HP 15-g019wm - Trying to Install Windows 7

[osb40000]

Trying to install windows 7 64-Bit SP1 from a USB created with Microsoft's Windows 7 usb creator on a 

HP 15-g019wm. 

Before I can get to the screen that shows the drive to select I receive a pop up message that says: 

"A required CD/DVD drive device driver is missing. If you have a drive floppy disk, cd, dvd or usb flash drive please inset it now." 

And it gives me the option to browse to a driver. 

Why is this machine seeing the USB drive as a CD? 

Any help and advice is greatly appreciated. 

[lasvegaswireman]

****Disclaimer*****

HP doesn't recommend the installation of Windows 7 on a consumer computer shipped with Windows 8, nor will it support the installation of Windows 7. HP will not provide Windows 7 drivers and suitable drivers may not be available for the hardware in the computer. Also, Windows 7 may not support some of the hardware or software features designed for the computer.

Make sure you create your HP Recovery Discs or USB Flash Recovery media before modifying or changing ANYTHING.

You will need to DISABLE "Secure Boot" and ENABLE "Legacy Support" in the "BIOS Secure Boot configuration" on the settings page similar to what is shown below, before you can attempt to install Windows 7;

After saving the changes, the computer will request that you confirm the changes... Accept the changes by typing the four digit code and pressing the "ENTER" key.

The most likely reason you are seeing the "Load Driver - a required CD/DVD drive device is missing" is because "System Configuration" > "USB3.0 Config in Pre-Boot" is set to "Enabled". This must be set to "Auto". This should clear up the CD/DVD device missing.

Additionally, as the hard drive is most likely partitioned as GPT, you must boot using the UEFI-Internal CD/DVD or UEFI-USB Key/Drive to install Windows on a GPT partitioned disk. Turn on or reboot the computer and tap "F9" or "ESC" and then "F9" when prompted. Highlight the UEFI boot source you are using and press "ENTER".

I suggest using Windows 7 SP1 for the best intallation experience. If you need Windows SP1, please see "How to Install Windows 7 Without the Disc" to download and create your own Windows 7 SP1 disc. If the DVD refuses to boot as UEFI, you may need to use a USB Flash drive (may require DISABLING "Fast Boot" in the BIOS) as the installation media. Please download the Windows 7 USB/DVD download tool to create a Windows 7 SP1 USB Flash drive. Please note that some computers may not recognize a valid UEFI enabled USB Flash drive if it is formated as NTFS and may require a FAT32 formatted USB Flash drive. You should be able to make a FAT32 formatted Windows 7 installation USB Flash drive using Rufus, UNetbootin, Universal USB Installer, or WiNToBootic. I like Rufus, as it has options for "GPT partition scheme for UEFI computer" and "FAT32".

From the top...

1)  Turn on the computer and immediately start tapping the "ESC" key.

2)  When the MENU comes up, press the "F10" key.

3)  Navigate the BIOS to "System Configuration", "USB 3.0 Config in Pre-OS" and set to "Auto".

4)  Navigate the BIOS to  "System Configuration", "Boot Options" and set "Secure Boot" to "Disabled" and set "Legacy Support" to "Enabled".

5)  Press "F10" and click "YES" to "Exit Saving Changes"

6)  Computer should restart and display "Operating System Boot Mode Change"... type the four digit code and press "ENTER".

7)  Let Windows 8 boot-up and place the Windows 7 SP1media in the DVD drive or USB port, then log-off / shutdown.

😎  Turn on the computer and immediately start tapping the "ESC" key.

9)  When the MENU comes up, press the "F9" key and then select the correct UEFI boot source (Internal CD/DVD drive, USB CD/DVD drive, USB Flash drive, etc.)... Press any key to boot CD/DVD, if prompted.

10)  Select "Language", "Time / Currency", and "Keyboard" settings and then click "Next"

11)  Click "Install Now"... check "Accept Terms" and click "Next". Click "Custom (Advanced)". 

12)  You may need to supply AMD SATA/RAID drivers at this time... Download from AMD if needed.

13)  "Where do you want to install Windows 7???" Select "Disk / Partition" with "Unallocated Space" you created earlier and click "Next".

14)  Follow all prompts and answer as needed. Enter Windows 7 key when requested.

15)  Install the drivers from HP 15-g019wm Notebook PC Drivers page.

After installing the drivers, please post the Windows Device Manager's "Hardware Ids" (just the text) for all remaining missing or unknown devices as shown in the example below;

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Please click the White KUDOS "Thumbs Up" to show your appreciation

[Hertz2p]

I am having the same issue, but am stuck at the "Load Driver - a required CD/DVD drive device is missing" stage because my BIOS doesn't have the USB 3.0 option in the system configuration.  Any ideas?

[DanielCro]

Just plug the USB stick / disk to USB 2.0 port and you are good to go!

You can identify them by NOT having the "SS" mark near them.

[Ahmed-Orabi]

is there any way to make dual boot system (windows 10 + windows 7)

[lasvegaswireman]

Yes, you can dual boot the system. Disable "Secure Boot" and Enable "Legacy Support".  Shrink partition size of Windows 10 installation and create a new partition from the unallocated space. Install Windows 7 using my above instructions... installing Windows 7 to the new blank partition.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Please click the White KUDOS "Thumbs Up" to show your appreciation

[coconutdog]

Thanks for a most helpful post. I hope this guide works for Linux too. I am planning to get rid of the virus known as Windows 10 and install Ubuntu 16.10 LTS.

[Kaspatoo]

Hello,

I have another notebook, the HP 15-ay116ng

I also am having still the problem because theres no USB 3.0 option in BIOS.

After enabling legacy option, then secure option will automatically be disabled and greyed out.

After saving, exiting and confirming with the 4-digit-code + ENTER I am able to see the USB device within F9-Boot Options.

But I am only seeing the USB Device as legacy but not additional as EFI or UEFI.

Using only the "normal" USB Device will lead to the "install driver" problem.

I still tried using every USB Port, but all getting the same behavior.

Any help would be grateful.

Thanks.

[Kaspatoo]

I also tried using a bootable DVD (still succeeded on another older Laptop with this DVD).

In the F9 Boot Menu I do see as only additional entry:

"Internal CD/DVD ROM Drive (UEFI) (hp             DVDRW   DU8A6SH)"

Getting:

Windows Boot Manager

--------------------------------

Windows failed to start. A recent hardware or software change might be the cause. To fix the problem:

1. Insert your Windows installation disc and restart your computer.

2. Choose you language....

3. Click "Repair your computer".

If you do not have this disc, contact your system administrator or computer manufacturer for assistance.

File: \EFI\Microsoft\Boot\BCD

Status 0x0000185

Info: An error occured while attempting to read the boot configuration data.

[Jeet_singh]

Hi @Kaspatoo,

Welcome to the HP Support Forums 🙂

I would like to take a moment and thank you for using this forum, it is a great place to find answers. For you to have the best experience on the HP forum, you could also visit our HP Forums Guide for First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.

The computer doesn't boot into windows as you get the error message-"boot MGR missing" 

It's entirely possible that the interrupted format has ended up corrupting the windows operating system,

Don't worry though as I have a few steps to resolve this concern.

Let's try these steps here:

Perform a Hard reset on the Notebook.

Run the extensive test on the Hard drive and Memory from F2

Depending on the test results, If the test passes, I would suggest you go ahead and perform the system recovery using the recovery media which you would have created after purchase.

If you don't have one, then the only other way to install Windows would be to order the recovery media for your laptop and using the recovery media you can install Windows. You can check if the recovery media is available online on www.hp.com/drivers by entering the exact model no. of your laptop. To find the exact model no. click here: http://hp.care/2bygf7l

Otherwise, you could also reach HP phone support to order the recovery media. Please fill out an online form on www.hp.com/contacthp to reach phone support.  Let me know if you need any further assistance. Thanks again!

Let me know if those steps worked for you.

If they did, that’s awesome!

Give us some reinforcement by clicking the solution and kudos buttons, that’ll help us and others see that we’ve got the answers!

Good Luck.

Thanks & Regards,