How to Factory Reset HP Laptops

Whether you’re planning to give away, sell, or restore your laptop to a working state, a factory reset is the solution. Performing a factory reset not only improves system performance but also gets rid of any bugs or issues with the operating system.

Depending on your needs, there are several ways to factory reset your HP laptop.

But before you get started, here are a few things you should consider.

Make sure the laptop has at least 20GB of free space. Back up files, folders and app data. Also, list installed apps so you can reinstall them later. Keep the laptop connected to the AC power source during the reset process.

Through Windows Settings

A simple way to reset your HP laptop is through Windows settings. It provides an option to reset Windows and all its settings in just a few steps using the reset option. However, this method will only work if you have a healthy recovery partition on your drive.

Here are the steps.

Press the Windows key and I at the same time. Navigate to System > Recovery. Click PC reset. Choose Delete Everything. Choose an option to reinstall Windows. If you have uninterrupted internet access, click Cloud download. Choose Local reinstall if you don’t have internet access. Click Next. Click View the apps to remove to get a list of apps you need to reinstall. Click Reset.

Through HP Cloud Recovery

The HP Cloud Recovery tool allows you to factory reset your laptop to its original state. The tool will also provide pre-installed OEM software.

However, not all HP laptops support it. So you can check the website HP cloud recovery to see if your laptop supports HP cloud recovery.

Before starting the HP Cloud Recovery process, here are a few things to note.

HP Cloud Recovery is only supported on 64-bit HP systems manufactured in 2016 or later. If you are a Windows 10 user, the version must be higher than 15063.0. Ensure that your system is connected to the internet. You need a blank USB drive with at least 32 GB of free space.

Create a Bootable USB with HP Cloud Recovery Tool

Here’s how to create a bootable USB drive with HP’s cloud recovery tool.

Download and install the HP Cloud Recovery Tool from the Microsoft Store. Insert the blank USB drive into the PC and run the HP Cloud Recovery Tool as Admin. Click Yes. Once the Cloud Recovery Tool opens, click it Furthermore. If you are using the HP laptop you are trying to reset, the tool will detect the Product ID automatically. If so, just click Next. If you made recovery software on another PC, check it I need to enter the Product ID for my HP system and enter the Product ID of your HP laptop. You can get details about the Product ID from a sticker on the base of your laptop. After you enter the product ID, click Next. If you see a message Product ID does not match, your laptop is not available for HP cloud recovery. In such cases, I recommend factory resetting the laptop via Windows settings. After you enter the Product ID, click on the drop-down menu and select your USB drive. Choose Next. Click Okay if it gives you a warning. Wait for the process to finish.

Change Boot Sequence

After you have successfully created the HP system recovery bootable USB drive, you will need to change the laptop’s boot order. This allows the system to prioritize the USB drive over the storage device containing the OS.

Also, make sure you disconnect all peripheral devices except the bootable USB drive.

To change the boot order on an HP laptop,

Turn off the laptop completely. Turn on the laptop and repeatedly press the button F10 to boot into BIOS setup. Open Boot Options. This option may differ depending on your laptop model. If you don’t find boot options in Storage, enter BIOS to find Boot order settings. Here, you will see a list of storage devices connected to the laptop. Rearrange the list such that the bootable USB drive is at the top of the list. Navigate to Go out and choose Save Changes and Exit.

Perform HP System Restore

Now that you’ve changed the boot order, the system will now use the bootable USB drive to boot.

After you reboot after changing the boot order to the USB drive, you will be redirected to the System recovery screen. Otherwise, open the Boot menu by pressing F9 repeatedly and select the USB drive containing Recovery. Here, choose Restore without backing up your filesbecause you have backed up the necessary files, folders and applications. Click OK if a prompt appears saying all files, partitions, and programs will be deleted. The reset process will now begin. Click Skip if asking for Factory image restore setup. Click Continue. Wait Windows to reinstall. After the process is complete, the laptop should return to its factory state.

Through the Recovery Environment

You cannot access Windows Settings if the system fails to boot into the OS or gets stuck in the boot loop. In such a situation, you can reset the laptop using the Windows recovery environment.

Turn off the PC and turn it back on. Once again, when the Window logo appears, turn off the laptop by holding down the power button. Repeat this process until the Startup repair screen appears. Now, choose Advanced Options to enter Windows Recovery mode In Windows Recovery mode, click Solution to problem. Click Reset this PC. Now, select an option delete everything , which will delete all files, apps, and personal settings, or save files, which will only reset the OS, apps and settings and keep personal files. Now, you will be asked for two options Just delete my files And Completely clean the drive. Just deleting my files will delete files from PC. However, it is possible to recover data with the right tools. So, I recommend cleaning the drive completely if you sell your HP laptop after factory reset. Now, click Reset.

What To Do After Factory Reset

When you reset your PC, all the drivers you have installed before will also be deleted. Windows will only use its default set of drivers, but these drivers may be out of date. So if you are going to use the laptop after the reset, I suggest you update Windows and drivers.

Go to Windows Settings. Open Windows update. Choose Install Now or Check for updates. After the download is complete, you need to restart your PC to install the update. On Windows Update, click it Advanced options. Scroll down and click Optional Update and download pending optional updates. You may not see Optional updates in Windows 10 if you don’t have an option update pending. Restart PC after the installation is complete.

If you have amd or NVIDIA GPU, you need to install the graphics driver from the respective website.

If you have previously backed up your data, restore all backed up data and files.

Finally, reinstall required applications and software, and adjust Windows settings according to your needs.