Hardware How do I boot my Lenovo IdeaBook U310 on a flashdrive w/ Win10?

[Polarise]

Hello, so my dad gave me his computer but I want to reset it and make it mine.

The way I want to do it is by installing Windows 10 on my flashdrive and have the computer boot it. Is there a way for my laptop to do so?

 

[swabbo]

when you boot down the boot order button and set it to boot the usb before the hdd, and if you have a windows 10 installation disc, copy everything on it to the blank usb

 

[Polarise]

when you boot down the boot order button and set it to boot the usb before the hdd, and if you have a windows 10 installation disc, copy everything on it to the blank usb

how do I do that? I already have all the files needed for win10 on the usb.

 

[swabbo]

how do I do that? I already have all the files needed for win10 on the usb.

when your computer is starting up, there should be a button you can press to boot into a boot menu, should be either F2, f12 or DEL

It should tell you what button to press

 

[Polarise]

when your computer is starting up, there should be a button you can press to boot into a boot menu, should be either F2, f12 or DEL

It should tell you what button to press

How would I boot into the bios with the lenovo?

 

[swabbo]

 

[Polarise]

If I press the novo button, when I enter boot menu, it just bypasses it and boots to win10, which is corrupted.

 

[shaunj66]

On modern lenovo laptops they have a dedicated BIOS/recovery setup button. You'll need a pen or pencil tip to press it when the machine is powered down. It will then boot to a menu allowing you to access the BIOS and change the boot order whilst you install Windows 10. However the boot order may already be set to USB first, have you tried booting from the USB key yet?

 

[Polarise]

On modern lenovo laptops they have a dedicated BIOS/recovery setup button. You'll need a pen or pencil tip to press it when the machine is powered down. It will then boot to a menu allowing you to access the BIOS and change the boot order whilst you install Windows 10. However the boot order may already be set to USB first, have you tried booting from the USB key yet?

I haven't tried booting from the USB key yet. I could boot into "Automatic Repair" options but the computer does not seem to show the usb when pressing use a usb device...

 

[shaunj66]

Sounds like the USB key may not be bootable, did you create it using the proper tool?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

 

[Polarise]

Sounds like the USB key may not be bootable, did you create it using the proper tool?

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

yes i have.

--------------------- MERGED ---------------------------

yes i have.

Here are some more details, the flash drive is 8gb, with win10 on it it has 4.05gb.

 

[shaunj66]

Tried different USB ports? Check to see in the BIOS if USB is excluded from the bootable/startup devices, though that shouldn't normally effect the dedicated boot menu...

 

[Polarise]

Tried different USB ports? Check to see in the BIOS if USB is excluded from the bootable/startup devices, though that shouldn't normally effect the dedicated boot menu...

Could I download a win10 iso instead, then use system recovery image? Because when I open that, it could see the flashdrive.

 

[shaunj66]

If you don't mind having Lenovo's preinstalled software then just use the standard partition recovery utility (providing your father didn't wipe or replace the hard drive). You won't even need the USB key.

I'd normally opt for a clean install but the above is probably the easier option and shouldn't matter to most people.

 

[Polarise]

If you don't mind having Lenovo's preinstalled software then just use the standard partition recovery utility (providing your father didn't wipe or replace the hard drive). You won't even need the USB key.

I'd normally opt for a clean install but the above is probably the easier option and shouldn't matter to most people.

how do I enter standard partition recovery?

 

[shaunj66]

https://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/user_guides/u310_u410_ug_en.pdf

See 'Restoring', chapter 5, page 37.

Then upgrade to Windows 10 when you have a working install of whatever Windows was pre-installed, likely 8. You can still get it for free by using the accessibility upgrade:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/accessibility/windows10upgrade

No proof is required.

 

[Futurdreamz]

May I ask why you want to make the USB drive your boot drive? Or am I misunderstanding and you just want to make a USB installer drive?

 

[Polarise]

https://www.lenovo.com/shop/americas/content/user_guides/u310_u410_ug_en.pdf

See 'Restoring', chapter 5, page 37.

What if... I make a system backup image of my current computer (win10), and restore it on the new computer!

May I ask why you want to make the USB drive your boot drive? Or am I misunderstanding and you just want to make a USB installer drive?

I want to fresh install win10 is why.

 

[Futurdreamz]

What if... I make a system backup image of my current computer (win10), and restore it on the new computer!

I want to fresh install win10 is why.

Ah, I misunderstood.

I just use Rufus to properly format the drive from the ISO, then use the advanced startup option in settings->Update&Security->Recovery to boot the USB drive.

 

[Polarise]

This might be a bit off topic but I didn't want to make another post for this,

When I insert my microSD into an adapter, it says that it is not writable, but when I put it into a different adapter, it shows as writable. Both adapters have the switch set to writable. Is there a fix? I think this happens when you accidentally take out the SD card without safely ejecting it.