Windows 10 Windows 10 - can`t boot from USB...

J

JohnC

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Mar 24, 2016
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Hi all...

I updated my HP Pavilion G6 notebook to W10 a few weeks ago, no problems. I`ve now made a W10 USB so I can do a fresh install of W10 and set it up how I`d like but the laptop won`t boot from the USB. I`ve set it to boot from the USB in the bios but I`m not getting any boot options when the USB is in the laptop and I reboot. I`m a reasonably experienced PC user but by no means an expert... I`ve done dozens of fresh W7 installs on my main PC so know how to go about that but can`t figure out why the laptop won`t let me boot from the USB or give me any boot options... the USB is a TDK 8GB just in case that info is of any use.

The USB is "active" and is also "found" by the W10 as when I insert it it comes up with all the files/folders that are on there...

Would really like to get this done so any help/advice will very much appreciated.

Thanks
 
Did you use the official Windows Media Creation Tool to create your bootable USB?

Try re-creating your bootable USB media for good measure.

I know this sounds kind of odd, but are you plugging it into a USB3 port, try switching it to a USB2 port if possible (or just another port)
 
Yeah, I used the official Media Creation Tool to create the USB. I`ve also already tried re-creating it once but will do it again if you think it`ll help in any way.

I`ve also tried all the ports I have on my laptop but still it`s a no go.
 
Does your laptop support UEFI boot, or Legacy Boot mode? You may have to toggle it temporarily to get it to boot.
 
Trying to remember a G6's boot sequence.. Have you tried hitting ESC then going into F9 and choosing the flash drive? (during boot) What happens when you try that?
 
Just tried that right now when I saw your post... hit ESC - F9 - then F10 (as that`s what takes you to boot options.) As I said it was on USB anyway but tried"choosing" the USB during boot but still nothing...

Unless I haven`t understood you maybe...?

(Which is possible )
 
So it sits at a black screen trying to boot from the usb device?
 
No... it just "ignores" the fact that I`ve changed the boot order in bios and got a USB in there and boots straight to Windows...
 
If using the Esc method to choose the USB device still boots into Windows then it would seem the computer doesn't see the device as bootable.
Try using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool to instead download an ISO file, and either burn it to DVD, or optionally use Rufus to create a bootable USB stick. See if that works..
 
Sorry for the late reply on this. I was away and didn`t have much access to the net for a while.

Ok, firstly I have used Rufus to create a USB. I used it to create the USB that I have W10 on but it still doesn`t want to work.

Just in case I`m doing something wrong with all this would you mind running through how a bootable USB is made and also how to download an ISO file and burn it?

I know, this sounds a bit daft as I`ve tried the above but maybe I am doing something wrong... I can`t think of any other reason why I can`t do a fresh W10 from the USB...

 
Ok, I`ve actually had some success here, at last. It would seem that I have to actually have the laptop turned off and then turn it on with the USB inserted, then I can boot from the USB... when having the USB inserted and rebooting the laptop only it won`t boot from the USB.

Anyway, I can, at long last go ahead and do a fresh W10! Yay!

I do have one further question though... when starting the process of doing the fresh W10 I`m getting a message saying their is a media driver missing from the installation files (or something similar) and I`m asked to browse for the missing file.

As I`ve never done a fresh W10 before I`m not sure what to do here. I don`t have any files of this nature to browse for although I have downloaded all the drivers needed for the laptop to install after the clean install.

I`d appreciate any info/help on this.

Thanks.
 
JohnC, this could be because the laptop uses a storage driver that's non-standard. As long as the hard drive you are trying to install to is showing up to install to, you should be able to ignore this error. If the hard drive is not showing up at all then it's possible it may require a driver in order for setup to see the drive. Which G6 laptop is your's specifically?
 
Hi! Don't want to Hi-Jack this thread, but would like to know the difference between booting with the media creation tool and clicking on set up with the MCT plugged into USB port! I would do the same thing if I wanted to do a in place repair install!
When I up grade computers to W10 for seniors, I plug my MCT in a USB port and click on set up!
Thanks!
 

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@ Josephur

Whilst searching the net for a fix for this issue I came across one that worked. It was suggested by someone to start the install process and when the error message appeared, cancel it then cancel the next screen until back to the "Install" screen and swap the USB to another port and click "Install" again... (I hope that makes sense to you)

This actually worked and I have now got a fresh install of W10 on my laptop. It may not be the correct way of fixing this error but it has worked. I`d like to find out how to fix this error message the correct way though.

The hard drive I`m installing to does show up but I found no way of getting past this error message apart from doing what I did, IE swapping the USB to another port.

The laptop is a HP Pavilion G6...

@ holdum333

No worries... the more replies and info the better. Thanks for the info. I know it can be done the way you suggest, I was just a bit stumped as to why I couldn`t boot from the USB and wanted to get that working.
 
Ah yes this is most likely due to a USB chipset driver not being supported by Windows 10, often if you use the slowest port and not USB3 and sometimes USB2 ports it'll help in regards to this issue.
 
Ok, thanks for all the help, very much appreciated indeed. All I have to do now is get to know W10 and get it set up the way I`d like it.

Which may take a while.
 
Whether or not you can boot to a USB drive is going to depend on if your computer is set to legacy, EFI hybrid or EFI boot. If you have it set to legacy or hybrid the USB will be detectable if it is using the MBR partition table. If your system is set to EFI boot then the USB drive needs to be partitioned to GPT with EFI.
 
Well I've noticed on newer machines with funky USB 3 chipsets that may not be identified sometimes it'll boot from them using legacy support, but once the Windows kernel driver mode kicks in, then it no longer can use the device because it has no support for it. Thus switching to the USB 2 port usually works as it's usually supported
 
Hah! Holdum and I were just discussing one of the possible reasons this might not have worked. It turns out that we recently uncovered a Bug with SanDisk USB flash drives being unusable for both Win8x and W10 bootable USB sticks when using the Microsoft MCT tool. I just posted about that this morning on another thread here on the forum. I personally verified this to be true, and after almost 2 years of trying, I got my first W10 bootable USB stick via the MCT tool! It turns out that this bug has been known for about 3 years; but not widely known. In my thread I pointed out that some folks were able to use Rufus or other tools *I used WiNToBootIC* to create the W10 bootable USB stick on Sandisk drives. But only found out recently, this week, that there was a brand-specific issue failure here.

Check your USB disk, and if it is a SanDisk drive, purchase a non-SanDisk brand (I used Verbatim; holdum likes PNY) and use the MCT tool. It will then work.

FYI.
<<<BIGBEARJEDI>>>
 
SanDisk USB drives should work fine. You will need to remove the emulated disk drive on some of them though.
 
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