Need help installing Windows 7 on an HP laptop

Alright everyone, I’ve begun the process of installing the operating system on a friend's laptop, but I have reached the exact point shown in this image and find myself at a complete standstill, unsure of how to proceed.

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hiddenpanther10 said:So, I started setting up the OS on a buddy's laptop and hit this exact screen. Still haven't a clue how to proceed.

Attachment 17547

The image is pretty blurry, but there's a chance the installation disc is just junk.

It simply isn't
I am attempting to boot from a USB drive that I have personally verified works perfectly on several other machines.

New laptop?

Did you try booting in legacy mode and turning off Secure Boot?

Windows 7 clearly doesn't have the drivers for newer hardware, so you might want to just install Windows 10...

You’re gonna have to pop that battery cover off and try to seat the hard drive a bit more snugly. Either the thing popped out of its slot, or it’s 100% fried. If you can feel the drive rattling around in there, maybe wedge a little piece of metal under it to act as a shim? They have a nasty habit of sliding right out of their housing like that.