Factory reset doesn't stop.

[Warrepeeters]

Yesterday I tried to factory reset my laptop. I let it run over night and when I came back the next morning he was still resetting. I write this in the afternoon and it is still resetting. I searched on google for a solution but I didn't find anything. I can't do anything with my laptop right now. I tried fixing it by forcing a shut down but if I turned my laptop back on the same screen comes up. The problem started when I couldn't log in into my laptop and I was stuck on the lock screen. There stood a text that said that my PIN wasn't working and there was a button that said "set PIN", I clicked on that button and there came a little empty screen from microsoft and after a couple seconds it disapeard. Then I made a back up from my important files and tried to reset my laptop. And on this moment it is still running and I can't do anything to stop it. My laptop is in a sort of loop where it constantly restarts and shows an cmd screen. Then it restarts again and does the same thing over and over. I sometimes read what the cmd screen sais and it is not always the sane thing. There are 4 lines, the first 3 always stay the same and the last one is always different. Is there any way to fix this?

[WAWood]

@Warrepeeters 

If a factory rest starts out OK and then halts part way through, that is nearly always an indication of a failing drive -- which is a hardware issue that a factory reset will do nothing to fix.

To check for hard drive failing, 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, 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.

[Warrepeeters]

Hi

I already did a hard drive check and it said "TEST ALL HARDDRIVES: PASSED".

When I did that factory reset it started with restarting the pc and then showing an cmd screen with some text inside. Then it restarts again and does ths same over and over. The only thing that changed were a couple of letters at the end of the text that was inside.

The only thing I can do is: the bios settings and the options you get when you press esc.

[WAWood]

@Warrepeeters 

OK, so if your drive is OK, then the recovery files probably got corrupted and that will prevent you from doing an internal reset.

Since your PC can not successfully do an internal factory reset, your only ways to accomplish this are the following:
- Factory reset using external HP image you make
- Factory reset using external HP image you buy

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

---------- 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.