Reset Pavilion 23 that came with Windows 8.1 but was upgraded to Windows 10 Home

[WRAdams]

Good day!

My Pavilion 23 came with Windows 8.1 and was later upgraded to Windows 10 Home.  I want to return my computer to its ‘out of the box’ configuration but need to have all the factory-installed software reinstalled.  

I have read so many HP Support Docs (Reset vs. Restore vs. Recovery; Windows 8.1 vs Windows 10) that I have managed to completely confuse myself.  Can my computer be returned to its ‘out of the box’ configuration to include all the software that came pre-loaded?  If so, how do I do so?

Thank you!

[WAWood]

@WRAdams 

Let's first talk about you you can NOT do it.  You can't use the build-in Recovery function because your Upgrade to Win10 corrupted that, making any rollback to Win8x now not possible.

As to how you CAN do it, you would have to see if HP carries Recovery Media and order that from HP.

HP Recovery Media is a set of DVDs and a CD, or USB stick, that will erase the hard drive (removing all data, settings, and applications, reinstall the original OS, drivers, and some HP Utilities.

In some cases, you may be able to order a USB stick instead of disks. You have to order these from HP; they can not be downloaded.

You can look online for Recovery Media starting with the linked paged: http://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers

Once there, input your Product name or number. On your Software and Drivers Download page, select your Operating System and and Version. Click "Update".

If HP Recovery Media is available for your machine, down near the bottom of the page, you will see an entry for Order Recovery Media-CD/DVD/USB. Click the "+" symbol to expand that entry and click on Order Media for details.

Or, if you prefer, you can do the same by contacting HP Customer Support.  To contact HP Support see the following link to create yourself a case number, then call and it may help speed up the call process:
Step 1. Goto this page https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp
Step 2. Enter Product number or select to auto detect
Step 3. Scroll down to "Still need help? Complete the form to select your contact options"
Step 4. Scroll down and click on: HP contact options - click on Get phone number
Case number and phone number appear.

[WRAdams]

Good afternoon WAWood….thank you for your response and information.

re Recovery Media: Recovery Media is apparently not available from HP as there was no entry for "Order Recovery. . . " 

     (I was able to Create a Microsoft Recovery USB Drive Windows 10 (via document #c04641788); can this be used or is it not an option because my computer came with Windows 8 installed?)

re HP Customer Support:  I followed your instructions but was not given a way to contact HP Support; my guess is it is because my computer is no longer covered by a warranty...sigh.

The reason I am having to contend with this at all is because my touch screen and webcam stopped working, presumably following a Windows upgrade.  Because I was a caregiver for my terminally ill spouse (who setup the computer and clearly didn't realize the Create a Restore Point feature had to be enabled), I did not notice the touch screen and webcam stopped working until the period during which I could have rolled back to a previous version of Windows has passed.  I have spent hours trying to get the touch screen and webcam to work...it seemed returning the computer to its 'out of box' state (including all factory-installed software) was my only option; it now seems that is not an option either.  

Do you have any tricks up your sleeve to resolve this issue or do I need to learn to live without a working touch screen and webcam?

I very much appreciate your assistance!

[WAWood]

@WRAdams 

The MS Recovery USB drive should work to restore the PC to the working version of Win10 that was in place when the drive was made -- but it will not return the PC to Win 8.x.

But first, If your PC is new enough to support UEFI, you can use these steps to test the hard drive: http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00439024

If not, to check the drive you have to follow these steps:
1) Press Esc key repeatedly, several times a second, while rebooting the laptop. Do NOT hold the key down, just press it over and over.
2) Eventually, you will see an HP Startup Menu
3) Press the Function key for testing the hard drive (usually F2) and let it run.

If the test passes, then you should be able to boot your PC from the MS Recovery media and restore it to working condition.

Good Luck

[WRAdams]

D'oh!  The MS Recovery USB drive was only made a few days ago so its version of Win 10 is not a properly working version.   

The hard drive test showed the drive is good.

There is a Recovery Image (D:) on the computer; however, it shows a modified date of 8-24-2019 which is after the webcam and touchscreen stopped working.

Are there any other options for restoring the PC with all its factory-installed software in place?  The 'Apps Will Be Removed' list includes such items as Broadcom 802.11 adapters and drivers; Energy Star; numerous HP,  Intel, MS VisualC++, Realtek and Windows items,  all of which I assume are necessary.  As much as it frustrates and perturbs me that the touchscreen and webcam stopped working because of a Windows update, I'd rather learn to live without the touchscreen and webcam than lose necessary apps.

[WAWood]

@WRAdams 

First off -- there is no need to be insulting. You said you upgraded your PC from Win8.1 to Win10 -- and you could have done that any time during the last several YEARS.  So, I would have no way of knowing how recent the recovery media IS. It could be four years old!

Second, unless your PC is a 2016 model or newer, you would not be able make a bootable USB recovery drive using the HP cloud recovery tool on a working PC.  The recovery drive could then be used to install Win10 and the HP drivers and utilities that originally came with your PC. Here is the link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06162205

So, if that is not an option, another site you should check for HP Recovery Media is: http://www.computersurgeons.com/

[WRAdams]

I sincerely apologize that you interpreted my statement as insulting; it most certainly was not written to be insulting to you.  The "d'oh" was the infamous Homer Simpson "d'oh" - the one he used when he himself did something stupid which is what we did by not creating the  Microsoft Recovery USB Drive much sooner and what I did by not thinking to tell you earlier when I had made it.

The (refurbished) computer was purchased in Aug 2015 with Win 8.1 installed and came with a notice that it was entitled to a free upgrade to Win 10.  I do not know when my husband made the upgrade but am fairly certain it was made shortly after the computer was received.

The 'HP cloud recovery tool' you mentioned didn't sound familiar so I took another look at the document (c04641788) which I followed to create the drive; apparently I copied the HP recovery partition to a USB drive.  

Again, I sincerely apologize that you were insulted when my sole intention was only to insult myself.  I very much appreciate all your suggestions and input and will follow up on the resources you provided in your last message.

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@WRAdams 

I'm sorry too -- for misunderstanding your comment.  I'm not a fan of the Simpsons, so I did not understand the context of what you said.

Sorry the Cloud Recovery is not an option -- but the other site might have Recovery Media.

As a last resort, to get a working PC, you can try the following:

1) Use this link to download and create Win10 install media: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

2) insert that into your PC (do NOT boot from it), find the folder containing the media, select the setup.exe file, right-click that and select Run as Administrator.  This will start an in-place Upgrade which could then take a couple of hours to complete.

If you are presented with a window asking for a product key, down near the bottom is a entry you can click to skip that. Do NOT enter a product key, as it will reuse your existing key and when you finish and get back online, Windows will automatically activate.

[WRAdams]

Good evening!

Yay!  The other site has the recovery media and at a very reasonable price so I'm trusting I'll be good to go.

Thank you so very much for your patience and assistance...I appreciate both very much!