clear personal data and reset to factory defaults

[TR18]

I bought a refurbished HP17.3 Notebook w/ Intel N3710 Quad core, 4GB DDR3 , & 2TB SATA that's slower than the laptop it was supposed to replace. I want to remove all personal info from it and restore it to how I recieved it, so I can return it to the seller who's agreed to refund, and then buy a new laptop directly from HP. I tried following getting into the BIOS and TPM, but became concerned I might damage the computer, so want to make sure I'm doing the right thing. I 'm an old guy and not as tech savy as most--Please Help!

Thanks, TR18

[EddyK]

Hi TR18,

I'm not sure if this is the best method but I do know that these work and I have used the steps before:

In terms of clearing BIOS settings:

1. Repeatedly press F10 upon startup to enter the BIOS
2. Use the left and right arrow keys to reach the Exit tab
3. You'll see something along the lines of Restore Defaults, Load Setup Defaults, Clear BIOS, etc
4. Exit

Now in terms of clearing the TPM, this will be automatically cleared if you choose the Remove Everything option in Settings > Reset. There may or may not be a prompt asking you if you would like to clear the TPM.

You could do this manually by doing the following:

1. Search tpm.msc
2. On the right you'll see Clear TPM

And that should be it! There may be better or more efficient methods.

Hope this helps,

kem579

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[CherylG]

@TR18

You do NOT go into BIOS to restore the laptop to Factory Setup.Follow the Guide here to format/clean the laptop hard drive and restore back to Factory setup:

http://hp.dezide.com/ts/start.jsp?guide=HPSystemRecovery.net&as=true&SFS=sdoc&section=ccweb

[TR18]

So when I finish this procedure, it will be as if I never logged on to the computer with none of my personal info on it; I just close it, box it up, and return it to the seller?

Thanks, TR18

[TR18]

Thanks for the input. It sounds reasonable, but Cheryl's link appears to be simpler and the "HP" solution. Thanks for your efforts though!

TR18

[TR18]

I guess the better question is: on step 13, after I click finish, I just close it up and it will be as it was when I got it without any personal passwords etc?

Thanks for your help!

TR18

[CherylG · Accepted solution]

@TR18

Yes, when it finishes the recovery -just shut it down instead of going through setup. It will then be just like it was received by you before you used it.

[TR18]

It took forever to load the programs/apps and didn't ask me to restart, but did it on it's own. When it did reboot, asked the region question just as it did when I got it, so I guess all is well!!

Thank you very much for your assistance Cheryl

TR18