Restoring your HP Laptop to factory Settings

Problems with the HP computer may prompt a user to restore factory settings of the HP laptop computer. This may happen due to several reasons, including virus attacks or errors in the software or hardware configuration. Sometimes the only solution is to restore factory settings. . Before initiating the procedure all important files and data need to be backed up. 

• Creating Recovery Disks
• Restoring Using the Recovery Disks
• Restoring to Factory Setting Using the Recovery Manager
• See also: How do i factory reset my laptop

Creating Recovery Disks

It is strongly recommend that a set of recovery discs be made when the computer is new. A reminder message is displayed every 14 days or until the reminder is turned off. Depending on the type of disc drive, multiple blank CD-R, DVD-R, or DVD+R discs are needed. Use of -RW media will cause the process to fail. 
Do the following actions to create the set of recovery discs: 

1. Connect the computer to the AC power adapter. 
2. Click Start, click All Programs, select System Recovery, and click Create Recovery Discs. 

The PC Recovery Disc Creator utility displays a message indicating the type and number of media discs required. 
3. Verify the required number of media discs is available. 
4. Click Next to begin the actual copying process. 
When prompted, remove each written disc and insert a blank disc. 

5. Label each disc, in the sequence it was created, as prompted. 

6. Store the newly created set of recovery discs in a safe place. 

Restoring Using the Recovery Disks

The Windows operating system (OS) can be reinstalled, using the recovery discs, without destroying any existing programs or customer data. This action is normally only performed if the computer does not start properly or does not boot into the Windows operating system. To preserve your data, copy or backup the data to an external storage device before performing this task. 
Do the following actions to reinstall the operating system from the set of recovery discs: 

1. Connect the computer to the AC power adapter. 
2. Open the disc drive, insert the first disc in the set of recovery discs, and close the disc drive. 
3. Turn off the computer. 
4. Press the Power button to start the computer and immediately press the F11 key. 
The computer begins operation from the disc and performs tests on the hard drive. After a short delay, a black screen with a message is displayed. If the C:\ drive and the special recovery partition are intact, three options are available:

• Press 'R' for standard System Recovery options.
• Press 'F' to format the hard drive and reinstall the original factory settings. All data will be lost!

Restoring to Factory Setting Using the Recovery Manager

You may access HP Recovery Manager at any time by restarting the computer and pressing F11 repeatedly before the Windows logo screen appears. 
On the System Recovery panel, click Next. 
PC Recovery will display "Backing up user data and settings." 
PC Recovery will begin recovering Windows XP and application files. 
PC Recovery will begin recovering user data and settings. 
Upon completion, PC Recovery will display "The PC Recovery was successfully completed. Click restart to restart your PC or click Turn Off to turn off the PC. Click Restart. 

For further information on HP restore: click on this link

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