How to restore a laptop to factory settings. How to restore factory settings on an Asus laptop? Detailed instructions How to return to factory settings on a laptop

Sometimes a computer owner is faced with the need to clean the system of various bugs that interfere with normal operation. This can be done by reinstalling the operating system, or using special utilities. But there is a method that has several undeniable advantages over them.

Resetting the settings to factory defaults will help restore the device to functionality in most cases, even if you cannot start the OS. This method is especially relevant for those who do not want to waste time reinstalling the OS.

When restoring factory settings, the OS will be reinstalled automatically. You will not need to enter the OS activation code again. The version of Windows that came with the laptop when purchased will be restored.

By rolling back the BIOS, you will eliminate the problems listed above. In this article we will look at how to return a laptop to factory settings and restore its functionality. There are several methods, which we will take a closer look at.

The option to reset settings may be needed if:

What are the factory settings?

Factory settings are set by the manufacturer for a specific computer or laptop model. They store BIOS settings and computer configuration parameters. This information is located in the device's dynamic memory, which is called CMOS.
All factory settings take up very little space and are separately powered - from a small battery located on the motherboard. You can reset the laptop parameters without access to the BIOS. To do this, simply remove the battery, wait 30-40 seconds, and insert it again.

After the process of resetting the BIOS settings is completed and the OS is reinstalled, you will receive the laptop in the same condition in which you bought it in the store.

It is worth noting that to successfully return the device to factory settings, in addition to CMOS, you need a Recover partition, which stores installation files and other necessary system information.

Video: Laptop factory settings

Where is Recovery located and its activation

A hidden partition on the hard drive that stores all the files needed to restore the system is called Recovery. It is created by default on all laptops, and is deleted or damaged in most cases as a result of incorrect user actions.

You can see where the hidden section is located:

There you can see the size that Recovery occupies on the HDD. Typically this is 20-25 GB of system information and installation files.

If you have a Toshiba laptop, then you have probably already noticed that on drive D there is a system folder called HDD Recovery. It also stores the information necessary to reset the system, so it cannot be deleted.

Activating Recovery starts the process of resetting user BIOS changes, restoring factory settings, and reinstalling the OS and system programs and drivers.

To activate Recovery, press a specific hotkey combination. This will allow you to enter the system menu, where you can select several system recovery options. It should be remembered that each manufacturer has its own combination of hot keys; below we will look at the most popular ones.

Restoring settings using hotkeys

In order to return your laptop to factory settings, you should remember several hotkey combinations. When the system boots, you should press hot keys to access the BIOS Setup menu, from where you can start the process of restoring parameters.

Depending on the computer manufacturer, hot keys and their combinations differ:

1. Toshiba - depending on the model F8, or 0, or Fn+0;
2. Sony - F10;
3. Acer – Alt and F10 at the same time;
4. HP, LG and Lenovo – F11;
5. Samsung – F4;
6. Fujitsu - F8;
7. ASUS – F9;
8. Dell - both Ctrl and F11, but in some models F8;
9. Packard Bell - F10. If you have Windows 8 installed, you can use the power button when you log in. You should hold down Shift and at the same time select the “Reboot” menu item;
10. MSI – F3, and on some models F11.

How to reset a laptop to factory settings via BIOS

Using hot keys, you can roll back custom system changes and return the BIOS to factory settings.

On the black screen that appears, select sequentially:

1. option "Running the recovery center" for Sony, or "Troubleshooting your computer" for Toshiba, or "System Recovery" for HP;
2. menu item "Load Defaults BIOS".



Depending on the manufacturer, the option name may vary: "Load BIOS Setup Defaults", "Load Safe-Fail Defaults", but the words "Load" and "Default" will definitely be present.

Preparation

Prepare for a factory reset:




After you start the process of resetting the settings, the process of collecting information and preparing system files will begin. This may take some time, so don't worry.

Recovery process

Once you start the recovery process, all actions will be performed automatically, without your participation. The computer may reboot if required by the installed software. During the process of resetting the settings, device drivers will be restored and standard system programs will be installed.



It is worth mentioning that it is not always possible to successfully reset the settings on a laptop. This is possible if:




What can you do if you deleted the hidden Recovery partition from your hard drive? You will have to look for a bootable settings disk or an image of a hidden partition for your laptop. They can be found on the Internet, and sometimes manufacturers offer to buy such disks for system recovery on official websites.
If there are no ready-made images for your laptop, you can ask the owners of a similar model on computer forums to create such an image for you. And to avoid this situation, you can create a bootable USB flash drive or DVD for your laptop yourself, which you can keep on hand and use when necessary.

The ASUS laptop allows you to roll back all settings to their original state, but only under certain conditions. In this article we will talk about restoring factory settings.

There are two ways to reset all settings on ASUS laptops, depending on the changes you have made.

Method 1: RECOVERY utility

Regardless of the default operating system installed, every ASUS laptop has a special partition "Recovery", which saves files for emergency system recovery. This section can be used to restore factory settings, but only in cases where the OS has not been reinstalled on the device and the hard drive has not been formatted.

Enabling the utility

Using the utility

The main disadvantage of this method is the complete removal of any user files from the local disk on which Windows is installed.

It is also important to roll back the BIOS to its original state. We described this process in a separate article on our website.

Method 2: System Tools

If the OS was reinstalled on the laptop and the HDD was cleaned, you can resort to using a system recovery tool. This will roll back Windows to a stable state using restore points.

Conclusion

The considered methods for reverting a laptop to factory settings should be enough to restore the functionality of the operating system and the device as a whole. You can also contact us in the comments if you encounter any difficulties.

As the letters I received after the publication of the article showed, the seed fell on fertile soil. People write that the article was useful to them, which I am very happy about.

But there are also many letters in which users ask to describe the recovery procedure for laptops from other manufacturers. To this I will only answer what I said earlier: I will definitely try to cover as many methods as possible from different manufacturers. It just takes time and the availability of appropriate laptops.

For this purpose, I use computers that come to me for testing and writing, so there is a good chance that I will soon post detailed instructions for restoring laptops manufactured by the most famous companies.

Today I will talk about how to restore Hewlett-Packard (aka HP) laptops to factory condition. This also includes Compaq laptops, since these companies merged in 2002. Such models are, in general, called HP Compaq, but the presence of a different logo may confuse an inexperienced consumer.

So keep in mind that Compaq is also HP, with similar recovery mechanisms.

However, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that in HP laptops, unlike most devices from other manufacturers, the recovery partition, as a rule, is not located in a hidden area, but on a separate logical drive.

I would also like to remind you that all important data from the hard drive must first be saved, since they will be destroyed during the recovery process. If your computer's operating system has crashed and won't boot, use the advice in this article.

It must be said that HP laptops provide the ability to save data before recovery, but I prefer to do such things using third-party tools, so this instruction will give the recovery scenario when all the necessary data is previously saved.

And finally, let me remind you that the recovery procedure must be carried out with a fully charged battery and it is strongly recommended that you connect the laptop to the power supply.

So, in order to begin restoring the system, after turning on the power, we need to start making short presses of the Esc key until the following menu appears on the display:

To launch the recovery utility, press the F11 button.

The utility interface will appear on the display. Select the option “Restore the system to its original state when shipped from the manufacturer.”

We will be offered a choice between saving data and restoring the system. Since we assume that you previously saved the data, select “Restore without creating a backup copy” and click “Next”.

We will be warned to turn off all external devices. You need to disconnect everything that is connected to the laptop. Even a mouse.

After this, the laptop recovery procedure will begin. The display will show information about the actions performed. This procedure will take a long time. You can do other things for now.

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.

Computers love “cleanliness,” both on the hard drive and from dust on the hardware. If the second issue can be dealt with more simply - just clean it, then the first issue is not so easy. The main problem for novice users is the desire to install more “useful” programs and the inability to properly use the computer’s disk space, which leads to problems with its operation. When the situation is at its peak, users have no choice but to reset Windows to factory settings. Our article will describe in detail how to restore the system to its “out of the box” form for different versions, starting with Windows 7.

What is a Windows factory reset?

Let's start with the fact that factory settings are the PC configuration that was installed initially and is the main one for this piece of equipment. All changes that were made by the user during use “disturb” the factory settings and the computer is no longer considered new. Reset to settings “out of the box” - transition to the original state, i.e. getting rid of user settings in general, and, in some cases, even from files and other data that remained after it.

It is recommended to perform a reset only when it is really necessary. Please note that if you have previously reinstalled Windows, either yourself or using computer system wizards, you may not be able to return to factory settings. The whole point is that if you reinstall it incorrectly (stupidly from one disc on which a pirated copy of Windows is recorded), a special recovery partition disappears on the hard drive, on which a copy of the installation version is stored.

This indicates that you cannot simply switch to factory settings - you will need the same distribution that was used initially, and not any other (even if the Windows versions are the same). Otherwise, you will not return the computer to its original form (in software terms) in any way. Therefore, treat reinstalling Windows more judiciously and seriously - if you use the services of wizards, ask them to reinstall Windows so that the recovery partition is not affected. If, nevertheless, the recovery partition was deleted, all you can do is install any convenient version of Windows using a clean installation method (with the removal of all data) and at least somehow create the appearance of a factory reset.

How to reset Windows 7 to factory settings

Unfortunately, the "seven" does not support a quick reset to factory settings, which is an obstacle to returning the computer to its original form without the use of additional knowledge. If you have the task of returning your computer to its original state, you can use the following options:

1. Through V "Additional download options";
2. Using your distribution that came with your PC or laptop.

If you are more inclined to the second option, then you just need to boot from the distribution and select system recovery there. Then everything will happen as usual.

In the case of the first option, you need to go to the menu "More download options". For most computers (laptops), this can be done by pressing the F8 key, which must be pressed immediately after the computer starts booting (without leaving standby or hibernation mode). When it is downloaded, you need to select "Troubleshooting your computer".

Next you will be taken to the window "System Recovery Options". It contains some features that can actually be used before loading the system as a whole. Among them, either a built-in reset or a proprietary one will be hidden. In this case, for example, we have the option of restoring the Toshiba laptop to factory settings.

You will need to go to this item and follow the prompts of the built-in utility so that you can restore the factory settings. Please note that all files on your hard drive that you have used/saved will be permanently deleted.

How to reset Windows 8|8.1 to factory settings

In the case of Windows 8, things are more favorable. The system interface allows for the use of a built-in factory reset program directly from the “Control Panel”, as well as from the “Advanced Boot Options”. Let's look at this in more detail to improve understanding.

How to reset Windows 10 to factory settings

The “top ten” still has the same recovery functionality as in Windows 8, but to get there you need to go a slightly different path.