@ShapeShiftGTR
<Sigh> Every time I read one of these Factory-Reset-Failed posts I cringe and continue to wonder why everyone seems to think a factory reset is a miracle cure when, in many cases, it only serves to make things worse!
If the PC is really SLOW, a factory reset will do NOTHING to fix that, and will most likely fail -- leaving you with an unusable PC. If a factory rest starts out OK and then halts part way through, that is nearly always an indication of a failing drive -- which is a hardware issue that a factory reset will do nothing to fix.
To check for hard drive failing, if your PC is new enough to support UEFI, you can use these steps to test the hard 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.
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