Aspire E1-571

arrallas

My neighbour asked me to replace the slow HDD (running Win 10) with a new SSD. That part was easy, so I downloaded the media creation tool from MS and created a bootable install USB stick and a d/l DVD. It won't boot from either, nor can I access the BIOS using f2. i also can't boot from any of my other DVDs, such as Ubuntu. In desperation, I put the old HDD back in and that won't boot either! I have done this process dozens of times before without incident. Does anyone have any suggestions before I face my neighbour!?

billsey

IIRC that machine originally shipped with Windows 7. That typically means it's expecting a MBR boot, not the UEFI boot that Windows 10 wants. The machine was billed as Windows 8 Ready though, so it might have been one of the earliest UEFI models. If so, you likely just need to disable secure boot in order to see the install flash drive. If it's still set for MBR then you need to create a different install image for W10, one that supports booting without UEFI. Rufus will do that for you, I don't believe the Media Creation Tool will...