Windows 10 Pro failing to boot - HP Z Book 17

AVguy · 13 Nov 2016

EdTittel said:

Q&A: Items 1-3
This is not a cut-and-dried or "simple question, simple answer" situation. Sorry if this proves less than satisfactory!

HTH,
--Ed--

Thanks Ed,

I guess a satisfactory answer is a complete answer and you have provided that. I was asking these questions to get enough information to be able to make a judgement as to how to best invest my time i.e. pursuing a potential disk repair solution or just jumping into a new Windows 10 + programs install. There is no data recovery necessary so that is not a concern. The need for a new SSD is a given but I have concerns about the limitations that HP have imposed on the m.2 SSD slot on these machines so I have decided to swap out one of the two 1TB HDDs for a 1TB SSD for the OS + programs and demote the m.2 drive usage (when I eventually get it) to media and temporary files. The Z Book 17 G2 is a really great laptop but the m.2 2260 PCIe only drive limitation is definitely a downside given that the disks are now only available from HP at a plainly ridiculous cost. This makes post warranty replacements untennable.
Running incremental Macrium Reflect disk imaging should prevent me falling into this hole again.

Best wishes,

Andy

EdTittel · 14 Nov 2016

Given all this new information, you are absolutely on the right track. You might want to visit Notebookreview or Notebookcheck and ask those forums if they know of valid and affordable M.2 SSD replacements. In many cases, the user community cheerfully ignores HP (and other vendor) restrictions and find out what kind of 3rd-party hardware works to replace expensive vendor components. Give it a try!
--Ed--