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[PeterGabe3]

My name is GYSGT.DAVID KIMBROUGH,I JUST RETURNED FROM THE MIDDLE EAST/IRAQ......AFTER 5 YRS....I GOT A FAMILY PROBLEM IS.......WELL I BOUGHT A H.P LAPTOP.NOTEBOOK840 ,IT HAS A PRE BOOT MCAFEE ENCRIPTION......I DONT KNOW WHAT TO DO,IM 57 YRS.AND WILL BE STARTING MY GRADUATE PROGRAM....I DONT HAVE A OPERATIONAL LAPTOP TO START SEMESTER.............PLEASE HELP

I DONT HAVE ANY SOFTWARE AND THE LAPTOP WOULD REMOVE ALOT PROBLEMS...PLUS SCHOOL......HOW DO I RESET THIS MACHINE AND GET PASS THE ENCRIPTION TO FACTORY RESET UNIT

I NEED THE PROTOCAL ASAP

RESPECTIVILEY ;

MISSION FAILED/NO UPTO DATE INTELL

[WAWood · Accepted solution]

@PeterGabe3 

First off, please do not post in ALL CAPS -- that is considered shouting and that is rude.

Second, if the encryption was software, imposed only by McAfee and doing a factory reset using external media will fix that as it will rewrite the entire drive in the process.

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.