How to reset a hp laptop: How to format an hp laptop

We start with the formatting option, which is practically the same in any brand of laptops. In the end, formatting a computer is formatting a hard drive, so you will see that it is not complicated.

IMPORTANT : you will need a pendrive with at least 8 GB. In addition, formatting or restoring will delete the data you have on your computer, so back it up to another drive to preserve it.

Download the operating system and create bootable media on a pendrive

To begin with, “format” refers to the hard drive, but when we use that expression we usually mean to format the operating system. On the contrary, when we want to delete the files from a hard disk (a secondary one, for example), we do not use the verb «format».

Avoiding misunderstandings, the first thing to do is download the operating system that we are going to install on the drive after formatting. It is essential that we download an image so that we can “burn” it onto the pendrive with a tool and create a bootable disk on it.

In a generic way, Rufus or Multiboot will help us , especially if we want to install Linux or OS X. In case you want to install Windows after formatting, we recommend how to create bootable USB in Windows 10 . The process in summary is as follows:

• We download the program and install it.
• Download the operating system image (.ISO or .DMG).
• We open Rufus or Multiboot and choose the image that we want to “save to the pendrive” and the pendrive as the drive where it is going to be “burned.”
• Once the process is finished, we will have completed the 1st step.

This is necessary because we are going to start the installation wizard of the operating system (Ubuntu, OS X or Windows) and, from it, we are going to format the HP laptop.

Boot priority and get into HP BIOS

With the boot disk created (OS on pendrive), we are going to restart the HP laptop and we have to pay attention when the HP logo appears on the screen. My advice is as follows: as soon as the laptop starts up, press the ESC, F11 or F10 key , which are the ones designated by HP to access its BIOS.

Our mission is to make the HP notebook boot from the pendrive and not from the hard drive, so we have to change the boot priority or “boot priority”. To give you an idea, many BIOSes have a tab called ” boot ” (they usually come in English) and from there we can select the priority. This is just an example:

There is a “first boot device”, which means that it has the 1st priority, so the system will start from that: there we have to select the pendrive. In the image below, we see that there is the “boot” tab

This is an indicative image of a Gigabyte motherboard. We put it as an example to help you find a similar option in your BIOS.

How to Format and Install Windows on the HP Notebook

Since most of you are going to format your HP laptop with Windows , we are going to show you how to do it step by step. We assume that you already have all of the above clear, so we are going to accompany you in the formatting / installation process. Anyway, you can consult the entire detailed process on how to install Windows 10 .

• This initial screen will appear, and we will install now .

• We will get a window about activating Windows . You can enter the license or click on “I don’t have a product key.” If you don’t have a license, take a look at our tutorial on buying a Windows 10 license .

• Then, you will choose the version you want.

• Regarding the type of installation , we select “custom”.

• The hard drives will be shown to us. If you have several, it is essential to know the capacity of each one to see which one we have to format and which one we do not. We simply select the drive we want to format (where Windows is installed) and click ” format “.

• All that remains is to select it again and install Windows on it.

Factory reset HP laptop

We once again emphasize that it is advisable to make a backup copy of your files because you are going to lose them, in case you restore the HP laptop from the factory. To factory reset an HP Windows 10 computer, do the following:

• We open the start menu and click on the configuration gear .

• In the search bar of the new window we write ” reset ” and select reset this PC. This menu will come out:
• We give ” Start ” to reset this PC and a window will appear with 2 options : “Keep my files” or “Remove everything.” Choose the one you want, but it is always better to ” remove everything ” so that the result is cleaner.

Except for how to enter the BIOS of an HP laptop , as well as the way to enter it, this tutorial is useful for any type of laptop or computer that works with Windows 10. In the end, we access options that are present in any computer with this operating system.

We hope it has been helpful to you. If you have any questions, you can leave them below and we will answer you shortly.