Windows 8 restore help

[samuria]

Not clear how we got there will it then load option 1 or try advanced

 

[concort]

Ok so I tried booting then using option 1 and got this error on a black screen:

"Error no boot disk has been detected or is damaged"

Then I restarted again tapping the F10 key... selected the USB drive again with that file that you had me download and then proceeded to boot again from the USB.... Got same error message again.

 

[samuria]

It's not booting the USB did you use suitable software to write the file to the USB if you don't write it with the right software it won't work or boot a ISO is a CD image

 

[concort]

I just simply copied that file to the USB drive from my Mac. Maybe I should completely erase that USB and reformat it... then copy that boot file back to it and then try booting again. It did seem to work the first time.

 

[samuria]

It must be written by software to get the boot files not just copied or it won't work

 

[concort]

Oh. Ok so I have this file you had me download "pwfree91-x86.iso" copied to a USB drive but you are saying that I must have it "written" to the USB drive, correct? If this is the case, how to I "write" it to the USB drive to get the boot files?

 

[samuria]

It seems to be a pain in the but to do this on a mac but this software seems to do it link near bottom for mac Express Burn Free Burning Software for CDs/DVDs/Blu-Rays

 

[concort]

Ok so I used this utility to write the USB drive: UNetbootin - Homepage and Downloads

I then installed the USB drive into PC and restarted pressing the F10 to reset Boot order to the USB harddrive. Then clicked save and it started to boot and I saw the USB drive flashing its little light so it looks like it was trying to read it, but I got same error:

"Error no boot disk has been detected or is damaged"

 

[samuria]

Its not booting right on the download page for the software there is a 64 bit version try that ideally it want creating on a windows pc its so much simpler

 

[concort]

Ok got it... The 64 bit seemed to work. So here is the screen shot after the boot completed. Now what?

 

[samuria]

It should have booted to the GUI but it didnt get that far dues to lots of errors so it seems the drive it that bad it cnt be read. The only other thing that is could be as it shows I/O errors is the drive cable or port it may be worth getting a new cable and trying it on another port. If its still the same the drive is toast

 

[concort]

what cable are you referring to exactly? What is the drive cable? And where is this located?

 

[samuria]

The red cable attached to the hard drive there cheap to buy and it connect to the motherboard try another connector there as well

 

[concort]

ok might try that...but it sounds like its heading in the direction of a toasted hard drive... so if thats the case, is that easy to get and easy to install? I definitely a novice.

 

[samuria]

Put simple you remove 2 screws from the drive 2 cable plug the new one in boot form install disk and install

 

[TrustMe]

Just a suggestion, if you can boot to the Desktop, it might be a good idea to make a recovery USB flash drive or DVD's. If you go with the flash drive, it needs to be 32GB. If the hard drive is toast, you can use the recovery media to reinstall Windows back on the new drive. Here is a guide on how to make it.

HP PCs - Creating a Recovery Image on Discs or Saving a Recovery Image to a USB Flash Drive (Windows 8) | HP® Customer Support

On a side note, on my Dell, the new hard drive has to be the same size or larger than the original. I bought a smaller SSD and could not use the recovery flash drive. I got a message saying the new hard drive was too small. I don't know if HP's are the same.