robynthiede wrote:Many times when I go to power down my laptop, it says, "configuring new settings...do not turn off or unplug your computer". This happened last night.
What is recovery media? I am not tech savvy. Where should I go to have this done? Is it expensive? What are the chances I lost everything on my laptop? As I said in my previous post...that may be the case.
I'm freaking out. Don't freak out. Just expect it to cost $$$ to return it to a useable condition.
The "configuring on shutdown" as you desccribe means that AutoUpdate for Windows and HP software was probably turned on. Always pay attention to the messages that you see on your personal notebook or desktop PC.
Recovery media ( Recovery disk set or usb recovery flash disk(thumbdrive) is your copy of the operating system and drivers\software applications that were delivered preinstalled on your notebook.
When the notebook was first turned on and setup there was, and this is always the case, a setup program which asked you a number of things as you registered and configured your notebook for use. One of the most important things you were asked ,was if you were ready to create a recovery disk set. that meant you had to have either 5 blank ( a good brand like Verbatim or Sony) DVDs or a 32 GB thumbdrive ready to do that.
You seem to have done like many other new owners. It is unfortunate that in your haste and eagerness to use your new notebook, you forgot to make a recovery disk set or usb recovery media. That recovery media was your plan "B" in case of hard disk failure. A recovery disk set allows you to put the operating system back on a new hard disk or on the disk you notebook was delivered. That was for emergency use if circumstances arose, like a virus or malware infection, that rendered your notebook unuseable.
Your current best option is to purchase a recovery disk set from HP or an HP partner for about $25.00 USD. .There is also the option, if your notebook has a Microsoft Windows Certificate of Authenticity on the bottom, and all 25 characters of the license activation key are visible, to download an iso image matching the OS on the sticker and install the OS it with a USB flash disk. The downside of this method is that you have to find all of the proper drivers for your notebook on the web support portal for your notebook, so everything will operate as it should.
You will need to go to a reputable PC shop in your local area and tell them what you need to have done. Having this done by a business is not cheap. There will be a cost for the replacement of the hard disk and for installing the operating system. You would have saved yourself $$ if you had created the recovery media. You could have either replaced the hard disk yourself or had a competent friend do it for you and then installed the operating system and drivers by using the recovery media.
Best regards,
erico