am trying to upgrade an xp machine to 8.1 and install says it can't find a hdd why not

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oldbeeman

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as it says i am trying to update an vista machine to w9.1 and the install program says it can't find a hdd and gives an option to provide a driver..

the real truth is the machine was a state surplus and the hdd had been wiped and w98 installed. so i guess there is no driver for the hdd.

what do i do to get this to work>

thanks
dave
 
Solution
it is interesting that the w8.1 would not install on the hp drive but i put it in another system and seems to work ok. put another drive in and all is ok now
and i have found the drivers on the hp website and every thing appears to be ok.
i want to thank you for the help pointing in the right direction.


Probably not a good idea since you cant upgrade from Vista anyway. You would still have to (or try to) do a clean install

And that would wipe it. I would say since it's an HP system you cant install anything else on that hdd besides what came with it

So you may not have any other choice but to buy another hdd that isnt HP

 
Oh right ok. Well hopefully it fixes it. A few things I hate about branded PC's.

The bloatware, their cases. Try putting their mobos in another case and connecting it back up again lol.

Umm got a spare pc or something you could test to see if Win10 will install on that hdd?

If it works with another system, then this HP system may not work with Win10. Or whatever BIOS is on it, it doesnt support Win10 or something. Or it puts a block or something on other OS's


 
You cant upgrade from XP or Vista, to 8.1 unless you do a clean install of 8.1

Yes, you can, just not directly. Vista allows upgrades from XP, 7 allows upgrades from Vista, and both 8 and 10 will upgrade from 7. It's a complicated workaround, likely filled with headaches. But if you really wanted to do it, it can be done.
 
Exactly what are the specs for this system?

I'm a bit surprised everyone is focused on all these peripheral issues for so long. The OP said it had Windows 98 installed at one time. I'm having hard time believing this computer supports any recent OS.
 

oldbeeman

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Feb 14, 2015
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well. changed the hdd and w8.1 went in smooth.
now the question. will the vista drivers work with 8.1?
maybe w7.
i think that hp had w7 stuff for this machine on their web site.
will go try.
as for the w98 on this machine. it was purchased used from a state surplus sales office and had had the hdd wiped and w98 installed. it seems that w8.1 did not like the hp branded hdd

looks like all is beter now if i can get a couple of drivers installed.

thanks guys

 

oldbeeman

Reputable
Feb 14, 2015
24
0
4,520
it is interesting that the w8.1 would not install on the hp drive but i put it in another system and seems to work ok. put another drive in and all is ok now
and i have found the drivers on the hp website and every thing appears to be ok.
i want to thank you for the help pointing in the right direction.
 
Solution