How to restore a laptop to factory settings. How to reset an ASUS laptop to factory settings using Windows and using the built-in tool? Laptop freezes after factory reset

Many users ask how to restore factory settings on a laptop. This can be done using your own OS tools or manufacturer programs.

The question of how to restore factory settings on a laptop becomes very relevant when various failures occur.

Today we will look at how this procedure is performed, what it involves, and when restoration should not be done.

What does it mean to restore factory settings on a laptop?

This concept includes the following:

• accounts will be deleted;
• all personal files will also start;
• the drivers that you installed after the previous update or laptop purchase will be lost;
• the software that was in the operating system from the very beginning will remain.

In general, you will receive a completely clean computer in the same condition as it was originally in. Everything will look like you just bought it. Nothing you stored or configured will be retained. A full reset will be performed!

Hence the conclusion - you must copy all important data before performing any actions.

Advice: It is advisable to transfer them to a flash drive or cloud storage. It is better to use the second option, since the flash drive can get lost, break, and so on. And in the clouds there are special technologies that save data even if the equipment fails.

If you play games, save savegame somewhere, that is, files with the player’s personal data and his progress in the game. They are usually in folder "Documents". After completing all the procedures, you can install the game again and transfer the savegame back to continue the gameplay from where you left off earlier.

When not to try to restore the OS

There are situations when attempts to restore the system can lead to bad consequences.

The laptop will not boot, an error will appear during the execution of those procedures that we will talk about later, or the computer will refuse to turn on at all.

This doesn't happen often, but it does happen.

So here's a list of cases when you not only shouldn't try, you shouldn't perform a factory reset:

• The operating system has been reinstalled. That is, you bought your laptop, but over time you decided to update the OS. The fact is that this procedure removes the hidden recovery partition from the hard drive. Without it, it will simply be impossible to perform a reset. Interestingly, this does not always happen and experienced professionals do not remove this section, but in 95% of cases this still happens.
• The operating system was reinstalled without deleting the partition mentioned above, but with complete formatting and re-creation of hard drive partitions. Other necessary data will start.
• The hard drive (HDD or SSD) has been severely damaged. If it has been replaced with a new one, there is no need to reset it either.
• The manufacturer did not provide for the possibility of restoration. To check this point, go to your manufacturer’s website and contact support (it’s better to call). This way you can find out if such an opportunity exists at all and how to take advantage of it.

Conclusion from the above: In most cases, you can reset only once during the lifetime of the laptop! Unless you reinstalled the OS without deleting the special partition and redistributing the hard drive partitions. True, you can still try to find a special recovery disk.

If none of this applies to your case, you did not reinstall the operating system, you did not kick the hard drive, you can proceed to follow further instructions.

Windows 7

This operating system does not have a complete recovery tool. You can try using a restore point. But the likelihood that it was created at the very beginning of using the laptop and has survived to this day is extremely low. You can check this like this:

• Open start menu, in the search bar enter "Recovery". There is a program "System Restore". Launch it.
• Click “Next”, then select an available point from the list. In column "Date and time" you can see when it was created. If it doesn't show the date you bought the computer, there's no point in using it.
• And if you are lucky and the point is really old, select it, click “Next”, “Next” again, then “Done” and in the window that appears “Yes”.

Selecting a restore point

If the instructions above are not relevant for you, you will have to use the recovery utility provided by the manufacturer. If you have the disk that was given with the laptop when you purchased it, that's very cool! Then simply insert the disc into the drive and follow the on-screen instructions.

If the OS does not boot normally, you will have to set the computer to boot from the disk through the BIOS.

But if there was no disk, it's okay. This is a common case. Then you can use the built-in reset tool. Next we will look at how this is done on different laptop models. They can be used on Windows 7, 8 and 10.

Samsung

On Samsung laptops everything happens like this:

• Restart your computer. Immediately after turning off, constantly press the “F4” button on the keyboard.
• The utility we need will appear. You can read the license agreement and accept it.
• Next click"Recovery".
• On the scale in the section "Select a restore point" select the far left position, that is, the time when you just started using the device.
• It's interesting that here you can save some of your data. To do this, mark them in the “Saving user data” section (scroll the window down).
• At the end, click the button"Recovery" below.

On some models, this utility has a slightly different appearance. Then you need to select “Recovery”, then “Full recovery”, select the “Factory settings” or “Computer Initial Status” point. A prompt will appear, click “Yes” and follow the further instructions.

Updated Samsung utility

Lenovo

Everything is a little simpler here:

• Turn off your computer. Press the small semi-circle arrow button next to the power key.

Recovery button in Lenovo

• A menu will appear. In it, select the “System Recovery” option. This is done using the arrow keys and “Enter”.

"System Recovery" in Lenovo boot menu

• Now the required utility will launch. In the first step, select “Restore from original backup” and click “Next”.

"Restore from original backup" in Lenovo utility

• In the next window, click Start. This button will appear in place of the Next button.

Wait for the process to complete.

Sony

In this case, the instructions are as follows:

• Reboot the device and press “F10” immediately after turning it on.
• In the window that appears, select “Launch VAIO Recovery Center.” As in Lenovo, here this is done with arrows and “Enter”.
• It is noteworthy that there are several options here - “Restore drive C:” (changes will affect only drive C), “Fully restore the system” (everything will be deleted) and “Data Rescue”. First you should use the last option, then the first (with drive C), then the second. Simply select the option you want from the left panel and follow the on-screen instructions.

Toshiba

Owners of these devices need to do the following:

• Reboot and press “F8” or number 0 on keyboard.
• Next, select “Troubleshoot your computer.”

"Troubleshooting your computer" on Toshiba

• Select a user and enter a password if you are asked to do so. The password is the same one you use to log in.
• And then select “Toshiba HDD Recovery Program”. It may also be called “TOSHIBA Recovery Wizard”.
• Follow the program's instructions.

HP

The instructions look like this:

• When turning on, press “F11”. Next, go to the “Diagnostics” block and select “Recovery Manager”.
• Next you will see your possible options for action. You need the section “I need help urgently” and the second option in it.

“System Restore” in Recovery Manager on HP

• Next, check the box next to “Restore without creating a backup” and click “Next”.
• At the end, all you have to do is wait a little and click “Done”. The computer will restart and be ready to use.

Acer and Asus

On these laptops, the procedure is performed the same way, only the launch of the utility is different:

• Restart your laptop. If you have an Acer, press “Alt+F10” at the same time, and if you have an Asus, press “F9”.
• Next, click “Diagnostics”.
• Then click “Only the drive on which Windows is installed.” If rolling back does not help, do the same, but at this stage select “All disks”.
• Again, next, you should first try selecting “Just delete my files,” and if that doesn’t help, “Completely clean the disk.”

Wait for the OS to do its thing.

Windows 8 and 8.1

It already has its own reset tool. The process of using it looks like this.

Hello friends, in this article we decided to tell you how to restore laptop to factory settings. Let's start with the manufacturer Toshiba (who is interested, you can read a separate article -), the second we will consider the Sony laptop, the third HP pavilion. Separate articles are written for laptops, and,. Well, then we will try to supplement the article with information on products from other manufacturers; judging by your letters, this topic is of interest to many of our readers.

1. Good day, I wanted to ask you how to restore a laptop to its original factory settings? I know that these settings are located in a hidden partition of the hard drive, but I carelessly deleted this partition and now when I try to roll back to factory settings I get an error. I have not created recovery DVDs and in general, I have never had the opportunity to restore a laptop to factory settings. What is the way out of my situation?
2. Hello admin, please explain what I should do. A Toshiba laptop, it has a hidden partition, also a C: drive and a D: drive. I didn’t touch the hidden partition, but on drive D: I deleted everything, and now I can’t roll back to factory settings, they say Toshiba laptops use a hidden partition and some other folder HDD RECOVERY, which is located on the disk, to restore factory settings D:. What should I do now?
3. I bought a Toshiba laptop, the instructions for the laptop say, if you want to roll back to factory settings, press the F8 key, the recovery program will start. I pressed it, but Additional download options are launched and that’s it... And then what to do? And another question, when you first started it, a message appeared - We recommend that you create a resuscitator media on a USB flash drive or DVDs, using the Recovery program, it will help you restore the contents of the computer to the original factory state, even in the event of serious damage to the computer. Explain how to use this resuscitator media in case of problems?
4. Hello, tell me how to restore a Hewlett-Packard (HP) laptop to factory settings if the laptop does not boot at all. When loading Windows exits with an error.
5. Admin, answer this question. All laptop manufacturers equip them with a special RECOVERY program, located in a hidden section. Using this program, you can roll back the laptop to factory settings in case of serious problems with the operating system. Question – Is there any alternative to this program?

How to restore a laptop to factory settings

When does the thought of restoring our laptop to factory settings occur to us? That’s right, when we no longer understand what’s going on with it, and most importantly, the laptop itself doesn’t understand what’s happening to it, because of the dozens of unnecessary partitions created on it, four installed operating systems, thousands of different programs and three antiviruses.

• Note: Before performing a factory reset, you can copy all data from the C: drive and desktop using .

Many users may notice that in such a situation you can reinstall Windows with all programs, drivers and everything. But I, in turn, will notice restore laptop to factory settings, for an inexperienced user, much easier. Then you won’t have to worry about finding and installing drivers for all devices; you just need to reinstall the necessary programs and that’s it. The only thing that confuses many people in this situation is that many have never tried restoring the laptop to factory settings even once in their lives. To introduce you to this restoration is the purpose of our article; I hope after reading it, you will have a better idea of ​​how this can be done.

I have to restore factory settings on various laptops quite often and I want to say that the recovery mechanism itself is almost the same on all laptops, but of course there are always nuances that are better to know in advance.

First rule. During a factory reset, the AC adapter must be connected to the laptop at all times.

You reboot the laptop and press a certain key on the keyboard when loading, then the factory reset program starts, this is where you need to be careful. The factory reset program may offer you the option of restoring just the C: drive or restoring the entire hard drive. If you select drive C:, then only it will be restored to factory settings, and the remaining partitions with your data will remain untouched. If you choose to restore the entire hard drive to factory settings, then all the partitions you created, with all your files, will be deleted and your laptop will be in the same condition as at the time of purchase.

Where is the laptop factory reset program located?

Usually in a hidden section of the laptop, which is called the “Recovery Partition,” the volume is up to 20-plus gigabytes. You can see it if you go to Computer Management->Disk Management. It is advisable not to delete this partition, otherwise you will not be able to restore the laptop to factory settings.

Owners of a Toshiba laptop need to know that in addition to the hidden RECOVERY partition, they also have a HDD RECOVERY folder located on the D: drive; this cannot be deleted either.

Note: Friends, if the hidden partitions on your laptop are not deleted, but the factory reset program is not working, read our article -.

Why create laptop recovery DVDs?

As soon as we bought a laptop and turned it on, on the screen, immediately after the Windows desktop appears, a service window from the laptop manufacturer appears with a proposal to create laptop recovery DVDs. That is, we will create this same hidden partition with factory settings, but on DVDs. This is done in case the hidden section of the laptop, for some reason (usually due to the user’s fault), becomes damaged or is deleted completely.
To create recovery DVDs, you usually need 3 blank CDs. If there are serious problems with your laptop, for example, you cannot load the operating system at all, and your hidden partition has been deleted, we can restore the laptop to its factory state using previously created recovery DVDs.

Hotkeys for restoring laptops to factory settings

ASUS – When the ASUS splash screen appears, press F9

Acer - Alt+F10

HP pavilion - when turning on the laptop, press the esc key. Enter the start menu, then press the F11 key

Samsung - F4

Sony vaio - F10. New Sony VAIO laptops use a special button Assist, try pressing it when loading. Loading VAIO Care, select from the menu Start troubleshooting (Recovery) -> Select keyboard layout Russian -> Diagnostics -> VAIO Recovery Tools -> Windows 8 -> Run the Recovery Wizard(System recovery in step-by-step mode).

Toshiba - F8 or on the latest models 0 or even sometimes you need to press Fn+0

Packard Bell - F10

Dell inspiron - when the dell splash screen appears, press Ctrl+F11

Fujitsu Siemens - F8

LG-F11

Lenovo-F11

So, first we restore the Toshiba laptop to factory settings, press F8 when loading (if you have one of the latest models of Toshiba laptop, then immediately when you turn on the laptop, press and hold 0), a window appears Additional download options. Choose Troubleshooting your computer and press Enter.

Selecting language settings.

We select the Toshiba HDD RECOVERY recovery tool or it may be called Toshiba Recovery Wizard.

In the next window, we are warned that drive C: will be restored to its original state, that is, everything will be deleted from it and its state will be restored to the state at the time of purchase of the laptop, drive D: will remain untouched.

You cannot interrupt the operation, so make sure that the AC adapter is connected to the laptop. Click Yes and start the process of restoring the laptop to its original factory state.

A factory reset process is in progress.

The software and drivers are being installed.

Choose a username and password for your account. We set the date and time, they are usually correct by default. If you wish, you can register your laptop to extend the warranty.

First launch of Windows. That's all

How to factory reset a Sony laptop

When booting, press the F10 key and enter the Windows Boot Manager, select using the keyboard Launching VAIO Recovery Center.

A window appears in front of us, in which we can familiarize ourselves with the recovery options.

For example, we choose Recover drive C: and in the next window we read information about what will be restored.

Disk C: is restored to its factory state, all software is reinstalled, but not software installed after purchasing the computer, it will have to be installed again. This program deletes all files on the C: drive, but does not affect files on other partitions.

If you and I choose Completely restore the system, then everything on the C: drive and all other partitions will be deleted. After recovery, all disk space will be occupied by drive C:

How to restore an HP laptop to factory settings

If the laptop does not boot at all due to system errors and you want to restore its original settings, then, in order not to lose your data, you can boot it from any Live CD, then transfer important files to a portable hard drive, then restore the factory settings, since Restoring factory settings will delete all your data from your laptop.

Press the key when turning on the laptop Esc.

We enter the boot menu, as we see, the F11 key is responsible for restoring factory settings - System Recovery. Press the F11 key.

A window appears HP Recovery Manager. Here we need the item “ Restoring the system to its original condition when shipped from the manufacturer».

Click on “ Restore without creating a backup copy files" and click Next.

Now you need to disconnect all external devices: printer, scanner, mouse, click Next and the process of restoring the HP laptop to factory settings will begin.

Is there an alternative to the laptop's built-in factory reset program? Yes there are, these are programs and and they have much more opportunities.

Restoring factory settings may be necessary if the laptop malfunctions, there are a large number of errors, freezes, when other means of solving such problems do not work. However, such restoration may not always be possible. If the operating system was reinstalled on your laptop, then most likely the partition responsible for restoring the hard drive was deleted. In such a situation, restoring factory settings does not seem possible- Reinstallation of the OS will be required.

Factory settings mean the state of the OS in which the data on drive C will be deleted and the system will return to its initial settings. In this case, you will not need to enter an activation key.

For different laptop models, reset methods may vary. Let's look at the example of the most popular manufacturers.

Factory settings for HP laptops

First of all, remove all removable drives (flash drives, memory cards, etc.) and turn off the device. Then turn it on while simultaneously holding down the key F11 until the HP laptop recovery utility appeared, it was called Recovery Manager.

You will need the first column called “ I urgently need help».

Here we offer a complete restoration of the system to its original state upon delivery from the manufacturer, or a partial restoration of certain parameters.

Select the second option, the next window will ask you to create a backup copy of your files.

Then click " Further", after which the process will proceed automatically. In this case, your device will reboot repeatedly. This will take about half an hour depending on the characteristics of the laptop. Upon completion of the procedure, you will need to perform several standard operations (set the region, time, enter the user name), etc.

Resetting your Toshiba laptop

To launch the recovery utility on laptops from this manufacturer, you will need to hold down the key when turning on F12. On some models, pressing the key 0. The utility is called ToshibaRecovery Wizard.

First you need to choose a recovery method. In this case, we select “up to the state at the time of acquisition.”

The subsequent process is carried out automatically.

Resetting Samsung laptops

In Samsung models, this program is called Samsung Recovery Solution and starts while holding down F4 key.

Choose Restore(Recovery). Then Complete Restore and Computer Initial Status (which means returning to factory settings). Following the further instructions after restarting the PC, activate the restored settings.

Factory settings on an Acer laptop

To run the recovery utility eRecoveryManagement in laptops from Acer you need to hold down when turning on Alt and press every half second F10. You may need to enter a password. Standard password from the manufacturer: 000000.

Select a recovery type.

Follow further instructions and wait until the procedure is completed.

This utility can be launched without turning off the device, and can be found directly among the installed standard Windows programs.

Reset Asus laptop

You must first disable fast boot. To do this, press F2 when turning on. In the BIOS, on the “Boot” tab, find “ Boot Booster" and set it to "Disabled". After saving the changes, the device will reboot. Press and hold the button F9, after which the recovery program will open - ASUS Preload Wizard.

The principle of resetting the system is similar to those previously discussed for other manufacturers.

Resetting Windows to factory settings or resetting is a function that allows you to return the hard drive to the “As from the store” state: all personal files and personal settings will be deleted, only the standard operating system with default settings will remain.

Why reset Windows?

It should immediately be noted that this feature is present only on computers where the operating system was installed by default. As a rule, these are all branded devices that are sold in stores.

There are 5 main reasons for resetting Windows to factory settings:

1. Sale/transfer of device. In order not to manually delete all personal files on your computer, you can use zeroing. Any buyer will be only happy with a “store-bought” HDD;
2. Reinstalling the OS. Resetting the Windows system to factory settings is the best alternative to reinstalling the OS in case of a critical failure;
3. Littering the operating system and system directories. If Windows has been used for a long time, then littering is an inevitable phenomenon in which the OS begins to slow down and work incorrectly;
4. Driver installation failed. Windows 7 stopped working after installing a new driver - restoring it to its original state will fix this problem;
5. "Rally" of the system. If Windows has crashed for unknown reasons, then resetting to factory settings will be the most optimal solution.

Comment. Restoring Windows 7 to standard settings is only possible with a working hard drive.

How to determine the presence of the reset function

The hard drive of the computer on which Windows is installed by default is marked in a special way. There is a hidden or service section here. It stores a backup copy of the original system with all the necessary utilities and drivers. The disk is not visible through Explorer, but it appears in Disk Management. Algorithm:

Comment. The Samsung brand is taken as an example, hence the name of the backup disk Samsung_REC.

The section does not have a letter designation and is not available while the user is working with the system. You can view the contents (it’s better not to do this unless absolutely necessary) only by booting the computer from external media, where you can assign a letter to the drive.

Preparing for a rollback

Some manufacturers integrate a utility for resetting settings into the user Windows shell, which allows you to start the recovery procedure while working with the system. But if the OS does not boot due to a critical error, then this will not be useful, so all proprietary devices are equipped with a factory reset tool that can be launched when the computer starts by pressing a special key.

The image shows a list of common PC models and default system recovery initiation keys:

The preparation procedure includes only two stages:

1. Make a backup copy of all key files to any third-party media (preferably a flash drive) from all hard drives, if there are several of them;
2. Check the battery charge on your laptop. It must be complete, since an unexpected power outage can cause a lot of trouble to the computer, including the need to take the device to a service center. Owners of stationary systems either must be confident in their station, or connect the computer to an uninterruptible power supply.

Recovery using hotkeys

Pressing one of the keys described above on the screen initiates the launch of the recovery wizard. The entire program is adapted to the Russian language, so even an inexperienced user will not have problems using the utility:

Comment. In some cases, the owner will be asked to copy the data to another medium. If the information has already been saved, then this item can be skipped.

Do not forget that it will be impossible to interrupt the procedure. Once started, the process should complete. The duration depends on the performance of the device. On average it takes 20-30 minutes.

Restoring using the built-in utility

As an example, we chose the HP Pavilion G6 laptop, where the program for resetting the settings was installed by default. To begin the rollback, perform the following steps:

After clicking, the utility will provide the opportunity to create a backup copy of the data to an external storage device. We agree or refuse.

Rollback via recovery environment

If Windows does not boot to the user interface, then the recovery wizard can also be launched through the recovery environment. For this.

Greetings, dear readers.

All computer users sooner or later encounter a problem when the equipment starts to malfunction. Moreover, the main problem is hidden in the operating system. Particularly uncomfortable is the situation when the OS simply stops starting, because the process of saving important data located on the desktop or in my documents becomes much more complicated. In addition, there is a need to restore functionality to the device. Later in the article, I will tell you how to reset Windows 7 to factory settings in several ways to avoid reinstalling the system.

This method is considered the simplest and fastest. On the maximum build of Win or any other, you need to go to " Safe mode" To do this, reboot the device and press “ F8" A small menu will appear in which you need to specify “ Last Known Good Configuration».

After this, the computer will automatically restore the previous settings to continue the procedure.

Important! Sometimes you can get into “Safe Mode” on laptops in another way:

• ASUS – F9;
• Lenovo, HP, LG – F11;
• Samsung - F4.

This solution will allow you to restore functionality to your device in the shortest possible time. It is possible to roll back drivers and replace important system elements responsible for malfunctions. This method returns everything to its place in case of minor problems and freezes.

After this, users can restore the operating system to its original state. True, for this you need to have a corresponding point in the system area.

Recovery

Microsoft systems have a lot of useful tools. One of them independently creates restore points at different times during the use of the device. This allows you to fix the working position of not only Windows 7, but also all installed software, including drivers, programs, etc. Of course, all this is possible if the function has not been disabled.

So, so that you can always return your computer to its original state, after installing the operating system and main applications, you need to create a point in memory. To do this, we perform several actions:

1. Close all active applications.
2. Let's go to " Start" And " Control Panel».
3. We are interested in the icon " System" Here we see “Home Basic” or any other. Select " Protection…».
4. A new window will open. We are interested in " Creating a restore point».
5. Enter the name and click on start.
6. We are waiting for a message about successful completion.

Recovery also takes place in a few simple steps. Where is the right tool? Let's look:

1. Open " Start" And " Control Panel».
2. Select " Recovery", and then " Launch…».
3. A new window will appear in which we mark the first created point.
4. Pressing " Finding Affected Items", users will see a list of programs that will change.

There is also the possibility of restoring the device’s functionality through an image on disk. True, for this it needs to be saved in advance to the appropriate portable memory.

Important! If the database was created with some errors or the media with the image is damaged, then the system start will most likely be interrupted.

Boot disk

In some cases, users may need a special boot disk to restore their device. It is with its help that you can roll back to a working or even suitable version on a pirated or official version.

To do this, you need to perform several steps:

Hidden system partition

Some laptops and computers (especially if they were purchased with an operating system already installed) have a special partition on which all the necessary tools for returning the OS to its original state are stored.

Important! If you have previously reinstalled Win x64 or 32 and used formatting, most likely the corresponding area no longer exists.

Device manufacturers offer users special programs through which the process takes place. There is a separate button for starting. Or there is an option to find the corresponding shortcut in “ Safe Mode».

After starting a suitable solution, indicate “ Return the device to the time of purchase».

Important! During the procedure, all files located on the hard drive will be deleted. In other words, the device will return to its condition at the time of purchase.

You can achieve the desired result through the command line. To do this, in the appropriate tool we indicate: “ man Restore-Computer –Detailed" And confirm by pressing “ Enter».

As always, thematic video:

I hope this article will help you return your device to functionality.