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Reinstalling Windows 10 from USB and can't find drivers

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Friday, July 19, 2019 7:49 PM

I have gotten errors when booting my HP 360 laptop. First it says to install an operating system.  Ran PC Hardware Diagnostics, and it can't run and indicates hard disk does not exist.  Tried to reinstall Windows 10, but during setup, it can't find any drivers.  Can I reinstall drivers first and try again?  And where would these drivers be?  I can't seem to find them on Microsoft site.

All replies (11)

Friday, July 19, 2019 8:28 PM | 1 vote

To clean install Windows 10:

1) find a flash drive that you can format (> or = 8 GB)

2) on a working computer create a bootable Windows 10 iso:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/9230-download-windows-10-iso-file.html

3) Boot using the iso: (select the external USB HD)

http://www.disk-image.com/faq-bootmenu.htm

4) delete all partitions > make an unallocated drive

5) install windows

6) when installing windows it will install some default non-Microsoft drivers however the best drivers are downloaded from the HP website

7) open HP.com > support > click software and drivers > enter the product or serial number > select the operating system >view drivers > download HP support assistant > use the tool to find and install drivershttps://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-clean-install-windows-10-a.html

8) Once windows is installed you can download and install HP hardware diagnostics windows:

https://www8.hp.com/us/en/campaigns/hpsupportassistant/pc-diags.html

Saturday, July 20, 2019 3:04 AM

Thanks, but the problem is I cannot complete #5.  When setup begins, it cannot find a drive to install Windows.  It asks for a driver to install a storage location.  Then it can't find a driver.

Saturday, July 20, 2019 5:48 AM

Your hard drive might failed.

Try to get some kind hard drive health determine tool to check your hard drive 

https://www.seagate.com/ca/en/support/downloads/seatools/

Saturday, July 20, 2019 7:00 AM

Find a camera or smartphone camera to take pictures and post images into the thread using share links (one drive, drop box, google drive)

Drivers should not be needed until Windows is installed.

Were all partitions deleted to create an unallocated drive?

https://www.tenforums.com/tutorials/1950-clean-install-windows-10-a.html

Sunday, July 21, 2019 8:15 AM | 1 vote

Thanks, but the problem is I cannot complete #5.  When setup begins, it cannot find a drive to install Windows.  It asks for a driver to install a storage location.  Then it can't find a driver.

Hello,

This looks case of drive failure. Can you please try replacing the drive with new one and see if you can install Windows then.

Regards.

Microsoft MVP (Windows and Devices for IT)

Windows Insider MVP

Windows Help & Support [www.kapilarya.com]

Monday, July 22, 2019 4:23 PM

Hi,

Could you see the hard disk in the BIOS?

Best Regards,

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Monday, July 22, 2019 10:00 PM

is bitlocker enabled on your disk? if yes then you will need to clean the disk if no data to lose, or "format quick override" the system partition

Cherif Benammar

Monday, July 22, 2019 11:29 PM

It didn't get to the point where it asked about deleting partitions.  I am suspicious that the hard drive has gone bad, as others have suggested.  

Tuesday, July 23, 2019 12:32 AM

It does not ask about deleting partitions.

Deleting partitions is a manual decision.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 5:45 PM

I meant that it didn't get to the point in the setup where I could delete partitions.  I could not detect a drive.  It turned out that it was a drive failure.  I replaced it with a solid state drive, reinstalled Windows 10 and everything works great.

Tuesday, July 30, 2019 8:27 PM

Nice.

Drive failure can be unpredictable even when following SMART data.

The best option is to make backup images and save the images to another disk drive or to the cloud.

(Acronis, Aoemi, EaseUS, Macrium, Paragon, etc.)

There are free and pay versions depending on the features.