HP Recovery

August 1, 2009

in HP

Hewlett Packard has made it convenient to recovery your original factory settings. We recommend you follow the instructions below if tyring to recover with the disks that came with your PC when you first opened the package.

If your HP computer did NOT come with disks, it’s quite possible the recovery files are on a hidden partition on the drive. In this case, you should follow the START menu to restore your PC to factory condition.

As always, if you do not find what you’re looking for, visit our message boards.

Recovery With HP Disks

This guide explains how to reset the HP Pavilion’s software to its factory state. All work stored on the hard drive could be lost, so make sure to back up any important data. Please read through this tutorial and choose the best option for you.

Data could be lost on hard drives added after the purchase of this system, so unplug the IDE cable to that drive before beginning any of these processes.

Some HPs that ship with Microsoft Windows XP do not come with recovery CDs. They use a hidden space (partition) on the hard drive to store the recovery information. Some like this feature, some do not. However, you can purchase disks for a minimal cost. Go to the HP web site to order.

CAUTION: If Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been or will be installed, download and install the SP1 software patch before proceeding to prevent boot up issues.

Recovering the system from the Windows XP desktop

Disconnect all peripherals and internal non preinstalled devices from the PC, except the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
From the Windows XP desktop, click Start, All Programs, and then HP Tools.
Select HP PC System Recovery. The Recovery screen will appear with the
question Do you really want to start HP PC System Recovery?
Click Yes, to continue the recovery process.
When the Recovery screen appears, click Next, and then click Yes to perform a normal, non-destructive
recovery.
To perform a destructive recovery, click Advanced, and then click Yes.

Recovering the system without using Windows

Disconnect all peripherals and internal non preinstalled devices from the PC, except the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Turn on the computer.
When the initial blue HP screen appears, press the F10 key repeatedly until a recovery menu appears. The progress indicator that first appears does not indicate that a recovery is taking place. The progress indicator represents the time before the recovery process
is started.
When the Recovery screen appears, click Next, and then click Yes to perform a normal, non-destructive recovery.
To perform a destructive recovery, click Advanced, and then click Yes.
After the System Recovery is complete, and the computer starts successfully, update the computer software as follows:

Recovering the system using the recovery discs for Windows XP

Do not insert any discs into the HP Pavilion before starting. Disconnect all peripherals and internal non preinstalled devices from the PC, except the monitor, keyboard, and mouse.
Turn the computer on and press the F1 key when the first logo screen appears.
Press the Right Arrow key until Boot is highlighted.
Press the Down Arrow key until Boot Device Priority is highlighted. Remember where CD-ROM is listed.
Press the Enter key, then press the Down Arrow and highlight the listed CD-ROM drive.
Press the Plus (+) key until the CD-ROM is at the top of the list.
Insert the first recovery disc into the CD-ROM drive.
Press the ENTER to save settings and exit. A recovery screen appears.
Read and respond to each recovery screen that appears. When changing discs, do not
press the OK button. Instead, wait for the drive to read the disc and it it’ll automatically continue the recovery.
After the recovery is complete, restore the CD-ROM boot-device priority back to its original setting, as follows:
1. Turn the computer on and press the F1 key when the first logo screen appears.
2. Use the Arrow keys to select Boot Device Priority under the Boot menu.
3. Press the Enter key, and then press the Down Arrow to highlight CD-ROM drive.
4. Press the Minus (-) key until the CD-ROM is listed in its original location.
5. Press the ENTER to save settings and exit.
6. Restart the computer.
After the System Recovery is complete, and the computer starts successfully, update the computer software as follows:
1. Update the system virus definitions.
2. Get the latest critical system updates using Microsoft’s Windows Update.
3. Update the HP software on the system.

Need HP Driver Downloads

HP Recovery From Partition

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{ 60 comments }

← Previous Comments

Chris November 26, 2009 at 5:27 pm: Mark R., thank you very much. You saved me money and most importantly-Time.
Dan November 27, 2009 at 9:20 am: I’ve upgraded my HP laptop to windows 7. The recovery partition containing Vista is now worthless. Can I somehow get Windows 7 on that partition in order to recover to it if I ever have problems?
Dave November 27, 2009 at 9:41 am: Have you tried tapping F8 at the start of boot to see if you can get in through any of the other boot options, like Safe Mode.

Also, you might want to check the BIOS startup options to make sure there is noting weird going on there. Make sure the hard drive is set to boot first.
Dave November 27, 2009 at 9:44 am: I would keep the partition and keep the disk. If you did an upgrade instead of a clean install, you will not be able to get the pre-installed software (if there was any) unless you have that partition sitting there. I also do not know of a way to create a Windows 7 UPGRADE recovery option.
Cyndi December 2, 2009 at 1:30 pm: I did a recovery on my PC using a disk that we made. Everything goes okay until I get to the end where is says Please Wait. No green light flickering on the computer. If I shut it off and turn it on it will give me the sessage that something has not been installed and tells me to start run again?
Dave December 3, 2009 at 1:02 pm: Sounds like a driver issue. make sure all external devices or anything new inside the computer is removed before you begin the process. This is typically a USB problem, so unplug any printers, etc.
Cyndi December 3, 2009 at 3:39 pm: Dave:

Got the thing to go (da, me) but another problem occurred. No PCI modem anymore. I use DSL but I am connected by an ethernet cable to my computer. Can I just go with a external wireless card like my son?

Thanks,

Cyndi
Dave December 3, 2009 at 3:56 pm: You could, but you can also fixe the wired connection. If you look in the control panel under System, then hardware, then device manager, you probably see unknown devices. One is your network adapter. You need to get the driver from a disk or use another PC to download it from the manufacturer’s website. You can even try deleting it from here and reboot. It might decide to load the driver on its own.
Gail December 8, 2009 at 7:53 am: My Hard Drive crashed and through warranty the shop put a new hard drive in. I was told to get the recovery CDs for my computer and that all I had to do was put them in and turn my computer on. I did that and it loaded the cd and reboot the computer. It came up and there was one icon on the desktop. I thought it was done. but then I noticed a little progress bar and it slowly went across reboot the computer and another icon was added to the desktop. After a couple of reboots I went to bed and it is now the morning and the computer is still rebooting over and over. It doesn’t look like it is adding more icons but I wonder how long is this going to continue?
Dave December 8, 2009 at 8:31 am: It certainly shouldn’t take that long. It should only take about an hour. I am shocked they didn’t do this for you. I would take the disk out and see if you get to the normal desktop. If you continue to have problems, make them send the tech back out.