reset hp pavilion DV6 to factory default

[Andrew01]

I have a 5 year old HP Pavilion DV6 laptop that I wish to restore to factory settings in order to give to my nephew.

I have either lost or never made system recovery discs. The computer did not come with recovery discs.

The computer came pre-installed with Vista. However I have since upgraded it to Win7 with the free upgrade that was offered to me at the time of purchase.  There is a recovery drive D:/ partition on the computer.  However, when I try to perform a system recovery, the HP restore utility can not find the 😧 recovery partition, nor do I get an option to select it.  How can I reset this computer to factory defaults? Even if it reverts back to Vista, that would be fine, and I could then use the Win7 upgrade disc to return it to 7.  I just need to reset everything back to defaults, and none of the normal recovery methods are working.  PLEASE ADVISE.

[lasvegaswireman]

When requesting assistance, please provide the complete model name and product number (p/n) of the HP computer in question. HP/Compaq makes thousands of models of computers. Without this information it may be difficult or impossible to assist you in resolving your issue.

The above requested information can be found on the bottom of your computer, inside the battery compartment or on the startup BIOS screen. Please DO NOT include your serial number. Please enter the model/product information into HP's Online Consumer Support page and post it here for our review.

You can try tapping "F" key used for "Recovery" immediate after turning the computer on. This may invoke the "HP Recovery" partition which may return the computer to a factory like state. Alternatively, you can try using the Windows Disk Management Console to mark or set the HP Recovery partition as active and reboot your computer. Please see HP - Partitioning and Naming Hard Drives (Windows 7) for information about using the Windows Disk Management Console. Upon rebooting, the computer should start the HP Recovery process. After recovering the computer to a factory like state, you should be able to create your personal HP Recovery Discs if you haven't aleady done so.

Both of the above methods require that the computer still has the "D:\" HP Recovery partition intact and not corrupted.

If recovery from within Windows, marking the recovery partition "active" and "F" key do not work, please contact HP Customer Support in your region / country, via the HP Worldwide Support Portal, to see if HP Recovery Media is available for your computer. If in the USA, you may also check with www.computersurgeons.com

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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[Andrew01]

I apologize in advance for my basic questions which show my computer illiteracy...

Once I mark the 😧 recovery partition as active, and reset the computer to defaults using Drive D:, will I have to go back and change the C: drive to be active? or will now the 😧 drive be the primary partition? 

And will I need to make a new 😧 recovery partition?

I see you are in Vegas... so am I.  Would love to be able to email you with further questions during this process if possible.  let me know...

[lasvegaswireman]

This is NOT official HP Customer Support and I, as most other persons on this forum, do not work for HP. This is a peer-to-peer user supported forum for HP consumer class products. HP maintains no official presence on this forum and it is unlikely that HP will respond in an official capacity. Any reply from a HP employee represents their own opinion and not that of HP's.

Once you mark the 😧 recovery partition as "active" and reboot the computer, the recovery process should start. After the recovery process is finshed, the computer should be returned to a factory like state. At this time, Windows should be on the active C: partition and the 😧 should still be the recovery partition. Your computer will boot just as it did when new... if everything works as it should.

It it best that you continue to use this HP Forum thread to communicate any further issues. I am not always able to respond to my personal email for as many as 5 or 6 days a week, however I can access the HP Forum site during most non-working hours.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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[Andrew01]

I did as you instructed and it pretty much worked! Almost.  Everything good except it will not allow me to update to Internet explorer 8.  Error says that it is "not supported by operating system".  What next?  Norton is preinstalled in the factory backup.  I don't want Norton, just want Windows Security Essentials, but cant download until I have IE8. Saying my browser is outdated and needs IE8 to get Security Essentials. So Im stuck.

[CherylG]

Run Windows Update until the system is offered IE 8. On second thought-why bother if you are upgrading to Win 7? Just get the machine setup like you want before worrying about MS SE.

[lasvegaswireman · Accepted solution]

Again, providing us with the complete model name and product number (p/n) of the computer in question, will make it easier for us to assist you.

As CherylG pointed out... if you are going to install the Windows 7 upgrade, do that first and you won't have to worry about the IE8 on Vista issue. You may have to bring Vista SP1 before upgrading to Windows 7.

If you intend on keeping Vista on the computer, you may need to install SP1 or SP2 before IE8 will install. The service packs may not show in Windows Update until other updates have been installed.

Even MSE requires that you are running a minimum of Vista SP1 before it will install.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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[Andrew01]

Thank you. It was SP2 that was needed. For some reason windows update did not suggest it. It stopped updating at SP1.
But after SP2 I had iE9 installed. It will not however allow any of the windows live essentials with Vista any more, just FYI.
Everything running so smooth now, may just keep vista and not mess with the 7 upgrade.
Thank you!

[Andrew01]

product # Pavilion dv6t-1200

s/n- [Personal Information Removed]

p/n- fv161av

intel core2 duo processor

4gb ram

One more issue. I am unable to make recovery discs now.

I selected Start>All Programs>Recovery Manager>Adv Options>Recovery Disc Creation.

I click  "next" to begin

It starts to go through process but stops with error message

"This computer does not have a drive capable of creating CDs or DVDs"

However, according to device manager, my DVD RW drive is functioning perfectly and drivers are current.

Please Advise...

[lasvegaswireman]

There could be an issue with the HP Recovery Manager software, with the hardware, or with Windows that is preventing the detection of a writable drive. I don't have an answer for you on this, but you can purchase a set of HP Recovery Discs from third party vendor ComputerSurgeons.com You will need to know what version (32bit, 64bit, Premium, Ultimate, etc.) was factory installed to order the correct discs.

If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

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