and way to understood my problems to lead me to resolution.

Regards,

Sudhakar

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime, Sudhakar.

Glad to have been of assistance.

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Paul