Intel Compute Stick - Windows 10 Upgrade - Uh oh....

[TheDancingLuddite]

So, just purchased an Intel Compute Stick (32GB).
I hooked it up to a USB hub, and hooked up a Seagate 1TB hard drive to that and a wireless keyboard dongle as well.
Everything was going fine with the unit until I chose to update to Win10.
The update started out fine, and I was queried by the program to chose an alternative site for the update as the stick didn't have enough memory.
I chose the Seagate drive, and everything seemed to be working. It was going to be a long process so I let it load overnight while I slept.
I woke up this morning to the following error "Please insert the external storage media and press ok". My external storage media (the Seagate drive) is attached to the hub, so I click okay.
It does nothing. Ever. Just seems to be stuck in 'bootloop"
I try working with this for about 30 minutes. You know, connecting and disconnecting the drive to various points along to hub, but nothing works.
Out of sheer frustration, I turned the stick off and tried to enter the boot menu, BIOS, etc, but I can't even access those. Nothing at all.
Can anyone help?

Also, I'm pretty computer illiterate, so please keep that in mind when replying, thanks!

 

[GreyCatz]

Greetings, Dancer:

Luddite or not, did you try to install Windows 10 on an external Seagate disk?

If so, that's your problem. Windows will not load onto such a device - for reasons of licence and transferability. The installer detects the USB port and decides the Seagate is not a valid disk (i.e. a traditional mechanical or solid-state disk).

As for your current woes with the Intel Compute Stick, your first order of business is to get it to boot into Win8.1. I'm afraid I have no experience with this marvellous new Intel gadget, so I'm going to direct you to Intel's web sites, e.g. this one containing an 'Online No Boot Wizard':

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-035737.htm
You may have to peruse the Intel forum site as well for further information specifically concerning the Compute Stick - it's still very much a novelty.

Once the Stick is back on track, consult this Intel page concerning Windows 10 upgrade. You need to install the latest BIOS version (v0024) prior to performing an upgrade.

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/stck1a32wfc/sb/CS-035724.htm

Your initial problem arose from a minor misunderstanding: When the Update agent asked you to choose an alternative site for the update, it meant a USB stick (about 6GBs) that would then be used as a bootable device. Instead, you chose the Seagate disk which cannot be used that way.

Choosing a USB stick will allow the Update agent to copy the Win10 ISO file directly to the USB stick (on regular PCs this file is copied onto the HDD because there's tons of room). When the copy process has finished, you can then locate the USB stick from within Win8.1 and click the setup.exe file. Then follow the instructions as per the above link.

Hope this helps,
GreyCatz.

 

[TheDancingLuddite]

Greetings, Dancer:

Luddite or not, did you try to install Windows 10 on an external Seagate disk?

If so, that's your problem. Windows will not load onto such a device - for reasons of licence and transferability. The installer detects the USB port and decides the Seagate is not a valid disk (i.e. a traditional mechanical or solid-state disk).

As for your current woes with the Intel Compute Stick, your first order of business is to get it to boot into Win8.1. I'm afraid I have no experience with this marvellous new Intel gadget, so I'm going to direct you to Intel's web sites, e.g. this one containing an 'Online No Boot Wizard':

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/sb/CS-035737.htm
You may have to peruse the Intel forum site as well for further information specifically concerning the Compute Stick - it's still very much a novelty.

Once the Stick is back on track, consult this Intel page concerning Windows 10 upgrade. You need to install the latest BIOS version (v0024) prior to performing an upgrade.

http://www.intel.com/support/motherboards/desktop/stck1a32wfc/sb/CS-035724.htm

Your initial problem arose from a minor misunderstanding: When the Update agent asked you to choose an alternative site for the update, it meant a USB stick (about 6GBs) that would then be used as a bootable device. Instead, you chose the Seagate disk which cannot be used that way.

Choosing a USB stick will allow the Update agent to copy the Win10 ISO file directly to the USB stick (on regular PCs this file is copied onto the HDD because there's tons of room). When the copy process has finished, you can then locate the USB stick from within Win8.1 and click the setup.exe file. Then follow the instructions as per the above link.

Hope this helps,
GreyCatz.

Thank you for replying. I did try to save it to the Seagate drive.
Unfortunately, now, the software seems to be stuck in a loop, which I can't seem to break.
I'm unable to access the recovery menu, and, through stumbling around, I was able to access the BIOS update menu, but wasn't able to get anywhere with that, and have yet to figure out how I got there in the first place, I think I pressed CTRL or ESC when the stick was booting up, but not sure.
I'm hoping to get this corrected without having to resort to taking it to the local tech people, but if I'm unable to get into the recovery menu to get it back to factory specs, I don't know what else I can do.
Your assistance is greatly appreciated!

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello, Dancer:

As I mentioned earlier, I'm not a Compute Stick expert, so I'm quoting from Intel's 'Online No Boot Wizard':
======
1. From a powered-off state (the blue LED is not lit), push and hold down the power button for approx. 3. seconds.
2. Release immediately before the 4-second shutdown override.
3. The Power Button Menu displays several options. Press F8 to begin the OS Recovery.
4. Follow all prompts.
======
You probably have to try it a few times. If this doesn't help, I'm afraid you have to walk the dark road down to your local tech centre. Intel doesn't offer any further help, either.

But if it does restore Windows 8.1 on your ICStick, you'll be back to having to create a bootable USB drive as I indicated earlier. Here are a few tips:

Once the installation starts, please note:
a) Don't leave the room or take your eyes off the screen. I'm not joking! The whole ordeal really shouldn't be more than an hour or so.
b) When the Update agent says 'Your PC needs to restart', quickly remove the USB stick from the hub - there will be a count-down bar to warn you.
c) Failure to remove the USB stick in time will bring you back to your original problem.

Best regards,
GreyCatz.

 

[GreyCatz]

Hello, Dancer:

This is a correction: I've just finished watching a few YouTube videos about upgrading an Intel Compute Stick to Windows 10, and I now understand your situation much better. I'm terribly sorry about all this, but I've missed a number of important differences between the ICS and regular PCs when it comes to this particular upgrade procedure.

If you can restore the Stick to its Windows 8.1 state:
- When the Update agent asks for more space, connect the Seagate drive as you originally did. My comments about invalid disks don't apply in this situation.
- You also get this message: "Important! After the upgrade is finished, remove the external drive and keep it in a safe place." Make sure to be around and remove the drive when Windows 10 has finished installing. I think this is what caused your original problem.
- The installation process takes much longer than I imagined (4-5 hours), which probably explains why you decided to leave it overnight.

I now realize that most of my comments have done nothing but added to your problems, and for that I do apologize.

Best regards,
GreyCatz.