You might start encountering a problem with your HP laptop especially if it is an older model you have used daily for a few years. Sometimes, you can fix laptop problems through a simple restart. Other times, you might need to try other methods to get your computer back, which to Hard Resetting your computer.
But if you are having trouble performing a hard reset on your HP laptop, follow the troubleshooting steps below to fix the problem yourself.
What to do if HP Laptop Hard Reset Not Working
A hard reset will force a system shutdown on your HP laptop if you are experiencing the following problems:
- Windows stop responding.
- The display suddenly goes blank and stays blank.
- The computer does not return from sleep or suspend mode.
- Software freezes.
If the Windows stops working suddenly and goes blank, you will not be able to access the Windows Start button and restart the PC from there. In this case, you have to perform a hard reset to get your HP laptop back in working order.
However, if even a hard reset does not work on your HP laptop, try the steps outlined below to restore functionality on your HP laptop.
Remove External Devices
External devices, especially those that on of external power and it’s connected to your laptop via the USB, can interrupt the Hard Reset process.
Unplug any external devices connected to your HP laptop to ensure the current running through these devices does not interfere with your HP laptop’s hard reset process.
- Remove discs from the disc tray.
- Remove memory cards from the card reader slot.
- Disconnect printers, scanners, external hard drives, USB flash drives, etc.
- Remove the AC adapter.
- Press and hold the power button for 15 seconds.
After completing a hard reset on your HP laptop, plug in the AC adapter, but do not plug in any external devices. Power on your HP laptop to see if removing external devices fixes the problem. If your HP laptop still refuses to turn on, move on to the method below.
Remove the Battery
You can perform a hard reset by removing the battery by following the steps below:
- Unplug the AC adapter.
- Flip the laptop upside down.
- Look for the battery door or battery release latch.
- Remove the battery.
Remove the battery and hold the power button for at least 30 seconds. Doing so should drain any residual power left within the laptop’s capacitors and drain all residual electricity out of the system.
Also, make sure to unplug the AC Adapter before removing the battery so your laptop does not receive any external power while you perform the hard reset, which can potentially cause it to fail the hard reset process.
After successfully removing the battery and holding the power button for at least 30 seconds, reinstall the battery, plug in the AC Adapter, and press the power button to boot up the laptop.
Perform a Hard Reset (non-removable battery models)
Performing a hard reset on HP laptops with non-removable batteries will be easier compared to other models with removable batteries. To perform a hard reset on HP laptops with non-removable batteries, press and hold the power button for 15 seconds.
If your HP laptop has a dedicated Beats button, hold both the power and Beats buttons for 15 seconds to perform a hard reset on your HP laptop.
Lastly, if your HP laptop has a dedicated mute button, press and hold the power button and mute button for 15 seconds to perform a hard reset.
In all these methods, ensure that the AC adapter is unplugged, so the laptop does not get any external power which can cause it to fail the hard reset methods outlined above.
Try a different AC adapter or Replace the Battery
All the methods above will not work if the laptop’s battery cannot hold a charge or the AC adapter is not giving it enough power.
To isolate the problem with the AC adapter, try to find or borrow a second AC adapter of the same kind. Plug it into the HP laptop and try to power it on to see if it boots. If it boots normally, there is a good chance your current AC adapter is failing, and you will need to replace it soon.
Alternatively, your HP laptop’s battery might not be able to give the laptop enough power to start up. In this case, you might want to look into a replacement battery to replace your current battery and fix any power-related issues with your laptop.
People Also Asked:
How do I force a factory reset on my HP laptop?
You can force a factory reset on your HP laptop by following the steps:
- Click on the Start menu button then select “Settings”.
- Choose “Update and Security”.
- Select Recovery from the left pane.
- Under the “Reset PC” option, click on “Get started”
- Chose “Keep my files” or “Remove everything”
“Remove everything” should give you the best results. This option will remove all files and reset Windows back to factory settings.
HP laptop won’t reset to factory settings windows 10
Run Windows Recovery Environment and reset your PC.
- Restart your PC and spam the F11 key or hold the shift key while you restart the PC through the Windows Start button option. This should take you to the Windows Recovery Environment page.
- Click on Troubleshoot.
- Select “Reset this PC”.
- Choose “Cloud download” or Local reinstall”
- Choose “Remove everything”.
- Choose the drives you want to clean.
- Choose “Fully clean the drive”.
- Click on Reset.
Removing all files and cleaning the entire hard drive will ensure that Windows does not run into file or compatibility errors due to residual files from missing apps.
Resources:
Horowitz, D. (2019, January 3). How to Factory Reset a Windows Laptop. HP. Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://www.hp.com/us-en/shop/tech-takes/how-to-factory-reset-windows-laptop
HP PCs – Performing a System Recovery (Windows 10) | HP® Customer Support. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c04758961
HP PCs – How to Power Reset Your Computer | HP® Customer Support. (n.d.). Retrieved October 15, 2022, from https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_1997208-1551050-16
Susan is a professional writer. She has been a writer for eight years and has always been so fulfilled with her work! She desires to share helpful, reliable, and unbiased information and tips about tech and gadgets. She hopes to offer informative content that can answer users’ questions and help them fix their problems.
