Restore option disabled with HP recovery disks

[Mike_G1]

1. The HP Notebook locked up while I was using it.

2. It would not sucessfully reboot. After 3 reboot attempts, the notebook unsucessfully attempted to repair itself.

3. Running the BIOS system test shows

These tests passed:

Battery Check

Processor Check

Wireless Module Check

System Board Check

Hard Drive SMART Check

This test failed:

Hard Drive Short DST Check

Failure ID: MBWG2F-7Q693P-XD7WMF-60WX03

4. Booted the HP Notebook off of the CD-ROM with Linux Mint, and ran its hard disk diagnostic. That test also failed.

5. Installed a new hard disk in the HP Notebook.

6. Ran the BIOS diagnostic with the new hard disk. All the tests passed.

7. Booted the HP Notebook using the recovery disks I made when I bought it.

The HP Notebook boots successfully, but the "restore" choice it disabled (gray). What do I need to do to initiate the recovery process?

[mdklassen]

> Hard Drive SMART Check

> This test failed:

> Hard Drive Short DST Check

> Booted the HP Notebook off of the CD-ROM with Linux Mint, and ran its hard disk diagnostic. That test also failed.

That is bad news, but it is informative as to the cause of your symptoms.

Can you temporarily connect the disk-drive as a "secondary" disk-drive in some other computer?

If so, download/install/run the free SPECCY software.

Expand its "storage" section to look at the SMART statistics for that disk-drive.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/S.M.A.R.T.

Which of the measured points is reporting "warn" or "fail"?

> Booted the HP Notebook using the recovery disks I made when I bought it.

Hmm.  Did you create a "System Recovery Set", containing the files necessary to reinstall Windows, or did you create some sort of "file backup" -- of just your personal files?

> The HP Notebook boots successfully, but the "restore" choice is disabled (gray).

Is it asking to reload from that backup of your personal files, or to "install" ?

> What do I need to do to initiate the recovery process?

Access http://support.hp.com

Enter the exact product-number of your HP computer.

Select one of the "hits" to download the device-drivers for your model.

The bottom-most "device-driver" may instead be information on how to purchase a copy of the original factory-loaded operating system.

Or, if your computer was running Windows 10, see: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

for a free download of the "generic" version.  Write that download to a USB memory-stick, and boot from it.

Windows will re-install, and you can use the above "device-driver" web-site to download/install all the HP-specific device-drivers.

[mdklassen]

> It would not sucessfully reboot. After 3 reboot attempts, the notebook unsucessfully attempted to repair itself.

In a way, this is good news.  The disk-drive is still "alive". Barely.

If you temporarily attach it as a secondary disk-drive in another computer, you might be able to copy your personal files.

[Mike_G1]

I used the HP utility to create a set of disks that would recover the notebook to its factory condition. Here is a photo of the screen I see when I boot with these disks. It shows that these are HP disks, not a generic Windows backup.

As you can see, it shows a "System Recovery" choice, but it is disabled (gray).

I don't want to install generic Windows because the original factory load contains other non-Windows software which I use.

I don't want to purchase a copy of the original factory loaded operating system because I already have the restore disks. If there is some bug in the restore software, HP should provide me with the defect-free version without charging me. I created and kept the restore disks in good faith and I'm running them on the HP Notebook they were created with. These disks should work in the most like situation for using them--hard disk failure.

[Mike_G1]

Will an HP representative please answer the question below?

Will the HP-created recovery disks (those which restore the computer to its factory condition) recover to a new (blank) hard disk?

[mdklassen · Accepted solution]

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@Mike_G1@  wrote:

1. I used the HP utility to create a set of disks that would recover the notebook to its factory condition.

2. Here is a photo of the screen I see when I boot with these disks.

3. It shows that these are HP disks, not a generic Windows backup.

4. As you can see, it shows a "System Recovery" choice, but it is disabled (gray). 

5. I don't want to install generic Windows because the original factory load

contains other non-Windows software which I use.

6. I don't want to purchase a copy of the original factory loaded operating system because I already have the restore disks.

7. If there is some bug in the restore software, HP should provide me with the defect-free version without charging me.

8. I created and kept the restore disks in good faith and I'm running them on the HP Notebook they were created with.

9. These disks should work in the most like situation for using them--hard disk failure. 

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1. Good.

2. What I see is:

System Recovery -- Restore your computer to its
original factory condition.

Factory Reset - Reset the computer by erasing the entire hard drive and

restoring to the
original factory condition.

What happens when you choose "Factory Reset" ?

Probably, just more elapsed-time for the "full-erase", and then the same amount of time as the greyed-out alternative.

3. Yes.

4. See #2.

5, That is a reasonable request.

6. I see no reason to purchase what you already have.

7. No comment.

8. Good.

9. Agreed.

[mdklassen]

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@Mike_G1@  wrote:

Will an HP representative please answer the question below?

Will the HP-created recovery disks (those which restore the computer to its factory condition)

recover to a new (blank) hard disk?

---

This is a "user-to-user" forum, not an official path to contact HP.

I have never been employed by HP, and have not been authorized to speak on behalf of HP, but it's my understanding that it is the purpose of those recovery disks to do exactly what you want, namely, to "factory reset" onto a new (or "repurposed") disk-drive.

[Mike_G1]

Choosing "Factory Reset" did the trick.

I must be working too hard... I swear that choice was not there when I created this post!

Thank you so much for helping me out,

Mike