WAR-DOG Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 Hi guys, I have a rather interesting problem. I got a new HP laptop - long story short, I went installing a clean version of Windows instead of having that HP bloatware Windows. During installation, I went and deleted some partitions I tought were unnecesary, So I was left with System reserverd, C:\ (windows and boot), and D:\ (with hidden partition on the same disk "Recovery"). Now, I want to return the laptop, because it's complete garbage (Yeey...) and I tought, installing back the original windows would be easy, but it's not. I can't seem to set the system to "see" the recovery partition or even boot into it. No HP Recovery Manager available as you might imagine. So, I can clearly see the partition in any "Partition magic" app you can imagine, I just can't copy the files out to create a bootable USB or anything. How can I force my laptop, to boot into recovery mode? Screenshot 1 Screenshot 2- Diskpart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR-DOG Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) It would be good to write what I have tried: - USB boot Windows install - Repair PC - no luck there Tried to change the partition into dynamic as suggested on many forums, not possible. notable to mention, the partition is EFI system partition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 If the unit still has the HP recovery partition the recovery manager would use, you need to mark the partition as active so you can boot from it. goretsky 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR-DOG Posted August 7, 2017 Author Share Posted August 7, 2017 I managed to get the partition to show up in explorer with DISKPART: DISKPART> assign letter=r and started explorer.exe from CMD run as administrator, I can now see the partition, but clicking on it I get an error "Access is denied.". So I tried to set up the security, setting the owner as Administrators group - didn't work setting Everyone Full-Control - didn't work I'm runing out of ideas... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted August 7, 2017 Share Posted August 7, 2017 (edited) 39 minutes ago, WAR-DOG said: I managed to get the partition to show up in explorer with DISKPART: DISKPART> assign letter=r and started explorer.exe from CMD run as administrator, I can now see the partition, but clicking on it I get an error "Access is denied.". So I tried to set up the security, setting the owner as Administrators group - didn't work setting Everyone Full-Control - didn't work I'm runing out of ideas... You need to mark the partition as active, this will force the computer to boot from this partition when you turn it on. After this is completed, you can recover the system. Quote 1.Right-click on "Computer" icon and select manage. 2.This will launch the Microsoft Management Console. 3.On the left side of the MMC, click on "Disk Management" and it will show you all of the partitions. 4.Right-click on the "HP Recovery" partition and select "Mark as Active Partition." 5.When the warning prompt appears, select "Yes" - Reboot the notebook and it will automatically boot into the Recovery Manager (without having to press F11). Mando 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR-DOG Posted August 8, 2017 Author Share Posted August 8, 2017 (edited) 15 hours ago, Circaflex said: If the unit still has the HP recovery partition the recovery manager would use, you need to mark the partition as active so you can boot from it. I can't mark the partition as active. I only get "Help" in the context menu, that was also the first thing I tried. I did boot a live linux distro, mounted the partition, copied all the files to another folder I can see in Windows. Created a bootable USB with Rufus. Booted the USB, but got an error that something is wrong with the windows install disk I gave up on this. Screenshot Edited August 8, 2017 by WAR-DOG added screenshot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted August 9, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted August 9, 2017 Hello, It's been a while since I've done this, but what about running DiskPart (filename: DISKPART.EXE) and issuing the following commands: LIST DISK SELECT DISK x LIST PARTITION SELECT PARTITION y ACTIVE You would replace "x" with the number of the disk containing the recovery partition, and "y" with the number of the recovery partition. The next time the system reboots, it should start from the recovery partition. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR-DOG Posted August 9, 2017 Author Share Posted August 9, 2017 Quote The selected disk is not a fixed MBR disk. The ACTIVE command can only be used on fixed MBR disks. the content of this partition is the same as you would see on a normal installation disk: Screenshot Reset this PC does not work either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goretsky Supervisor Posted August 10, 2017 Supervisor Share Posted August 10, 2017 Hello, In that case, I would suggest contacting Hewlett-Packard's tech support and see if they can walk you through restoring the computer to its factory settings. Failing that, they may be able to provide you with recovery media. Regards, Aryeh Goretsky Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WAR-DOG Posted August 10, 2017 Author Share Posted August 10, 2017 Thank you all for your input. I have decided I will keep the laptop, and keep my windows system on it. Anyway, I change laptops every 2 years, so no big deal... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steven P. Administrators Posted August 10, 2017 Administrators Share Posted August 10, 2017 1 hour ago, WAR-DOG said: Thank you all for your input. I have decided I will keep the laptop, and keep my windows system on it. Anyway, I change laptops every 2 years, so no big deal... If you are only keeping it because you can't restore, why not try this first https://support.hp.com/lt-en/document/c04758961 I didn't see anywhere that this was even tried yet Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Circaflex Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 On 8/9/2017 at 0:21 AM, Riva said: As far as I know, the recovery partition isnt bootable, just contains a .wim that windows installer can use to restore your PC. So the way to restore the PC is going to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC. If you screwed up the partitions big time then have a look at this, but remember to retain HP data stored in the recovery image. https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/manufacture/desktop/configure-uefigpt-based-hard-drive-partitions Its 100% bootable, I've used this trick dating back to Vista machines. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kennedy Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 (edited) Hi, The recovery partition is used to reinstall Windows. You need not use any bootable pendrive or CD to reintsall Windows. Since it is a HP laptop, keep tapping on F11 key before it boots into Windows. It will take you to the recovery environment. From HP recovery partition you can do the reinstallation of Windows. Note: Before performing OS reinstallation, take a data backup. https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c03489643 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xendrome Posted September 15, 2017 Share Posted September 15, 2017 Why not just use the Windows 10 Media Creation tool to create a USB and boot from that and be done with it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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