Unable to restore system with USB recovery drive

[kim25844]

Please note: I am a total beginner when it comes to computer terms and actions. I can surf the web and check email and that's about it. I can follow clear directions though.

I needed to reset my laptop back to factory to gift it to a friend. I had the original backup CDs I made from the recovery menu in 2014 when I purchased the laptop, but had since performed the free upgrade from Windows 8 to Windows 10.

I read that if I would make a USB recovery drive, I should be able to reset it back to Windows 10, without any personal files left on the system. So, I made the drive. When it asked if I wanted to delete the recovery partition to free up space, I said yes and allowed it be deleted.

I started the system recovery by choosing USB in the menu, and the screen just flash the hp logo and a blank screen for about 18 hours. The USB stick lights up as if it is reading it, but nothing was changing. I powered off the laptop, then powered it back up and of'course, it will not go past the HP logo. So, I restarted it, got to the boot menu by pressing F9, and the choice to read from the USB came up and I restarted it. Its been 2 hours now, and nothing different than before. The HP logo comes on and goes off. Over and over.

Now I'm thinking I will even be lucky to get it back to Windows 8. Can anyone help me? I don't even know how to make it restore from the original CDs now.  I was gifting this to a new college student who really needs it - and neither of us can afford to take it in for professional repair.

Thanks for any help AT ALL!

[Huffer]

Tap esc as you power up and it should give you a menu. F9 should be boot options. Put that disk 1 of the Windows 8 recovery in it and select to boot from the CD/DVD drive. It should allow you to recover the original out of box configuration. Just follow the onscreen prompts. I suspect the Windows 10 usb disk you made is somehow defective. 

Post back with how the attempted Windows 8 recovery goes. 

[kim25844]

Thank you for your quick response.

I am at the Boot Manager window, and the options are

OS boot Manager (UEFI) - Windows Boot Manager (ST500LT012-1DG142)

or

Boot From EFI File

[Huffer]

Do you have the CD/DVD in the drive? Can you hear it spinning? OK next thing to do is go into the BIOS which is the F10 option instead of the F9 option after esc...let's check the boot options and also whether secure boot/legacy boot is enabled. 

[kim25844]

Yes. The CD is in the drive and I can hear it spinning.

I hit F10, arrowed over to System Configuration, and down to Boot Options.

POST Hotkey Delay (sec)    <0>

CD-ROM Boot                          <Enabled>

Internal Network Adapter Boot  <Disabled>

Network Boot Protocol      <IPv4+IPv6 (UEFI)>

Legacy Support                      <Disabled>

Secure Boot                              <Enabled>

UEFI Boot Order

OS boot Manager

Internal CD/DVD Rom Drive

USB Diskette on Key/USB Hard Disk

USB CD/DVD Rom Drive

! Network Adapter

Legacy Boot order is blacked out

[Huffer · Accepted solution]

Try moving the internal cd to the top of the UEFI boot order...the page should tell you how to do that. If that does not work try disabling secure boot which will also enable legacy boot. You have to then enter a code to show the system you mean to do that. Once switched to legacy boot try again with bot the Windows 8 CDs and the Windows 10 thumb drive. 

[kim25844]

Thank you - I am now able to use the hp Recovery Manager to restore it back to factory condition.

I changed the secure boot to disabled, and moved the CD/DVD drive to the top of the boot order as you directed me.

Thank you sincerely for all your help!