HP Laptops – Installing Windows 10

Install Windows 10 on a computer equipped with Windows 8.1 or Windows 7 by following the instructions in this document.

Important information regarding the installation of Windows 10

Before starting, you should always back up your important data (such as your personal files, photos, videos, documents, applications, software), in order to avoid any loss. See the section Backing up your files (Windows 10, 8) for more information.

HP provides updated installation instructions, compatible software and necessary drivers for most computers sold after August 2013.

If you purchased your computer before August 2013, HP has not tested or developed drivers for your model. Some features may not work, or the installation may not be successful.

Make sure that you have installed the latest version of the drivers for your Windows 7 or Windows 8.1 product using HP Support Assistant, or download them from HP Customer Support.

Update your antivirus software and antivirus definitions before installing Windows 10. Activate the automatic update of the antivirus application. Go to the software manufacturer’s website for more information.

If the computer’s hard drive is encrypted using HP ProtectTools or other security applications, you must decrypt the hard drive before starting the installation.

If, after installation, you need to contact HP for assistance, HP Technical Support may ask you to restore the original Windows operating system in order to verify the functionality of the product. If your computer is sent for maintenance or repair after installing Windows 10, the original Windows operating system can be restored to it, and Windows 10 deleted. After the repairs are completed, you can reinstall Windows 10. Be sure to remember your Microsoft account ID and password. To reset your password, see the HP Step-by-step Solution – Unable to connect to Windows section.

Once Windows 10 is installed, you will automatically receive security updates and patches from Microsoft. You cannot refuse this service.

If you want to restore the original operating system, it is recommended to obtain HP recovery media before installing Windows 10. To learn how to create recovery media, see Obtaining HP recovery disks or an HP recovery USB flash drive.

It may be that not all the features of Windows 10 are available on some computers. Your particular experience with Windows 10 will be determined by the capabilities of your computer.

Software designed for Windows 8.1 or earlier operating systems may not work once Windows 10 is installed.

If you have installed third-party software after purchasing your HP computer, you should contact the software vendor to verify that it will be supported by Windows 10.

Some graphics cards do not support the new WDDM 2.0 driver design. The graphics hardware should work on Windows 10, but the computer will not take advantage of the performance improvements available for graphics hardware compatible with WDDM 2.0.

You might not be able to view DVD movies after installing Windows 10. If you are currently using a DVD codec to play DVD movies, such as the encoder supplied with Windows 7 Professional, this encoder may no longer be available in Windows 10. To continue playing DVDs after installing Windows 10, install a new media player application from the Windows Store or any other trustworthy source.

Windows Media Center does not work after installing Windows 10. It is deleted during installation and cannot be reinstalled afterwards.

For computers with 128 GB of free space or less, the installation may require that you provide a USB hard drive (32 GB or more). HP advises against using an SD card.

The SD card slots may not work following the upgrade to Windows 10. For this reason, it is recommended to use only a USB storage or microUSB external storage and not an SD card as an upgrade medium to Windows 10.

Microsoft includes a free voice recording application in Windows 10 to record your interviews, classes, business meetings and voice notes. This application does not work as expected on all machines. If the recording feature does not appear on your device, check if there is a newer driver on Windows Update.

Facial recognition authentication requires specific hardware such as an infrared (IR) camera. If this hardware is not installed on the computer, the option to configure facial recognition authentication will not be available in the Settings application.

Fingerprint authentication can be configured in the Settings application in the case of computers equipped with a fingerprint reader (swipe or finger scanning). If the option to configure the fingerprint reader in the Settings application is not available, you may need to upgrade your computer’s security software. In Windows 10, download and install the latest version of the HP SimplePass or Digital Persona software. If you are using security software from another manufacturer, check its compatibility with the manufacturer of that software.

The functionality of the Cortana personal Assistant uses specific hardware such as a microphone, speakers, GPS and an Internet connection. Your computer’s microphone may need to be configured to work with Cortana, and the results will vary depending on the microphone used. Cortana may not be available in all countries/regions.

In Windows 10, it is possible that the wireless display (Miracast) does not connect to an external monitor or loses its connection. Updated video and wireless drivers will be required to enable this feature. Check Windows Update for the latest drivers and install them when they become available.

The Microsoft Refresh and Reset features may not properly restore the specific drivers and customizations of your HP system. You must use only HP Recovery Manager to restore the factory image, or Downgrade to return to Windows 8.1. Once the Downgrade option has expired, use HP Recovery Manager (if applicable) and reinstall Windows 10 if recovery is necessary.

The multi-finger precision touchpad, a new feature of Windows 10, provides a high-precision input pointer and new features for gestures. Your computer does not support the hardware configuration for the multi-finger precision touchpad. This function requires specific hardware to work on Windows 10. In Windows 10, your touchpad will continue to work properly.

Computers configured with Intel Broadwell processors (Intel Core i3-5xxx, Core i5-5xxx, Core i7-5xxx; Pentium 38xx, Celeron 37xx/32xx) or Haswell (Intel Core i3-4xxx, i5-4xxx, i7-4xxx; Pentium 35xx, Celeron 29xx) and 32-bit versions of Windows 8.1 do not support the installation of Windows 10 32-bit using the update tool upgrade Windows. To install Windows 10 64-bit, purchase Windows 10 64-bit from Microsoft and perform a fresh installation of Windows 10 64-bit from the Microsoft download site. In some cases, HP cannot provide compatible software and up-to-date drivers for your model.

Some computers with IDT audio controllers may not support all features after installing Windows 10. The Windows 10 driver will provide the audio on the computer, but some features will not work.

On 2-in-1, 360 x and convertible laptops, the continuum feature on Windows 10 may not automatically detect when the computer is in Desktop or tablet mode. You can manually switch between the modes from the Maintenance Center.

Some computers do not support DirectX 12. You may not be able to use some new features of the XBOX app or use apps that require DirectX 12.

If your computer has an 11th generation Intel processor and it is impossible to find a hard drive for installing Windows, see the HP Laptops section – No drives are found during the installation of Windows 10 (11th generation Intel processors).

System requirements

Microsoft requires that the hardware on your computer meets the following system requirements in order for you to install Windows 10.