old HP Laptop fix help

[Paolo_Villacena]

Hi. Trying to restore an older laptop (2016-ish) just enough for home schooling purposes. Found out that HDD has been corrupted--was able to get an old HDD from another laptop which is beyond repair. Was able to boot and get inside. HDD has Windows 7 OS (planning to make it Windows 10). Problem is, laptop cannot connect to any network because drivers are not updated, even the USB ports. Basically, it only has access to the HDD itself and the untested (yet) CD/DVD drive. Are there any workarounds with this?

Here's a list of things I tried already:

1. created bootable USB disk but it seems the OS is not reading it because drivers are not up to date.

2. tinkered (a lot) with different BIOS setups and combinations trying to make the system boot from USB--- failed.

3. removed working HDD, placed in a case to connect with my working computer, hoping I could download both the windows installation and maybe the drivers, directly to the working HDD and re-place inside HP laptop and then proceed from within (as I can boot and explore OS and hard drive files without any issues except connecting to the internet and reading flash drives, etc.

* planning to test the CD/DVD drive if working and maybe burning the windows installation and driver updates into a CD and proceed from there.

any thoughts or other workarounds? Thanks in advance!

[WAWood]

@Paolo_Villacena 

You created two problems reusing the old drive.  First, it had drivers installed for the old laptop, so of course, it is not going to work in a different laptop. There are utilities you can purchase to fix that, but they expect a clean, working version of Windows on the new PC and are designed to work with Windows 10.

Second, the Windows license is tied to the PC, not to the owner -- so moving the drive committed a license violation, making the process basically illegal.

You also won't be able to update the laptop to Windows 10 because MS insists on a "legal" license -- which you do not have.

So basically, your only real solution would be to purchase a copy of Windows to run on the laptop and install that.  You won't be able to get a valid license for the version installed because HP does not sell OEM licenses.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @Paolo_Villacena 

First things first...what is the full model number or product number of your PC?

Use this guide to find that information...please do not post the serial number.

HP Notebook PCs - How Do I Find My Product Name or Number? | HP® Customer Support

You mentioned the notebook may have been from around 2016, and if that is correct, it may be supported by the HP cloud recovery tool which you can use to make a bootable USB recovery drive that you can use to reinstall W10, the drivers and the software that originally came with the notebook.

Here is an info link for how to use that utility and there is a link within this link to see if your notebook is supported.

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool (Windows 10, 7) | HP® Customer Support

If it is not supported by the cloud recovery tool and it originally came with W10, you can legally install W10 by making bootable installation media using the media creation tool from the link below.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

As as a last resort, I may be able to help you find the W7 drivers you need to be able to use the PC, but I need to know the model number first.

[Paolo_Villacena]

Thanks for your reply.

My first aim was to see if the HDD that was inside the laptop was the issue. Found out it was and was surprised that I was able to access the insides of the replacement HDD.

Since I was able to do that. I figured maybe I could just format this replacement HDD, start from scratch and install a Windows 10 OS replacing the current Windows 7 on this replacement HDD. 

I have created a Windows 10 installation media via USB but the laptop does not seem to read from the USB. I decided to update drivers but ethernet and wireless drivers are not updated as well. 

Basically, there is no internet connection to update the drivers, no way to update drivers via USB as well.

I was able to verify that the DVD drive is working earlier. Could this be done via installation media on a DVD?

[Paolo_Villacena]

Thank you, Paul!

Here is the product number: L3A04PA#UUF

1. Will the cloud recovery tool need the laptop to connect to the internet? If yes, then laptop is unable to connect because drivers are not updated. I'm thinking this will also need the old user's login? If yes, then that would also be impossible as the main reason he donated this laptop is because he thought it wasn't worth anything anymore and he has no idea anymore of his login.

2. The replacement HDD I used had windows 7 installed, no password (it was my cousin's old hard drive from way back 2012-2013), and of course drivers were set for his old laptop. The first reason I tried replacing was because I was suspicious of the old HDD that was on the old HP, and I was right.

3. USB installation media did not work because USB was not recognized because drivers were not updated.

Appreciate all your answers!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Your notebook is an HP 14-R219TX which did not originally come with Windows 10.

So the cloud recovery tool will not work on your model.

It came with W8.1 x64.

HP Notebook - 14-r219tx Product Specifications | HP® Customer Support

Here is the W7 wifi driver you need so you can connect to the internet.

https://ftp.hp.com/pub/softpaq/sp82501-83000/sp82801.exe

Here is how you can install W8.1 with a DVD...

Download the plain W8.1 64 bit ISO file from the link below.

Download Windows 8.1 Disc Image (ISO File) (microsoft.com)

Use the Microsoft tool that I zipped up and attached below that you will need to transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

The W8.1 product key is in the BIOS, so W8.1 should not ask for a product key to be entered.

If it does, go back and download the W8.1 64 bit Single Language ISO file and make a bootable DVD with that.

After W8.1 installs, you can install the drivers and available software from your notebook's support page.

HP Notebook - 14-r219tx Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

Then you should be able to still get the free upgrade to W10 by clicking on the blue Update Now button at the link below,.

Download Windows 10 (microsoft.com)

This article explains how/why you can still get the free upgrade to W10...

Here's how you can still get a free Windows 10 upgrade | ZDNet

[Paolo_Villacena]

Thanks a lot, Paul! 

Sounds very promising! 

This would mean that I would need to burn the sp82801 W7 Wi-Fi driver update file and the Windows 8.1 SL installation ISO file on 2 separate DVDs or can I both burn it on just 1 DVD? (apparently, CDs and DVDs are very rare now)

About this:

Use the Microsoft tool that I zipped up and attached below that you will need to transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

Is this the same as the MS media creation tool (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/windows-usb-dvd-download-tool) or is it a different thing?

Again, really appreciate your responses but to sum it up: burn driver files and W8.1 installation on DVD because at the moment, this is the only way that I can send files to the old laptop with a replacement HDD, correct?

Thanks in advance!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

You would download that W7 wifi driver file to a USB flash drive right away, and plug it into one of your notebook's USB 2 ports.

The specs indicate that there are two USB 2 ports. 

Then install the W7 wifi driver so you can work on the PC in W7 on the internet.

The Microsoft tool I zipped up and attached...you unzip and install that on your notebook after you are connected to the internet.  You use that to transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

You can also transfer it to a USB flash drive, but you indicated that you can't boot from the flash drive for one reason or the other.

Did you try the USB flash drive in one of the USB 2 ports?  It may not boot from a USB 3 port on some models.

Download the W8.1 64 bit installation media.  Try the plain one first. 

The only time you would use the single language ISO file is if you are asked to enter a product key when you install the plain W8.1 media.

Unfortunately, the specs indicate that your notebook comes with W8.1 but doesn't indicate if it is single language or not.

[Paolo_Villacena]

Oh...

You would download that W7 wifi driver file to a USB flash drive right away, and plug it into one of your notebook's USB 2 ports.

- Laptop does not read any USB ports, needs driver updates as well, I think.

Did you try the USB flash drive in one of the USB 2 ports?  It may not boot from a USB 3 port on some models.

- Tried all USB ports, for quite awhile, not believing at first. 

Download the W8.1 64 bit installation media.  Try the plain one first.

The only time you would use the single language ISO file is if you are asked to enter a product key when you install the plain W8.1 media.

- Gotcha on this one.

Thanks!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Oh..

Then yes, you will have to use a CD to burn the files to.  But you can do that now, so you can do the work on the PC connected to the internet.

If you have both, don't waste a DVD on the small driver files.  Just save that for the ISO file, which is larger than 3 GB.