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‎03-05-2019 02:34 PM

HP Recommended
Product: HP Mini Pavilion 300-030
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

I purchased an HP mini desktop about 3 years. I am 99% certain that the disk is/has failed. Initial problem was unmountable boot volume blue screen. Then I tried everything to get my PC to boot (chkdsk, refesh PC, system repair, boot from USB) all showing errors on the hard disk and not allowing me to start Windows.

 

I have a backup of my files from 3 weeks ago so all is not lost. However, I have no recovery disk - accidentally wiped out copy I had on USB drive. I have no other Windows 10 PCs at home to create Recovery media from. I do have a Windows 7 PC that I can download and create usable/bootable USB media on.

 

At this point, I'm considering buying a replacement drive (likely SSD). If I install a new blank drive, will I be able to download and install Windows 10 on it? I purchased the desktop with Windows 7 and upgraded to Windows 10 during the free upgrade period and I have the product key. There's a chance that I may have a Windows Image Backup on an external drive created after I upgraded to Windows 10, but not 100% sure. Any help on whether I can be successful if I buy and install a new drive is appreciated. Just wondering if it's worth the effort to salvage my PC.

 

If all else fails, my backup option is to move to full-time use of my Chromebook and say goodbye to Windows forever. 🙂

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† The opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the authors, not of HP. By using this site, you accept the Terms of Use and Rules of Participation.
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