How to restore HP laptop to factory settings?

How to Factory Reset HP Laptop?

You may find HP laptop users are sometimes making the query- how do I factory reset my HP laptop. In this post, I am going to give a comprehensive guide about how to factory reset HP laptop with or without the help of a recovery disk.

But before I give detailed guidelines on how to restore HP laptop to factory settings let us first look into the reasons why you may need to restore HP laptop to factory settings.

Why go for a factory reset HP laptop?

There may be several reasons that can come up which may need factory resetting of your HP laptop. Now, what is a factory reset laptop?

Factory reset laptop means getting your laptop back to the factory-like brand new when you first bought it. This includes the OS with all the third-party software originally installed on it. If your HP laptop is experiencing a lot of issues, sometimes a factory reset can quickly fix those problems. You may need to go for a factory reset HP laptop if the operating system of the HP laptop is damaged, the hard drive is corrupted or the computer is infected with a virus. If your laptop becomes unresponsive for a while or closes too often without any reason or if you encounter problematic updates, then all these problems indicate that your laptop needs a factory reset.

Also when you want to change the ownership of your laptop, resetting your laptop to factory settings can help to erase everything quickly including your personal files on your laptop.

Since you will lose all the data during this reset process, it is recommended that you back up any files you want to keep before you go for the factory reset of your HP laptop.

Let’s now look into how to reset HP laptop to factory settings. The steps to reset the HP laptop are divided into two sections based on performing the laptop recovery with and without a recovery disk.

How to factory reset HP laptop without a Recovery Disc

Since most of the new laptops nowadays do not come with recovery discs, HP laptop users often ask – how do I factory reset my HP laptop without a recovery disc.

If you didn’t get any recovery discs with your new HP laptop, then your laptop will have a recovery partition installed on it by the manufacturer for your HP laptop recovery. This recovery partition, also known as the HP password reset disc, makes the process of factory resetting HP laptops very simple without recovery discs.

The recovery partition of your hard drive basically performs the very same tasks as a recovery disc, which securely stores a complete copy of the Windows operating system, drivers, and all required programs to make your HP laptop work. The name of the software you will commonly find installed in this recovery partition is – HP Recovery Manager, which provides you with several features and functions.

Now, follow the steps below on how to restore HP laptop to factory settings without a recovery disc:

Step 1

Back up your important data in advance before going to reset your HP laptop. Most Recovery Managers offer a backup option but it is always safe to perform a backup ahead of time, possibly to a USB drive, so as not to affect your data in the process of restoring the system, causing unnecessary trouble.

Step 2

Make sure that your internet connection is working all right;

Step 3

Plug in the power adapter and ensure that the laptop is charging;

Step 4

Go to Recovery Manager to reboot the HP laptop to Recovery Manager. Here’s how to do it:

Turn on your HP laptop or restart it if it is already ‘on’ to start the booting process. Repeatedly press the ‘F11’ key until the computer boots to Recovery Manager which is the software you will use to factory reset HP laptop. For some computers, you may need to press some other F-key.

As the laptop boots up you should see the Recovery message;

Step 5

Once you are in the Recovery Manager Window, there is a section labeled- ‘I Need Help Immediately’ in the left pane of the Recovery Manager. Select the ‘System Recovery’ option and click the button labeled ‘Back Up Your Files (Recommended)’ and then click Next. Click the boxes that appear to select which types of files you would like to back up and then click ‘Next’. You should keep ready an external hard drive which you will connect to the laptop for backing up or you can insert a blank disc into the optical disc drive in your laptop.

Though you already took a backup in Step 1, it will be wise to have an extra backup in case of an emergency. However, in case you don’t want this extra backup, simply select the ‘Recover Without Backing Up Your Files’ option and follow the directions on the screen;

Step 6

Once the backup process is completed click on ‘Next’ and follow the onscreen instructions to finish the process to reset the HP laptop and to set up the Windows Operating System. Do not turn off the power or interrupt the process until you see a message indicating the completion of resetting of HP laptop to factory settings;

How to reset HP laptop to factory settings with a Recovery Disc

Follow the steps below on how to do factory reset HP laptop with a recovery disc:

Step 1

Disconnect all external connected peripheral devices such as USB storage devices, external hard drives, and printers except the mouse and the power cord. Insert the HP System Recovery Disc in your CD/DVD drive and restart your computer;

Step 2

Press any key on your keyboard when you see the message ‘Press any key to boot from CD or DVD’. The recovery disk will run and display the recovery interface after a few minutes;

Step 3

Click ‘System recovery’ and then ‘Factory Reset’. On some recovery disks, ‘System recovery’ is found after clicking the ‘Advanced’ option;

Step 4

You will then be prompted to ‘Backup your files first’ which is highly recommended. Click ‘Next’. Follow the onscreen instructions for backing up your data. You can also click “Recover without backing up your files” but all your data will be irrecoverably lost;

Step 5

The process to factory reset HP laptop will start and may take a while to complete. If your system contains multiple recovery discs you may be asked to insert additional restore discs as the process enters each phase;

Step 6

Follow the on-screen instructions until you receive the ‘Restoration Complete’ screen. Click “Finish”. Your computer will now restart and the Windows Setup Process will now be displayed;

How to restore HP laptop to factory settings in Windows 7/8/10

Steps to follow on how to factory reset HP laptop directly in Windows 7, 8, and even Windows 10:

Step 1

Disconnect all external connected peripheral devices such as USB storage devices, external hard drives, and printers;

Step 2

Turn on your computer;

Step 3

Click the Windows Start menu after Windows completely boots up;

Step 4

Click Recover Manager twice;

Step 5

You may be prompted to allow access – click ‘Yes’. This will launch the HP Recovery Manager console;

Step 6

Under “I need help immediately”, click System Recovery;

Step 7

You will now be prompted ‘Would you like to restore your computer to its original factory condition?’ Click ‘Yes’ and then click ‘Next’;

Step 8

The laptop will restart and the Recovery Manager Window displays;

Step 9

Click System Recovery. When System Recovery prompts you to back up your files, select a backup option. Follow the onscreen instructions for backing up your files similar to the previous section;

Step 10

After the system recovery is complete, click ‘Finish’ to restart the computer. Complete the setup screens and wait until the computer finishes the setup. This will remove all the apps and programs that didn’t come pre-installed on your laptop. It will reinstall Windows and reset HP laptop back to its factory settings. This process may take a few hours;

You may also like to read: How to make Laptop faster – 10 proven tips

Frequently asked questions

Now that I have explained in detail the steps to follow on how to restore HP laptop to factory settings, let me answer some of the related questions often asked by computer users:

How to do factory reset HP laptop on Windows 10?

Step 1: Open the Settings on your Windows 10 laptop by pressing Windows Key + I;

Step 2: Select the Update and Security option;

Step 3: Next, select Recovery;

Step 4: Select ‘Get started’ situated below ‘Reset this PC’;

Step 5:  Select ‘Keep my files’ if you want the files contained within your system to remain on the device after the reset is performed. Alternatively, you can also select the ‘Remove everything’ option, which will return the system to its factory setting.

Step 7: Now, you’ll be advised to plug your PC into a power outlet to proceed. Once the factory reset is completed, the screen will display a window to set up the HP laptop once again.

How to factory reset HP laptop without a password? 

Follow the steps below about how to factory reset HP laptop without a password:

Step 1. Turn off your HP laptop and detach all external devices from your laptop and then click on the “Restart” button to reboot your HP laptop (hold the “Shift” button while clicking on the “Restart”);

Step 2. Select “Troubleshoot”;

Step 3. Choose “Reset this PC.”

Step 4. Choose either “Keep my files” or “Remove everything” according to your ease;

Step 5. Click “Reset” and wait for the system to perform a factory reset on your HP laptop;

Step 6. After restarting, you will be able to enter the HP laptop without any password;

Does factory reset laptop delete everything on the device?

When you factory reset a laptop, your PC’s hard drive is completely erased and you cannot access any of the programs and files that were on it before the process. Once you start the resetting process, you cannot interrupt it. Therefore, you should back up any data which you wish to keep before performing a factory reset.

How to reset the password on an HP laptop without a disk?

HP Recovery Manager would help you to reset your laptop and assign a new password to enable you to regain access to your PC. Since you will lose all the data during this reset process you should back up any data which you wish to keep before using ‘HP Recovery Manager’. Now how to reset the password on an HP laptop without a disk?

Step 1 Disconnect all devices connected to your computer (except keyboard, and mouse) and shut down the system;

Step 2 Turn on your computer and press ‘F11’ repeatedly until the available options appear;

Step 3: Click the ‘Troubleshoot’ option;

Step 4 Next click ‘Recovery Manager’;

Step 5 Next, click ‘System Recovery’;

How to hard reset HP laptop?

Here’re the steps to follow on how to hard reset HP laptop:

1. Turn off the laptop, and then unplug the power cord;

2. Disconnect any peripheral devices, and then remove the laptop from any port replicator or docking station;

3. With the power cord unplugged, press and hold the Power button for approximately 15 seconds;

4. After you drain the capacitors, plug in the power cord. Leave peripheral devices disconnected;

5. Turn on the laptop;

6. The laptop starts normally after the hard reset;

Conclusion

Now that you know how to factory reset HP laptop and make your HP laptop perform as if it came out of the box, here are a few important tips to follow to avoid unnecessary anxieties relating to performance issues with your machine after carrying out the process to reset your HP laptop.

1. If you did not receive a media recovery disc with your HP laptop, make one as soon as possible. Don’t wait until your computer is unable to boot;

2. Update Windows immediately after running a system recovery. This will ensure that you have all the latest security updates and patches;

3. Install any security software (such as antivirus software) and update it before installing any apps, or restoring any backed-up files;

4. Backup all files you want to keep before running a system recovery;

If you have any other tips on how to restore HP laptop to factory settings that worked best for you, please don’t forget to share the same in the comment section below to enlighten other readers.