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“Recently, I got a second-hand HP Laptop, Windows precisely. It’s clean, with all the features intact. But unfortunately, the previous owner has a password on it, which I do not know, so I cannot use the device. How can I reset it to factory settings without passwords?”
Whether you wish to sell off or buy a second-hand HP Laptop, as in the case above, you need to reset it to factory settings. There are several ways to go about this, but many folks find it difficult, especially when they don’t have the password.
Are you faced with a similar challenge? If so, this post is for you. Here, we discuss in detail how to factory reset an HP Laptop without a password. Read on!
Can You Factory Reset Your HP Laptop without a Password?
Yes, you can reset your HP Laptop to default settings without logging in. There are different ways by which you can go about this. While some require the use of password recovery software, others don’t. We will look at both options, in the next section of this article.
Method 1: Directly Factory Reset HP Laptop without Password Windows 10/8
If you own a Windows 10/8 computer system, you can easily reset your HP laptop to factory mode without providing the administrator password by following the instructions given below:
Step 1: Turn on the HP laptop, then navigate your mouse to where you have the Power icon. Simultaneously click on it and hold down the Shift key on your keyboard.
Step 2: While holding the keys in the step above, the interface below will pop up on your HP Laptop screen:
Select Troubleshoot from the options to proceed.
Step 3: Next, click on Reset this PC when the next screen opens. Another interface will come up requesting how you want the reset to happen, just as seen below:
Tap on Remove everything, and your HP laptop will restore immediately. Wait for it to restart, then start using it again.
Method 2: Directly Factory Reset HP Laptop without Password Windows 7
For folks using HP Laptops running on Windows 7, the approach is also easy, but different. You need to go to the Advanced Boot Options menu page to restore your HP laptop to factory settings.
Follow the illustrative steps below to do that:
Step 1: Boot your HP laptop using the Power button. Once the Windows logo appears, quickly tap the F8 key repeatedly. Continue tapping the key till the Advanced Boot Options screen appears.
Step 2: With the aid of the Arrow Up or Arrow Down key, navigate to Repair Your Computer. Once done, hit the Enter button to proceed.
Step 3: Next, a new screen labeled System Recovery Options will come up. Select your preferred keyboard layout and then hit the Next button.
Step 4: Now click System Restore, and your HP laptop will restore immediately.
Method 3: Reset HP Laptop without Password Using HP Recovery Manager
Another troubleshooting option to reset your HP Laptop to factory mode is via the HP Recovery Manager. The HP Recovery Manager is a pre-installed program on an HP laptop designed to help restore a computer system whenever it fails to work.
This program can also come as a recovery disc, which can be inserted into your computer to fix/reset. HP Recovery Manager resets your computer without complications. However, it doesn’t work for all versions of operating systems, such as Windows XP.
If you own an HP Laptop running on Windows 10/8/7, follow the steps below to factory reset it without a password via HP Recovery Manager:
Step 1: Turn on your Windows computer and punch the F11 key repeatedly. In response to this action, your device will boot into the recovery partition.
Step 2: Next, an interface showing the stepwise guide to restore your Windows computer will come up, just as seen below:
Image Name: how-to-factory-reset-hp-laptop-without-password-hp-recovery-manager-1.jpg
Select System Recovery underneath the I need help immediately section.
Step 3: Apply the instructions to reset your computer to factory settings, then restart the HP Laptop. Once it comes up, kindly configure it, and that’s all.
Method 4: Factory Reset HP Laptop after Windows 10 Password is Removed
Should the troubleshooting methods above fail to work with your HP Laptop, then you need a professional password recovery software like PassFab 4WinKey to reset the device. This tool is one of the most versatile among others due to its excellent performance.
With PassFab 4WinKey, you don’t only reset your HP Laptop to factory mode. You can create a Bootable Disk, create, remove, or delete Administrator Login Password, and more. Its interface is organized, so you don’t struggle navigating it.
4.1. Remove HP Laptop Password via PassFab 4WinKey
Here’s a simple guide to delete the admin password on your HP Laptop with the PassFab 4WinKey:
Step 1: Download and install 4WinKey on another computer system, then run it to create a reset disk. Once it comes up, you have to select a media source which could be a CD/DVD or USB Flash Drive.
Click Next to continue.
Step 2: Insert a clean CD/DVD or USB Flash Drive into the computer system. After that, click Next until you reach the final page, where you hit the OK button so 4WinKey can burn into the corresponding media source.
Wait for the software to burn into the CD/DVD or USB Flash Drive.
Step 4: Eject the corresponding media source (reset disk) and insert it into the password-protected HP Laptop. After that, boot the HP Laptop, and press F12 when it comes up.
Step 5: With the arrow key on your keyboard, kindly scroll and click on the reset disk name you just inserted. After that, hit the Enter key.
Step 6: The PassFab 4WinKey software page will automatically load up. Kindly choose the Windows system, and user account you want to reset, select Remove Account Password, and hit the Next button at the lower right corner of your screen.
Step 7: Finally, click the Reboot button. 4WinKey will immediately remove the account password, and you can access the HP laptop without a password.
4.2. Factory Reset HP Laptop After Logging In
The steps above should help you regain access to your HP laptop without a password. Once it comes up, you can follow the directions below to reset it:
Step 1: Open the Settings panel on your HP laptop.
Step 2: Find and click on System > Recovery.
Step 3: Now tap on the Reset PC tab next to Reset this PC.
Frequently Asked Questions About HP Laptop Resetting
Here are some quick questions and answers you can look through to understand this topic better:
How can I completely reset my HP computer system?
From the settings menu screen, you can select the appropriate options to completely reset your HP computer system. Here are the directions you need to follow to do this:
Step 1: Head to the lower left corner of the Windows screen and click on the Start taskbar.
Type Settings in the search box.
Step 2: Next, click the Update & Security icon, then select Reset this PC on the following screen.
Step 3: Tap on Remove everything so your entire system can be wiped completely.
Is there a way to manually restore my HP laptop to factory settings?
Definitely, yes!
Several troubleshooting options allow you to reset your HP laptop to factory mode manually. We’ve listed them in the article above; kindly apply the one that’s best fit for your Windows operating system.
Conclusion
With all the information above, you can factory reset your HP Laptop without stress. Follow the appropriate instructions that suit your Windows system, and your device will reset immediately.
