As a last resort, and after I have tried everything else, I contacted HP Chat in Brazil. After a total of 7 rather frustrating chats and receiving two free Kingston Recovery USBs provided by Microsoft that did not work (i found out later that the USBs were damaged), they came to collect my Ultrabook for repair.
SOME TIP THAT MAY HELP
1) Ask to speak to a guy called Wesley (he seemed to be the most knowledgeable among all that I have spoken to - I spoke to about five staff then).
2) Take note of the Protocol Number - stick to it everytime you need to follow up with them or get back to them. COPY it onto NOTEPAD so that you can just COPY and PASTE every time.
3) PDF print EVERY CHAT you have with them as proof.
4) Be patient, this is Brazil.
5) You will probably need to go through the entire STEP-BY-STEP recovery process. They won't be the answer to your problem though but that is the standard protocol and they are pretty inflexible.
ALL THE BEST.