How to Use an HP Recovery Partition

The HP Recovery Partition is HP's solution to system recovery when your computer becomes unstable or infected with malware. Before your computer is shipped to you or before it reaches a retail store, HP installs the operating system and all the default programs and settings on a partition on the hard drive. These files can be used to back up files and restore the computer to its original factory state.

Instructions

1. Disconnect all devices and turn on the computer. Press and hold the "F11" key as the computer starts to launch the HP Recovery Manager from the recovery partition.

2. Back up any files you want to save by following HP Recovery Manager's on-screen instructions.

3. After backing up files to an external device or other media, select the option to perform a system recovery.

4. After your system reboots, use HP's update manager and Windows Update to restore critical updates to your computer.

5. Click "Finish" when the recovery is complete. Reconnect all your devices and reboot the computer. Reinstall any software that you had installed previously and continue with any Windows updates.

Tips & Warnings

• Backup your data often using HP Recovery Manager or other software to multiple sets of drives to avoid losing files in the event of a hard disk crash.

• Make a set of recovery discs. Use HP Recovery Manager and select "Advanced Options" to create a set of recovery discs that can be used in the event that your computer cannot access the hard drive.

References

• HP: Recover Windows 7 Operating System Using HP Recovery

Resources

• HP: Recover Windows Vista Operating System Using HP Recovery