Can I add an ssd and boot from it?? <SOLVED> [Solved]

[GlockdocVegas]

@agnivo007 forgive me, 1 thing at a time. Until I get the ssd booting up bios is on the back burner. I do appreciate the info and will get it done after the ssd is running. I might even throw windoes on my current hdd to speed things up as I don't have windoes here at home.

As for moving the install, no. My plan was to do a system snapshot then just boot up and install the system that way. Might not work as live usb maker hung at 99% and moved my usb over to the usb 3 port and started over, not that being on usb 2 had anything to do with it.

Gparted is not my friend. I have used it some but am pretty much lost, but always managed to do what I needed to do. Went back and re read the previous post and it sounds straightforward enough.


How do I un mess up what I have done or will doing the copy/paste mentioned above fix it? Won't a fresh install from the live usb wipe everything and format it properly?

[Huckleberry Finn]

Won't a fresh install from the live usb wipe everything and format it properly?

Of course. You can do it either with the official MX iso and your own snapshot iso. Either Auto-install or Custom install. Just go on, whichever you like :)

[GlockdocVegas]

DONE!! And blazing fast compared to the hdd was using previously. I can only imagine what the M2 sdds can do. Next laptop perhaps.

@Huckleberry Finn thanks for the heads up on the missing install icon. Saved me some frustration.

@agnivo007 Now I can work on BIOS tomorrow. Time to get the kids ready for bed here in Thailand.

[GlockdocVegas]

@agnivo007 After installing windoes 10 in virtual box and trying for an hour or so to download the blasted file I have decided the bios update just isn't worth it. HP won't let me just download the file. the download and installer wouldn't work. No idea how to create the bootable disk from an exe file IF I could download it.

On side note, 10 ran extremely well in virtual box, even though I only gave it 2g or ram.

Thank you for your input though. I appreciate it.

[agnivo007]

@GlockdocVegas OK, you put quite an effort I see. How about the firmware flash menu in bios? Did you find it?
I can help you do it (including uploading the required bin file) this way if the system supports.

Update:
Download the BIN ROM I uploaded from the HP softpaq : https://easyupload.io/mr3xbw
Copy it to a FAT32 formatted USB key (on root directoy), plug it in, reboot and use this menu from BIOS:

After a successful update, shutdown the system, re-enter the BIOS and check if settings are OK (flashing resets to defaults often).

[GlockdocVegas]

@agnivo007 forgot to answer that question....no, the bios menu did not have any update settings. Actually the bios on my machine is the worst I have ever had. Just terrible to navigate compared to all my previous machines.

I downloaded the file ( thank you ) and am fixing to flash it. I have questions so I don't fry my bios...will this usb boot me directly into the bios set up utility pictured( looks nothing like the bios on my machine )? When I click flash system rom and select usb, are all the files on the usb I just booted from?

Thanks!!

[agnivo007]

I gave you the way to get into BIOS (F10) with the bin file in fat32 usb plugged in, select the menu in attached picture and proceed. It is not a bootable usb!

You mean to say you are unable to find any such "flash" menu by entering the bios pressing F10?

The reason I insist a BIOS update is its the first, initial release on your system currently and a lot of important fixes were eventually incorporated which can make your old system more compatible with current OSs.

If the above way doesn't work (you don't have flashing built into the BIOS menu, I seriously doubt it for a HP!), this is the FINAL way:

You seem to have a Windows VM running. Plug in the USB key (you'll lose all data on it) and Start windows in virtualbox. From the menu, Devices>USB>tick the usb key. It will be attached to windows. Open a browser and download this file: https://filebin.net/rr0qeqhd304x8y1i
Run the file and choose to make bootable USB key. Reboot system and boot with this usb key.

[GlockdocVegas]

@agnivo007 nope, went back and looked again. Nowhere to flash the bios from bios. my bios looks NOTHING like the picture. Took screenshots.
VM won't recognize any usb plugged in. USB is ticked under devices, but it doesn't recognize any of my usb drives.

Guess I will wait until I go to our shop, boot into windows, and see if I can make the bootable usb there.

[GlockdocVegas]

@agnivo007 Thank you much for your time and effort, but, alas, after making 2 different usb sticks and 2 different windoes machines and have neither one boot, I am done.

dowloanded the file, clicked "make bootable usb", let it do its thing, and neither would boot.

I appreciate all your effort. I dooooo love the Linux community!

[JayM]

You can't flash the BIOS from within a virtual machine, if that's what you're trying to do. The VM can't directly access the host computer's hardware. That's why it's called a "virtual" machine. If you can only flash BIOS within Windows, Windows has to be installed on "bare metal." You should be able to create a bootable flash drive in a Windows VM though provided that you've set up your VM correctly so the guest OS can access the USB stick.

Here's your user manual if it helps: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c02288444.pdf
And here's how to flash the BIOS: https://support.hp.com/ro-en/document/c00042629
VirtualBox documentation for end-users: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/End-user_documentation

It would be easier if you just use someone's Windows computer for a few minutes to make the bootable BIOS USB stick on though.