Troubleshooting is synonymous with first aid in human health. When there’s an accident or wound, first aid is administered to the affected people, before taking them to the hospital. This goes for devices too, especially your laptop PC or desktop computer. Not all computer problems need a rush to the computer repair store, a first aid in form of troubleshooting is administered.
Related: 12 Computer Troubleshooting problems and how to solve them.
Before you rush down to a computer shop, you can analyze some of the computer problems and solve them immediately. These types of problems are troubleshooting computer problems. Restoring a computer to its initial state—as it was when it initially left the factory, involves performing a factory reset.
Factory reset is one of the solutions to some computer technical problems, especially when it involves errors in settings or software issues. Here is what you need to know about factory resetting and how to do it on laptops like HP.
Computer problems that might require a factory reset
The problem that requires factory reset are usually related to viruses and software issues. The common ones are: Malware infections; Software conflicting, faulty OS, and forgotten password.
Malware Infections
Malicious Software is software that got into your computer in form of files or code that can almost be used to do anything an attacker wants, including infect, analyze, steal, or do. Malware is frequently sent over a network or via email as a link or file, and it must be clicked on or opened by the user to be executed.
When they attack your system, you could experience multiple corrupt files, a slow computer, and an extreme occasion that could result in a crashing laptop or computer. A factory reset can aid in the removal of infections and improve the performance of your computer if it has been infected with software, such as viruses or spyware. This is especially at the early stage of discovery.
See Also: 8 Common Types of Computer Malware and how to Prevent them
Software Conflicting
When two programs cannot run simultaneously on the same machine, this is a software issue. It usually results from a programming error and usually shows up when two programs fight for the same resource (memory, peripheral device, register, etc.).
With programs like Autoruns, Process Explorer, and Process Monitor, you may see software that is in conflict. They check your PC for software conflicts and offer comprehensive details on the offending program.
Related: What is Operating System?
Faulty operating system
A software or hardware failure can result in an operating system failure, which typically prevents the operating system from booting. The System may abruptly stop functioning with no warnings or reboot repeatedly while freezing and displaying an error message.
A factory reset can assist eliminate any unneeded files, programs, or settings that might be the cause of the issue. This could however result in the computer running slowly or having performance issues.
Forgotten Password
If you have a laptop or old computer which was kept far away or used a long time ago, which was then dusted out of the safe keep. You definitely might not remember the password on it before hidden. Maybe you are the type that changes passwords often without documenting them offline, or your new password got so complex you couldn’t permutate them in the few attempts offered by the system. Whatever the case may be, If you have forgotten your computer’s password and are unable to log in, a factory reset may be able to help.
How factory reset works
The operating system of the device wipes all data and settings, including user accounts, installed apps, and private files, when a factory reset is started. To ensure that no traces of the earlier data remain. This technique often entails overwriting the device’s storage with zeros or random data.
Related: Latest Hp Laptop and their specifications
The device is basically in the exact condition it was when it was first produced after the reset is finished. Although the operating system is still present, all user settings and data have been lost. The user will typically be prompted by the device to complete a setup procedure, configure their preferences, re-enter any required login credentials.
How to factory Reset HP laptops in 6 Steps
This can be done if your computer switches on or the problem with it got or hold of it to the extent of not being able to boot or having a consistent rebooting. If your system is powered on while you are trying this. You can get to the reset settings by simply searching for it on the home bar. Then, start from step 2 (below).
If you can turn on your computer, the problem isn’t a corrupt file or malware. Then you can back up your non corrupted and Important file into a flash drive or external disk. In case of not booting or error starting, you can use these complete steps to factory reset your hp laptop.
- If your computer isn’t booting to the home page. Once you click on the power button, keep on pressing the f11 keys
- A screen will come up, showing 4 options, where you will click on “Troubleshooting”
- Selecting “Troubleshooting” brings out 3 options “reset PC” “recovery manager” and “advanced settings”
- Select the “reset PC” option and another screen option would show up well with “keep your files” and “Remove everything.” What you select is based on what led to the defaults you are experiencing. If it involves multiple corrupted files, you can extract important noncorrupted files, then get rid of the rest.
- A screen with “remove my files” and fully clean the drive” will appear. It’s best you remove the files if you are keeping the laptop. While the other if you are selling out after troubleshooting.
- When you remove your files or clean the drive, the process will take quite a long, so keep your system plugged in the system.
