New drive for laptop

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

Thanks to all who commented on this thread! Easy to slip in the new SSD, and the installation of the new OS (USB) went very fast and painless. We're up and running....

[Russell Holton]

I know I can't go into the BIOS settings if the computer was coming out of hibernation. Only if I was rebooting. Perhaps that password software was doing something similar to block the options.

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

Good to know, Russell. As long as I can do it from the USB stick for Win10 installation, that's great. I saw no such option in the BIOS screens (yes, I could get there with replacement of the HD to a new one that isn't encrypted...couldn't do it with the original HD). Thanks.

[Russell Holton]

Do I need to format the new ssd using the bios?

I don't think so. I'd boot off the install media and go from there. At least that's how I usually do it.

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

Do I need to format the new ssd using the bios?

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

Well, doesn't matter much now...the new SSD arrived today so in it goes.......

[Ray Tackett]

Unfortunately, doesn't work on this machine. It is forced right to the encryption logon page. I flash through the BIOS screen with no time to select any option there. Gonna install a new HD, with Win10 on a USB stick to install that.

Older HP machines I have here use escape or f2 or f10 to get into setup. Timing from power-on is critical. You have maybe a one second window somewhere between power-on and the disk activity light showing it's busy with booting from the hard drive. Sometimes removing the hard drive will get you a BIOS screen from which you can enter setup.

[Russell Holton]

Unfortunately, doesn't work on this machine. It is forced right to the encryption logon page. I flash through the BIOS screen with no time to select any option there.

Try tapping F9 as soon as the HP logo comes up. It may be set not to display the menu, but it's still there.

[Terry Carraway]

I have not tried anything with W10. I consider it to be spyware by design, and updates are frequently defective. Office as a subscription is completely unacceptable. As one who started with toggle switche, punched paper ta;e, and teletypes, Linux is fine. I have dual boot with W7 on a couple, and run Libre Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, and UltraEdit on both systems. They all share settings and work identically on either operating system.

You can still buy Office outright, you do not need a subscription. And the new ones, allow multiple computer installs. I think the one I have allows up to 5 computers.

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

You can make a bootable USB memory stick on any other Win10 machine; you probably have to go into your machine's BIOS on startup, before you get the encryption password request) to tell the laptop to boot from the USB. The HP docs online can tell you whether that's hold down F1 on startup or whatever the magic BIOS access incantation is for your machine.

Unfortunately, doesn't work on this machine. It is forced right to the encryption logon page. I flash through the BIOS screen with no time to select any option there. Gonna install a new HD, with Win10 on a USB stick to install that.

[Ray Tackett]

Have you tried Classic Shell?

It makes Win10 look and feel like Win 7.

Like the old days, we would run Win98, but with the Win95 user interface. I don't remember how, but I know it did it on all our machines.

And here is the link to install the Win7 games onto a Win 10 machine - https://winaero.com/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/

I have not tried anything with W10. I consider it to be spyware by design, and updates are frequently defective. Office as a subscription is completely unacceptable. As one who started with toggle switche, punched paper ta;e, and teletypes, Linux is fine. I have dual boot with W7 on a couple, and run Libre Office, Firefox, Thunderbird, and UltraEdit on both systems. They all share settings and work identically on either operating system.

[Terry Carraway]

I find Windows 10 so desipicable that I have gone over to Ubuntu for new machines. I have old machines with XP and Windows 7. W7 is the end of my time as a Microsoft user.

Have you tried Classic Shell?

It makes Win10 look and feel like Win 7.

Like the old days, we would run Win98, but with the Win95 user interface. I don't remember how, but I know it did it on all our machines.

And here is the link to install the Win7 games onto a Win 10 machine - https://winaero.com/get-windows-7-games-for-windows-10/

[Russell Holton]

Since yours is asking for a password, it may be just that easy to subvert!

It's worth a shot.

On the HP machines I work on F9 is the "choose boot device" key.

[Paul Millner]

Can’t use machine because I can’t get past the encryption password requirements.

You can make a bootable USB memory stick on any other Win10 machine; you probably have to go into your machine's BIOS on startup, before you get the encryption password request) to tell the laptop to boot from the USB. The HP docs online can tell you whether that's hold down F1 on startup or whatever the magic BIOS access incantation is for your machine.

Before I retired gloriously 7 years ago, my former employer tried a number of drive encryption schemes. The early ones were easy to defeat... remove the internal drive, buy the $15 adapter to plug it into a USB port, and boot the machine either from USB as above, or from the new hard drive with Win10 installed. The earlier encryption schemes weren't smart enough to protect the drive if it was attached OTHER than as the boot drive. Since you'll now have the drive as an external drive, you'll be able to read all the files, and reformat the drive as non-encrypted. My former employer went to a more secure system... but that one did NOT require passwords, as noted above.

But, don't reuse the old drive... you'll really notice the machine is zippier with the non-mechanical drive, *and* ready for operation above 10,000 feet without head crashes!

Since yours is asking for a password, it may be just that easy to subvert!

Paul, subverting the dominant paradigm mode since adolescence

[Scott Dyer HPN/NY]

Scott,

Try this link from the HP website - https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04648973

Go to "Reset you computer when all other options fail."

Thanks Bill, I'll look at that. The resetting there does assume you get to Windows login....I get a "disk encrypted" message right at start up and a demand for the password before getting to Windows. Guessing the password isn't in the cards...he was a type suspicious of the Deep State, and tech saavy, they were out to steal his stuff...so the other passwords I do have of his are of the "strong" variety.