How To Factory Reset HP Computer - Restore To Factory Settings Windows 11, by PC Monkey on YouTube. 5 min 56 s.
- Video length
- 5 min 56 s
- Time to do it
- 45 to 90 minutes
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Steps
- 9
What you need
Steps
Copy your documents, photos, browser bookmarks and anything else you want to keep onto an external drive or cloud storage. A reset can remove all of it.
Plug the laptop into the charger and sign in with an administrator account. Windows will not start a reset on battery power.
Open Settings with Windows key + I, go to System, then Recovery.
Under Reset this PC, click Reset PC. Choose Keep my files to keep personal files but remove apps and settings, or Remove everything for a clean drive.
Pick Local reinstall to reuse the files already on the PC, or Cloud download to fetch a fresh copy of Windows 11 from Microsoft.
Click Reset and confirm. The PC restarts, shows a progress screen, and may reboot a few times. Leave it alone until the setup screen appears.
If Windows will not load, shut the PC down, turn it on, and tap F11 repeatedly at startup to open the recovery menu. On some models press Esc first, then F11.
In the recovery menu, choose Troubleshoot, then Reset this PC, and follow the same Keep my files or Remove everything prompts as before.
When setup starts, pick your region, connect to Wi-Fi, sign in with your Microsoft account, then reinstall the apps and files you backed up.
Tips and common mistakes
Keep my files still removes every installed program, so note down the apps you will need to reinstall.
The reset needs several gigabytes of free space; delete large videos or downloads first if it refuses to start.
A reset can take over an hour on a hard drive, so start it when you do not need the laptop.
If the reset fails or does not fix the problem, do a clean install of Windows 11 from a USB drive instead.
Questions
Will I lose my files during a factory reset?
With Keep my files, your personal documents and photos stay, but apps and settings go. With Remove everything, the whole drive is wiped, so back up first.
How long does an HP factory reset take?
Usually 45 minutes to 90 minutes on a hard drive and much faster on an SSD. The PC restarts several times, so do not switch it off.
What if F11 does not open the recovery menu?
Shut down completely, then press the power button and tap F11 about once a second. If nothing happens, try Esc first and then F11, or use a Windows 11 USB installer.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
