Reformat Hard drive and reinstall operating system

[Nupur26]

My laptop was recently stolen by a family member, who, has done something on the laptop due to which he is able to access my laptop and data real time basis. What is my best option? Should I reformat the hard drive and reinstall operating system? Does HP warranty cover this service? Thanks. 

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

You would have to contact HP customer service starting at the link below to see if that kind of issue is covered by the warranty.

support.hp.com/us-en

Before you do that, you can try this:

Use the HP cloud recovery tool on another PC to create a bootable USB recovery drive that will reinstall the original HP factory software image on the drive.

Here is an info link for how to use the software:

HP Consumer PCs - Using the HP Cloud Recovery Tool in Windows | HP® Support

You will have to enter your PC's product number in the tool's search window in order to proceed.

The AK4R8AV product number you posted is for the general model series which consists of a few specific PC product numbers as you can see from the link below.

HP PartSurfer

Once you have determined the correct product number of those listed you will be able to proceed to use the HP cloud recovery tool.

You need to add a #ABA after the product number.

For example B5UJ4UA#ABA.

If you can't easily determine the product number, enter your PC's serial number in the search window at the link below and it will provide the correct product number of your notebook.

HP PartSurfer