I need help on doing a factory reset on my HP Stream notebook pc 13.

[SpyroEnzo]

Anyone, please help me. I am trying to do a factory reset on my HP notebook since its hard drive memory is full and it affects all my other work (programs istantly closes due to memory full). I only have few ideas about computers but what i know is that when i click the get started in the "remove everything and reinstall windows" i ended up to "no changes made".

[CherylG]

Try running Disk Cleanup to see if that helps. Be sure to also click "Cleanup system files" and the extra step to delete restore points and shadow copies.

https://neosmart.net/wiki/disk-cleanup/#Run_Disk_Cleanup_in_Windows_8_or_81

[SpyroEnzo]

Hello, thank you for the fast reply. i already did that before and i have nothing else to clean up. I also have uninstalled some softwares and deleted videos and pictures. So what i thought was, i should just do a factory reset, for me to just make a new start :D.  This is the current picture of the disk clean up. 

 

[CherylG]

and you also clicked "Clean up system files"?

[CherylG]

On the Steams with Windows 10 I usually recommend making a bootable flash drive to reinstall Windows but on the Windows 8 version it is stickier. MS has the Media Creation Tool for Windows 10 which makes it easy to create.Plus on the Windows 8 Streams you usually have Secure boot to deal with that isn't a problem on the later versions.

@IT_WinSec should be online later. Maybe he will have suggestions.

[SpyroEnzo]

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@CherylG wrote:

On the Steams with Windows 10 I usually recommend making a bootable flash drive to reinstall Windows but on the Windows 8 version it is stickier. MS has the Media Creation Tool for Windows 10 which makes it easy to create.Plus on the Windows 8 Streams you usually have Secure boot to deal with that isn't a problem on the later versions.

@IT_WinSec should be online later. Maybe he will have suggestions.

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thank you very much CherylG, and by the way, I clicked the "clean up system files" and it said it just gave me 6.68KB 

By the way miss, i would just wan't to ask, is it normal that my disk's free space is changing (in high intervals like from 14KB free space to 300MB free space) everytime i restart my laptop? 

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @SpyroEnzo

As mentioned by @CherylG, the best solution would be fresh clean installation of Windows.

What you have now is something similar to this one:

(1) partition with Windows, apps and files - main/visible partition

and

(1) hidden partition - secondaty which is about 6-10 GBs and it stored the image of your computer - Windows and this is used to perform factory reset

Basically, you have 2 options:

-Option 1- Perform clean installation of Windows which erases everything. This will free up this additional 6 to 10 GBs because you will be able to delete it. After erasing everything, you will never again be able to use the buil-in partition and you will have to reinstall Windows in future should something fails [usually, this is not a tech problem, just a personal preference]

- Option 2- Analyze the current situation, keep the recovery partition, remove any programs or files which you may not need

Both options take time. Let me know which path you prefer and I will post details and I and @CherylG will help you with your choice.

No matter which option you pick up, note that HP Stream is considered a cloudbook/netbook.

For about 200 $ you get this small portable PC + long lasting battery + Windows license + additional software = all just for ~200 $ It's really worth the money but it can't have all the perks of a PC which costs 2000 USD. Your built-in storage space is limited to 32 (or 64) GB of eMMC drive.

[CherylG]

Thanks @IT_WinSec for joining in.

@SpyroEnzo

You still have one more cleanup as mentioned in the link I sent first Reply which can often free up several GB of space.Shadow copies and old restore points can be deleted by going to the More options tab.

[SpyroEnzo]

Cheryl G, i have not noticed that before, haha.Now i have clicked the clean up in the system restore and shadow copies but when i pressed delete, nothing happened. 

IT_winsec, thank you for joining in, i prefer the option 1, but i would like to know what happens if i can't use the built in partitions?

Thank you very much guys for replying on my post and helping me on my computer problem, I really really appreciate it. Sorry for a very late reply.

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @SpyroEnzo

The built-in recovery partitions are to be used if you prefer not to use Option 1 (a.k.a. not to reinstall Windows). If they do not work, the other steps include going with Option 1 (clean Windows reinstallation for free) or purchasing HP original recovery media which can be used to reinstall Windows (paid option).

** Back up your personal files - either offline on an external device (memory card, USB pendrive, external hard disk drive, etc.) or online to a Cloud storage (OneDrive, GoogleDrive or Google Backup and Sync, Dropbox, etc...)

** Here are instructions how to clean install/reinstall Windows 10:

Video reference >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAvFm52IjI4

OPTION 1 - Windows reinstallation / clean installation :

- Run Disk Clean up with option to clean system files and erase literally anything Disk Clean up offers. Make sure you check all options. Make sure you run it as Administrator

- Eventually, you should directly download Windows 10 ISO from MS site or download >> Media creation tool from Microsoft site, create installation DVD or installation USB  and  proceed with clean installation/reinstallation.

Download:

>> https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO

Make sure you select the proper version (64 bit / Home)  if asked

Media Creation tool will always provide you with the latest Windows version/build - now 1809.

- When download completes, you will need to write  the ISO image and boot from a bootable media. You will need a blank USB pendrive (min 4 GB capacity). Use the media creation tool

When ready with the USB drive:

Please, shutdown the computer using the power button.

Insert the Windows USB thumdrive prepared previously

Power on the PC.

As soon as you press the power-on button, start hitting the Esc button repeatedly (like tap-tap-tap).

This should open a HP Startup Menu

Choose F9 to open Boot options. Select the USB thumb drive as a boot option.

- Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 10. Perform clean installation/custom installation (not repair).

Delete all existing partitions and install Windows on Disc 0 Unallocated space

- After successful Windows installation, connect to a wi-fi network and update Windows immediately - this will update Windows but it will also install drivers for this device to enable/active the hardware

- Make sure Windows is Activated by going to Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Activation

- You may wish to stop some of the Windows Telemetry by using free tools such as Spybot AntiBeacon or DWS Lite

 - Do not install or run 3rd party security products (antivirus/firewalls) - use the built-in Defender

Hope this works for you. Let me know how it goes and if this helped.