PC Reset and Warranty Information

[Tim3613]

I have a brand new hp laptop and I want to get rid of the included bloatware. It sounds like a PC reset will do the trick, but I am worried I might lose some warranty registration information in the process. Will a reset disrupt my registration or warranty?

[Bill_To]

Hi @Tim3613 

Welcome to the HP Forum.

The HP product ID and the Windows OEM product key will be hard coded in the BIOS. So resetting your PC should not affect: your warranty or a subsequent Windows activation.

You would lose some HP programs such as HP Support Assistant if the reset option installs a clean copy of Windows.

You would still have to deal with the bloatware Microsoft installs in Windows these days.

Consider selectively removing unwanted programs in Control Panel, Programs and Features. Then remove unwanted Apps is Settings, Installed Apps. 

Back up data, at minimum, or create a system image backup before doing anything.

Opinions or troubleshooting suggestions in this response are provided independently. I am not employed by: HP, Inc. or the HP Forum.

Regards

[WAWood]

The product key encoded in the firmware of the motherboard will only work with an HP OEM version of Windows and if you reinstall using that, you will be faced with the same bloatware.

If you install using a different Windows version, it will NOT activate -- and instead, you will have to BUY your own product key to activate it.

[Tim3613]

Thanks Bill, that's something to think about.  My rationale was that if it doesn't survive the reset then I don't need it, but that might be too harsh. 

[Bill_To]

Hi @Tim3613 

My pleasure.

I try to avoid doing an operating system reset or clean install as much as possible. Sometimes it has to be done if the operating system is unstable or unresponsive.

It is such a PITA and takes a long time to get Windows running the way you want it when starting from scratch.

I also use drive imaging software to back up drive images to external media. This is a quick way to recover a stable system drive image if something bad happens to the current Windows installation; you don't have to rebuild the OS from scratch.

I'm currently use Aomei Pro Backupper (paid version). But I just came across free backup software, Disk Genius.

I'm going to try Disk Genius (DG) to see if is a reliable option.

I don't know if DG provides the option to create a bootable USB recovery drive. This drive is required when you can't run Windows. The USB drive will load DG. Then DG is used to copy a good OS image from the external backup device to the PC's system drive.

Within minutes, if you have fast drives, you are back in business.

Regards