Reset Windows 10 factory Software not installed

[imakemagic]

I had a problem with my HP Envy M6 laptop and needed to reinstall windows. I reset windows 10 and after the process was finished I noticed none of the software that originally came with my computer was installed. The Hp apps and dragon naturally speaking was missing. 

The computer Originally came with Windows 8 then I upgraded for free to Windows 10. Will I have to Reinstall Windows 8 first to get the factory software back and then upgrade to Windows 10?

[imakemagic]

I forgot to add my computer is out of warranty and I checked the support section for my laptop under drivers and software but only a few are listed. 

[MKazi]

@imakemagic

Let me take a moment to thank you for posting on the HP Support Forums. 

I understand that you have an HP ENVY m6-n113dx Notebook PC and upgraded from Win8.1 to Win10. Post that the original software's that came with the laptop are missing. I'll do my best to help you with this case.

• If you have completely wiped out Win8.1 and then reset the laptop Win10 then the original Softwares will not be there. 
• Secondly, few Softwares may not be compatible with Win10 and therefore may not be present or work properly in Win10 environment. 
• Were you facing any issues with the laptop because of which ou have to once again reset it to Win10?

I did some research and found that the softwares that came with the laptop are not available for download for Win10. They are available for download only if you're using Win8.1. If you have completely wiped out the hard drive and then reinstalled Win10 then the recovery partition would have got deleted. The recovery partition contains the factory image of the operating system that came with your laptop.

If the recovery partition is intact on the hard drive then the below steps should help to reinstall Win8.1:

• Turn off the computer.

• Disconnect all connected devices and cables such as Personal Media Drives, USB drives, printers, and faxes. Remove media from internal drives, and remove any recently added internal hardware. Do not disconnect the monitor, keyboard, mouse, or power cord.

• Turn on the computer and repeatedly press the F11 key, about once every second, until the Choose your keyboard layout screen or Choose an option, screen displays and then follow these instructions:

  • In Windows 8 click to select the keyboard layout. This will not be available on Windows 8.1

  • The computer restarts. If the recovery partition on the hard disk drive is functioning correctly, the Choose an Option screen displays. Click Troubleshoot.

• On the Troubleshoot screen, click Recovery Manager.

• On the operating system selection screen, select your operating system.

  Recovery Manager opens.

• Please follow the onscreen instructions from here. 

If recovery parttion is not owrking then, you may reinstall Win8.1 either by using the recovery media that you may have created or you will have to order one from HP website or through HP phone support. If you ordering through the website then please look at the below image so ensure you navigate correctly:

Hope this information helps. Let me know. Cheers! 🙂

[imakemagic]

I was having problems with it crashing and tried to fix it by uninstalling new software and devices, restoring it to an earlier time, ect. The recovery drive on my Laptop is still intact.   I Called Hp and the person who answered the phone was able to walk me through how to factory reset my computer and get all the old software back. I created a recovery drive backup on an external hard drive and successfully restored my computer to windows 8.1. He said since I already installed Windows 10 when the free upgrade was available I should be able to re-install windows 10 and have everything back.

The problem I'm having now is Windows 8.1 won't allow me to run windows update. I let it run overnight and it just says checking for updates but never finds any. I ran the Windows update troubleshooter and it found a few issues and fixed them. The screenshot below is what it found. It still won't let me update it.

                              

[MKazi]

@imakemagic

Thank you for replying. 🙂

I'm glad to know that you were able to restore your laptop back to the original Win8.1 operating system. 

I read that Windows updates are not happening on your laptop anymore. The Windows update troubleshooter found a few issues and fixed them. I suggest you try the Microsoft Fix It and that should make the Windows updates to happen. 

Let me know what happens. Good luck! 🙂

[imakemagic]

When I click on Microsoft Fix IT, it takes me to the HP page.  Microsoft Fix It Solutions Center link takes me to the support page for Microsoft. Nowhere on there is anything about Microsoft Fix It. it just tells me to run the troubleshooter.

[MKazi]

@imakemagic

Thanks for replying. 🙂

I checked the link and you are correct, the Microsoft Fix It link and it opens a Microsoft website which asks us to select the product with which we have issues. I navigated and got to the right place. This leads us to a Microsoft guided troubleshooter. Please find the direct link for the guided troubleshooter: Fix Windows Update errors

Let me know how it goes. Good luck! 🙂