No boot from USB on HP 255 G1 (Win7)

[ppartner]

Hello to all of you,

my girlfriend bought herself an HP 255 G1 notebook which came a week ago. She ordered the version with Ubuntu pre-installed on it (not Windows 8). However, the pre-installed Ubuntu had a lot of flaws - the internet connection keeps disconnecting randomly, many updates cannot be installed, random errors keep occurring, sometimes the interface becomes unresponsive etc. Long story short; my girlfriend asked me to put Windows 7 on the notebook, as I am using Linux and have my old Win7 key unused.

So I prepared a Windows 7 USB stick, tried it out on my own notebook (works fine) and then tried it out on the HP 255 G1. The first couple times the USB stick wasn't recognized by the notebook. After fiddling around a bit, I have managed to get it recognized, but every time it is, the screen goes black and starts flickering.

I have tried turning Legacy mode on and off (as has been suggested by people in similar threads) but to no avail.

I have read that this might have something to do with "UEFI", although I am not sure what that is or whether it's really related to my problem.

The very first thing I need to know whether it is generally possible or not to install any kind of Windows on this notebook, because if it's not, I will have to hurry to return it quickly.

However, if it is (theoretically) possible I would be very thankful for ANY tips on how to fix this issue, because I am completely out of ideas.

Here are the system specs of the notebook.

I am using a FAT32 formatted USB stick with a 64-bit Version of Windows 7 on it.

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

You have to enable legacy mode and disable secure boot.

Then you need to format your USB flash drive in ntfs.

Better still, I would use this tool to automatically put your W7 ISO file on the flash drive.

http://www.microsoftstore.com/store/msusa/html/pbPage.Help_Win7_usbdvd_dwnTool

[ppartner]

Hello Provost,

it seems that you have put me on the right track. Thank you very much. Here's what happened:

I have tried to use the program you linked to make a Win7 USB stick. However, I was not able to format the stick to NTFS (no option on the winxp laptop I was using to perform the operation). Luckily, I have another USB stick handy which is formatted to NTFS.

So I made 2 bootable USB sticks (the old one with FAT32 and the new one with NTFS), and with both I got the same error message: that the program was not able to make the stick bootable (something with "bootsect").

I tried out both sticks - the FAT32 stick still produces a black/flickering screen, HOWEVER, the NTFS stick produces an error message "NTLDR is missing", which I see as a massive improvement because the notebook has both recognized the stick and tried to access the files (I think).

Now I still need to fix this NTLDR issue ... do you have any idea how to do that?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

Do you have a DVD burner and a recordable DVD?

If so...

Download and install this free DVD burning program.

http://cdburnerxp.se/en/download

Under the More Download Options link, download the version without Open Candy.

Launch the program, have a recordable DVD in your drive, and select the Burn ISO Image option.

I like to select the slowest burning speed I can so I get a nice solid burn.

Use the DVD to install W7. Legacy mode must be enabled in the BIOS.

[lasvegaswireman]

When requesting assistance, please provide the complete product number of the HP computer in question. HP/Compaq makes many configurations of the HP 255 G1 computer, including both AMD and Intel versions. Without this information it may be difficult or impossible to assist you in resolving your issue.

The above requested information can be found on the bottom of your computer or inside the battery compartment. Please do not include your serial number. Please enter the model/product information into HP's Online Consumer Support page and/or post it here for our review.

I doubt this makes much difference but the HP 255 G1 Notebook Computer is a business class computer and as such, your questions may be better answered on the HP Enterprise Business Community Forum.

Based on my experiences with HP consumer products;

Make sure you have a fully tested recovery method created before modifying or changing ANYTHING.

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

or

Additionally, as the hard drive may be partitioned as GPT, you may have to boot the computer using the "UEFI - CD/DVD drive" or "UEFI - USB Flash drive" options in the "F9" boot menu. If "UEFI - CD/DVD drive",  "UEFI - USB Flash drive" or something to that effect doesn't exist in the boot menu, please post a screen shot and/or descibe the listed boot options.

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.

It appears HP is only providing drivers for Windows 8 on the Drivers, Software & Firmware page for the computer. Windows 7 driver may not be readily available for some of the computer's devices. Please post the Windows Device Manager's "Hardware Ids" for any/all missing and/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 star to show your appreciation

[Paul_Tikkanen]

All  HP 255 G1 PC's are AMD platforms. 

The HP 250 G1 has the Intel platform.

A rule of thumb for HP business notebooks...

if the model ends in a 5, it is AMD.  If it ends in a 0 it is Intel.

4540s is Intel

4545s is AMD

After you get W7 to install, there are no W7 drivers for the HP 255 G1.

You will need to use the drivers from the HP Probook 455 G1.

[lasvegaswireman]

Paul,

Thanks for the clarification. I was going by the "specs" page the OP had posted, which states;

As you can see, the "specs" page for the HP 255 G1 states the product features AMD or Intel chipsets and processors. This is the reason the product number request.

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

Please click the white KUDOS star to show your appreciation

[ppartner]

Hello, it's me again.

I have used a different program to make a bootable USB stick (wintoflash), and now the notebook has responded and I am currently installing Windows 7. I hope that now it will work like it's supposed to, at least from now on I know my way and all the usual pitfalls.

As this thread is about my boot troubles and those have been resolved, I guess this thread has served its purpose. Provost, I will mark your first reply as the solution because the problem was indeed the format of the USB stick (FAT32 instead of NTFS).

I (and my girlfriend) would like to thank you all for your helpful and rapid responses, have a nice evening!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

If you have any issues finding drivers, please post back with the hardware ID's.

Use this guide to find the hardware ID's.

http://www.wikihow.com/Find-Hardware-ID

However, I believe that all of the W7 x64 drivers and software from the HP 455 G1 should work on that model too.

The 255 G1 only has support for W8.

http://h20565.www2.hp.com/portal/site/hpsc/template.PAGE/public/psi/swdHome/?sp4ts.oid=5359417&spf_p...

[TiborM]

Everything is working perfectly. Simply install genuine  Win 7 SP1 64 bit, after formating the HDD, then almost all drivers which are missing simply download from HP site for Win8 64 bit and they are working with Win7 64 bit. Just for SM Bus you need to use Google search and you can download at least two or three offered drivers for Win7 64 bit and it's working fine. 

It's quite easy!!! Honestly. And you have to have enough patience and time for Win7 updates installing.