There's take-apart videos on Youtube for most laptops. If it's a Win 11 system then it's going to almost certainly be a SSD drive on a M.2 stick.
However, I've yet to run into a modern laptop like this, especially one running win 11, that Won't FIRST attempt to boot from the USB stick. That is after all how you install windows. What's probably happening is BIOS is indeed attempting to boot off the USB stick, failing then Going to the next thing in line to boot, the SSD. Some brands of USB sticks won't boot some laptops, it is a crapshoot at times. I would bet your problem is the USB stick. How did you make it? I make mine using the Rufus Program under Windows. Try several different brands of boot sticks and make them under the Windows 11 load on The laptop. Also HP has a program to make a recovery USB stick which will reload win11 plus all of the HP drivers for the special hardware. Try running the program to do that under Windows and Make a USB stick with it then try booting the laptop with that stick. And what brand of USB stick? I use PNY sticks for boot sticks I get 'em in 5 packs off Amazon. The no-name Chinese boot sticks often will not boot machines, even when Rufus has said They were properly made. Ted -----Original Message----- From: PLUG <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Rich Shepard Sent: Monday, March 31, 2025 7:04 AM To: Portland Linux/Unix Group <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [PLUG] Installing linux on HP laptop On Mon, 31 Mar 2025, Ted Mittelstaedt wrote: > I just realized your problem probably is getting the thing to boot off > the stick in the first place. That's a chicken-and-egg problem > because you have to boot from a stick so that the existing disk is not > active in order to zap it Ted, I changed the boot order but it's ignoring that. > If the turning off uefi boot does not work in bios then if it's > running > win10 and you can login to it, hold down shift and click restart that > will get you into windows recovery and you might be able to select the > boot stick from there. It runs win11, apparently. > In worst case pull the disk, put it in a dock, and wipe it then reinsert it. > Once the bios sees no bootable anything on the disk it will fall > through to the next bootable thing, the usb stick. This is a _very_ thin laptop with two small screws on the bottom. Much different from any portable I've worked on before. Closed, from table to top of the cover it's 1". I suspect the storage is on a chip, not an SSD and certainly not a HD. Thanks, Rich
