Windows 10 Re-install

[DroxlandNC]

I need to re-install OS; Microsoft says to ensure BIOS are up to date. My info says 6/1/9/14 v. 80.00 - How do I know if this is the current one? Doesn't HP provide motherboard updates as needed automatically, or was that a bad assumption on my end?? I posted a similar Q the other day, oddly it shows I never "posted." hmm.

[WAWood]

@DroxlandNC 

Microsoft support always says stuff like that as they are always looking for excuses when their Windows Updates do not work.

Unfortunately, as you can see from this link, HP does not provide any BIOS updates for your model PC:  https://support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/HP-Pavilion-23-All-in-One-Desktop-PC-series/7161729...

[DroxlandNC]

Hi. I have been running Windows 10 for a number of years now on the machine; in checking support I've seen other pertinent pieces of info under "notices and bulletins", like this one..is this not an BIOS update in this file? I wanted to start over and wipe clean as it is bloated, has some issues, and I see other "attacks and corruptions" and the mitigating steps involved. So if I move forward with a clean install, would I have to go to the motherboard manufacturer that is listed for a current BIOS? Here is the page where I found BIOS upgrade info: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-23-p100-all-in-one-desktop-pc-series/7161729/model/...

And should the BIOS update be performed prior to a clean install, or after? Making a UEFI diagnostic flash drive would need to be performed where as well?

[WAWood]

@DroxlandNC 

The page you link is to hardware diagnostics, not a BIOS update.

Do NOT scour the Internet for BIOS updates because the HP motherboards use custom BIOS versions and if you force one you get from elsewhere, you risk completely trashing your PC.

If you're faced with reinstalling Windows 10 onto your PC, there are several options, not all of which necessarily will be available to you:
1) Factory reset using internal HP image
2) Factory reset using external HP image you make
3) Factory reset using external HP image you buy
4) Windows reinstall using media you make

Each of these is discussed in some detail below ...

---------- Factory reset using internal HP image ----------
HP preloads most PCs with a compressed Windows Image that can be used to completely restore the PC to its original condition. This image is contained in the Recovery partition, and if it is intact, it will generally work well.

To do this, you press the Esc key repeatedly while rebooting and when the HP Startup Menu appears, you select the option to do the reset -- usually F11. This will take a couple of hours or more to complete and when done, your PC will start over with initial setup screens. That means that EVERYTHING previously on your PC will have been erased: accounts, settings, personal data, applications, drivers.

NOTE that the disk drive has to be in excellent condition or this will fail. So, BEFORE you do this, instead of pressing F11 as above, press F2 to run diagnostics. If the disk test passes, you should be able to run the reset.

---------- Factory reset using external HP image you make ----------
HP provides a Cloud Recovery tool that you can use, together with a 32GB USB stick, to create your on HP reset media.

Here is the link: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c06162205

This works the same as the factory reset described above.

---------- Factory reset using external HP image you buy ----------
For those PCs not supported by the Cloud Recovery, in some cases, HP offers Recover Media for sale. This can not be downloaded; instead, it must be ordered 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 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 &quot;Update&quot;.<br><br>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 &quot;+&quot; 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.

HP contact info: https://support.hp.com/us-en/contact-hp?openCLC=true

If HP no longer carries the media you need, another site you should check for HP Recovery Media is: http://www.computersurgeons.com/

These work the same as the factory reset described above.

---------- Windows reinstall using media you make ----------
If there is no HP recovery media and Cloud Recovery is not an option, then your only option is to creating your own media using the Microsoft Media Creation Tool (MCT).

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

You may see the option to download an ISO file or create media; choose the option to create media. This will take a while because it has to download over 4GB of data and then has to format and create installation media from those files.

Insert that media into your PC, boot from it, and run through the installation. When you get the window asking for a product key, look down near the bottom of the window for the link you can click to skip that step.

When done (the PC will restart several times), you boot into Windows and you get back online, it will contact the MS activation servers and automatically reactivate Win10.