Help

[TanjR]

I reset laptop to factory settings or so I thought but I think I wiped the whole system now all it does is have the hp emblem on screen and it goes on/off....help!! I don't know what I did.

[WAWood]

@TanjR 

I can certainly understand the desire to do factory resets -- given the prevalent view that such an action, though extreme, will fix a variety of mysterious problems and return a troublesome PC to working condition.

Problem is -- that very often is NOT the case and if there is any hardware issue at all, which is nearly always the cause with a SLOW PC (which is why most folks do the factory resets), you end up trashing your PC and rendering it useless. So, you trade a SLOW PC for a non-working PC. Not a good trade -- and certainly not what you intended.

So if your PC was running real SLOW, then let's check for the drive failing, if your PC is new enough to support UEFI, you can use these steps to test the 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.

If the test will not run or if it fails, that indicates that your drive has failed and would need to be replaced.

If the test passes, then report that back here and I'll provide information on steps you can take to restore Windows to your PC.

[TanjR]

The test passed

[WAWood]

@TanjR 

That test indicates the drive is working, so this basically means the reset doe not complete properly and that implies that the recovery files got corrupted somehow.

Since your PC can not successfully do an internal factory reset, your 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.

[TanjR]

Ok, I've read your response and to be frank I have no clue what I'm reading or what exactly I need to do!