Is the Compaq CQ58-265SO capable of running windows 10 and a new SSD

[winmcp]

My Mother in law has a Compaq CQ58-265SO. The original HDD is an old 5400rpm running windows 8.1 which is both painful and slow.

I put in a new SSD and began the Windows 10 setup from a pen drive. The installation and copying of files begins ok, but after the first reboot to finalize the setup, I keep getting an error message which only appears on the screen for like 0.3 of a second (so I can't get chance to read it) and then the machine just shuts itself off immediately.

I tried a different SSD but the same problem prevails. I tried making a new windows installation pen drive in case that was corrupt, no difference. As far as I can see, the BIOS is the "latest" available version. (F.29)

Am I flogging a dead horse here? is this thing even capable of using windows 10?

Thanks in advance.

And in case anyone is wondering if I've tried switching secure boot and legacy mode on and off - Yes, I have.

,

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

The reason the PC is so slow is due to the weakest AMD processor HP could have installed in the notebook and the slow mechanical hard drive.

Installing the SSD should help somewhat but don't expect miracles.

In theory W10 should have worked fine. 

I have it installed on much older notebook PC's than that one with no problem.

Have you tried reinstalling Windows 8.1? 

If you can get W8.1 installed, then you can try upgrading to W10.

Since the notebook originally came with W8 from HP, you need to follow the steps below in order to clean install W8.1:

Install W8.1 by creating the Microsoft installation media, using another Windows PC...You want the plain W8.1 64-bit ISO file.

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

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.

After you get W8.1 installed, and you had to manually enter the generic product key, you will need to run the free utility I zipped up and attached below, that will show you show the W8 product key in your PC's BIOS.

Use the free Rufus utility to make a bootable USB flash drive.

Rufus - Create bootable USB drives the easy way

Since your notebook has a UEFI BIOS, select the GPT partition scheme in the Rufus utility.

Leave secure boot disabled/Legacy mode enabled for now.

Boot from the (U)EFI USB flash drive, not the legacy one.

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

Compaq CQ58-200 Notebook PC series Software and Driver Downloads | HP® Customer Support

If the notebook does not have the latest BIOS revision (F.29) installed, you may want to update the BIOS prior to installing W10.

If you get that to work, let me know and I will give you the guidance to upgrade from W8.1 to W10 for free.

[winmcp]

Thanks for replying Paul.

Windows 8.1 on the original disk is working fine, but it is slow. The owner is in her 70's so I'm reluctant to make any alterations to the original disk as it is working and like most old people, she knows exactly where everything is and is terrified of losing anything (of course I could back up her files but would like to avoid touching the original disk yet if I can help it)

My plan was to install W10 on the new SSD and stick an extra 4GB RAM in it, but alas, it doesn't seem to like Windows 10 and I can't understand why, because like you, I have installed Windows 10 on lots of older machines without issue, so I'm baffled and the fact that there are no further BIOS updates available beyond F.29 is disappointing as that could potentially be the reason.

I guess I could try to install windows 8.1 on the new SSD first, and then do an in-situ upgrade to windows 10 to see if it accepts that, goodness only knows.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I'd try installing W8.1 on the SSD since you have nothing to lose.

[winmcp]

Yes, agreed, that's going to be the next step.

Thanks so much again 🙂

Wishing you a great evening / day.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime.

You have a great day too!