Winload.exe missing/corrupt (once more) - a few questions for guidance

NOTICE: Problem solved, read only when looking for info about your own winload.exe problems

hi all,
read on the internet and here on the forum. I probably will be able to solve my problem: winload.exe is corrupt or (far, far more likely) missing. However questions remain, answers to which would guide me in the process of getting the machine up and running. Thanks very much in advance!

-I am trying to put back to use an old HP laptop. It has always used BIOS even though settings suggested it should be able to use UEFI on this laptop. Never ever got that to work and settled with good old BIOS. Machine was running Windows 10 22H2 fully patched.

-This laptop is a kind of workbench that I can experiment with hardware, settings, OS'es and such. At some point in time I encrypted the laptop with Veracrypt.

-Instead of decrypting the entire thing I thought it would be easier and mainly faster to format and reinstall Windows (well, it is not, lol).

-I downloaded and ran the latest Windows MediaCreationTool22H2 on it in order to create an ISO to put to USB with Rufus. This process halted. I then thought I was smart and created an ISO on another ASUS-laptop that has no encryption and is working with UEFI. Machine is running Windows 10 22H2 fully patched. Burnt this to USB with Rufus. Installer on USB works fine as such.

-When running this USB on the old HP the installer however asked for a GPT-partitioned disk, so I restarted with Hiren and flipped the switch on the partition table of the HP (so I had it formatted and put to GPT by now).

-Ran installer again, installation 100%, reboot, winload missing. I let Windows repair handle it, to no avail. I rebuilt the bcd by command prompt to no avail.

My first question:

*My hunch is that the trouble may be caused by more than one issue, but it is starting with the difference between MBR and GPT. I think I am trying to use a wrongly configured installer (needing a GPT configured HDD) in an older type context that is using MBR. Is this correct?

*It is also my understanding that the formatting process has succesfully erased the MBR that was in use by Veracrypt (I do not get any reference to it being there), correct?


My thought on a solution:

-Should I recreate a USB Windows-installer that searches for a disk with a MBR-partition table? Or should it be possible to copy winload.exe from another computer to the HP?

Kind regards, Kan