Solved How To Get My Laptop Back To How I Bought It?

I

iSmokeJesus

New Member
About 6 months ago i purchased a Toshiba Satellite U400 Laptop, 2 Gig Ram Intel Core 2 Duo Processer, Vista Business. It started out fine but 4 months down the track it started to play up, Windows Media Player would take too long to load parts of a movie when i click along the bar, while watching it. Then movies often weren't being able to be played on WMP. When I'm gaming, i used to experience no lag at all it was perfect. But suddenly, it all changed an i lag so bad. I also wanna remove all traces and thing of previously uninstalled software (im quite OCD). A few other things play up as well which is why i would like to find a way to go back to how i bought the laptop. I bought it brand new with Vista Business Pre Installed onto it. I just want to get back to how i bought it. I think theres something like recovery discs or something? I'm good at computer but just not into this much detail, can anyone help me? PLEASE! :cry:

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

Hello iSmokeJesus, and welcome to Vista Forums.

You can do this to format your hard drive and restore it back to factory settings like the day you first got it.

1. Insert the Recovery disc for Vista into the drive.
2. Restart the laptop and press F12 key when you see the Toshiba logo on the screen.
3. Select CD/DVD drive from the boot menu.
4. Press OK and wait until the laptop boots from the DVD.
5. Select "Recovery to factory defaults" and press OK. It will take some time to reimage the hard dive.

Hope this helps,
Shawn
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
There were no recovery discs that came with my laptop, only XP discs, and i dont want to downgrade, i heard you can make them or something?
And thanks.
 

My Computer

System One

I read the tutorial on how to create recovery discs, and it says to "Insert your retail Vista installation DVD", i dont think i have one, Vista came pre-installed.

Thanks Brink
 

My Computer

System One

Sorry, but the recovery disc created in that tutorial cannot be used to install Vista with. It can only be used to attempt to repair Vista through the System Recovery Options screen instead.

When you follow the instuctions in my post above, did it not give you the option to restore Vista back to factory defaults? This is not with any recovery DVDs, only with the D: drive partition instead.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Hi,
I have a gateway laptop. It came with 1 DVD and all it did was reinstall the OS.
First I was told to download drivers, could not due to NO DRIVERS. When I called gateway back they sent me 3 DVD's that had all the drivers, software and 1hr 50mins later-it was the same as when I took it out of the box.
They did not charge me for the dvd's. Try to call HP and see if they send them to you.

let me know if they do cause I'd like to get an HP w/ win7 ultimate ( once I find a better job )
I only want to buy a computer that comes with full reinstall DVD's


Carmine


edit: I would like to also put another .02
I have extra HDD to clone my system once I get it the way I want.
Get a maxtor or seagate so you can use the cloning software
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    gateway/m6881
    CPU
    centrino core 2 duo 2.2ghz T7500
    Memory
    3GB
    Hard Drives
    500GB WD
    Mouse
    logitech
    Internet Speed
    fios 35MB not!!!!
Hello and welcome to Vista forums!

Give this a try.



With the machine off press the power button, as soon as you do that start tapping the F11 key (or the F12 key, try both).
It may take several attempts to do this, if the first attempt fails, try again.
That should take you to the Recovery Center. When there just follow the prompts.
It is pretty much self explanatory. From the time you boot into F11 (not counting
any backups you choose to make) you should be back on a working desktop in about
30 minutes. After it restarts just follow the prompts again to finish the process.


Be sure to keep us informed!






Later :shock: Ted
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
Brink said:
Sorry, but the recovery disc created in that tutorial cannot be used to install Vista with. It can only be used to attempt to repair Vista through the System Recovery Options screen instead.

When you follow the instuctions in my post above, did it not give you the option to restore Vista back to factory defaults? This is not with any recovery DVDs, only with the D: drive partition instead.
Click to expand...

Ok Brink, ive got to tell you that im not the best at understand all this computer language and such, do you think you could explain in basic language please? And from what i understand, i cant go back to factory settings?

Thanks Brink
 

My Computer

System One

Bare Foot Kid said:
Hello and welcome to Vista forums!

Give this a try.



With the machine off press the power button, as soon as you do that start tapping the F11 key (or the F12 key, try both).
It may take several attempts to do this, if the first attempt fails, try again.
That should take you to the Recovery Center. When there just follow the prompts.
It is pretty much self explanatory. From the time you boot into F11 (not counting
any backups you choose to make) you should be back on a working desktop in about
30 minutes. After it restarts just follow the prompts again to finish the process.


Be sure to keep us informed!






Later :shock: Ted
Click to expand...

So this will get me back to factory settings? sorry but im not the best at understand these things.

Thanks Mr. BFK
 

My Computer

System One

Sorry. I found this may help.

Since you do not have a OEM Vista Recovery disc, then scroll down and do the section below at this link. It will give you detailed steps on how to do this.

How to use the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility

Using Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility from the recovery partition

Hope this helps better. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Brink said:
Sorry. I found this may help.

Since you do not have a OEM Vista Recovery disc, then scroll down and do the section below at this link. It will give you detailed steps on how to do this.

How to use the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility

Using Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility from the recovery partition

Hope this helps better. :)
Click to expand...

I followed the link and it tells me that i need to create a recovery dvd with a program i dont have. Is there anyone other way to create the program? I heard something with recdisc.exe but that doesnt work

i also found this RECDISC.EXE tool (how to make it work and create a repair/recovery cd), but im not sure if it will help me? i really need help and i cant understand much
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

You would only want to do this part at that link to do a factory restore of Vista from your recovery partition instead. :)

Using Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility from the recovery partition
In case of a hard disk drive failure, you may be able to restore the drive to the factory default state using the on-disk Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility (in a special partition on the hard disk drive).
You can select restoring the entire hard disk drive to the factory default state, or restoring only the C: drive -- without affecting other partitions (for example, a D: drive) -- or changing the size allocated to your C: drive, and then restore it.

To recover your hard disk drive from a system failure using the utilities stored on your computers HDD, follow these steps:
  1. If the computer is running, shut it down -- by clicking Start, Shut Down, and again Shut Down.
  2. Press and hold the 0 (zero) key on your keyboard and then press the computers power switch. When the computer turns on, the Toshiba HDD Recovery Utility screen will appear, presenting three options:
HTD7C02140000R0136063.jpg

Sample TOSHIBA HDD Recovery Utility screen

​
Restore Original Factory Image (Recommended)
CAUTION:

Restoring a hard disk drive to its factory default state deletes all partitions on the hard disk drive and all data stored on those partitions. All of your files and information will be lost! Be sure to back up all important files first.
  1. Press 1 to restore your hard disk drive to its original factory default state. A confirmation message will appear, indicating that all data will be overwritten and lost during the restore process. Be sure to back up all important files before proceeding.
  2. Click Yes to begin the recovery. A message will appear once the operation is finished, indicating the HDD has been restored.
  3. Press any key to restart the computer.
Click to expand...
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
I'm gonna Brink, I'm just backing up all my files now, then turn off my laptop, hold 0 then turn it back on. If it works, this forum link is going up on my myspace. haha

Thanks
 

My Computer

System One

I hope it goes smoothly for you. :)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD
Omg omg omg brink you're my hero! It went smoother than melted smooth peanut butter! Brink in one word = superdupergoodnesswho'sheapsgoodathelpingdumbpeoplelikemeiloveyouyouneedabraverymedal

thanks so much!!!
 

My Computer

System One

Now it's restored......make the backup disks!!!!!
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Workstation
    Manufacturer/Model
    doofenshmirtz evil incorporated
    CPU
    Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Crosshair VIII Formula
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO Black 64GB (4x16GB) 3600MHz AMD Ryzen Tuned DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS AMD Radeon RX 6900 XT 16GB ROG Strix LC OC
    Sound Card
    Creative
    Monitor(s) Displays
    3 x27" Dell U2724D & 1 x 34" Dell U3415W
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB M.2 2280 PCI-e 4.0 x4 NVMe Solid State Drive
    PSU
    1500W ThermalTake Toughpower
    Case
    ThermalTake Level 10 GT
    Cooling
    Enermax Liqtech 240
    Mouse
    Logitech Performance MX
    Keyboard
    Surface Ergonomic.
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
    Other Info
    WinTV NovaTD HP CP1515n Color Laser Sony BD-5300S-0B Blu-ray Writer Microsoft LifeCam Cinema APC 750i Smart UPS
  • Operating System
    windows 10
    Manufacturer/Model
    Surface Pro 3
    CPU
    1.9GHz Intel Core i5-4300U (dual-core, 3MB cache, up to 2.9GHz with Turbo Boost)
    Memory
    4GB
    Monitor(s) Displays
    12" Multi Touch
    Screen Resolution
    2160 x 144
    Hard Drives
    128GB
    Mouse
    Logitech
    Keyboard
    yes
    Internet Speed
    350 Mb/s
iSmokeJesus said:
Omg omg omg brink you're my hero! It went smoother than melted smooth peanut butter! Brink in one word = superdupergoodnesswho'sheapsgoodathelpingdumbpeoplelikemeiloveyouyouneedabraverymedal

thanks so much!!!
Click to expand...

LOL, you're welcome. I happy to hear you got it sorted out now. :)

As John mentioned above, you should create backups of anything that you not want to lose to help be safe.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    Intel i7-8700K 5 GHz
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus XI Formula Z390
    Memory
    64 GB (4x16GB) G.SKILL TridentZ RGB DDR4 3600 MHz (F4-3600C18D-32GTZR)
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-GTX1080TI-O11G-GAMING
    Sound Card
    Integrated Digital Audio (S/PDIF)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Samsung Odyssey G7 27"
    Screen Resolution
    2560x1440
    Hard Drives
    1TB Samsung 990 PRO M.2, 4TB Samsung 990 PRO PRO M.2, 8TB WD MyCloudEX2Ultra NAS
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Titanium 850W
    Case
    Thermaltake Core P3
    Cooling
    Corsair Hydro H115i
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Keyboard
    Logitech wireless K800
    Internet Speed
    1 Gb/s Download and 35 Mb/s Upload
    Other Info
    Logitech Z625 speaker system, Logitech BRIO 4K Pro webcam, HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdn, APC SMART-UPS RT 1000 XL - SURT1000XLI, Galaxy S23 Plus phone
  • Operating System
    Windows 10 Pro
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy Y0F94AV
    CPU
    i7-7500U @ 2.70 GHz
    Memory
    16 GB DDR4-2133
    Sound Card
    Conexant ISST Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3" UHD IPS touch
    Screen Resolution
    3480 x 2160
    Hard Drives
    512 GB M.2 SSD

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    * BFK Customs *
    CPU
    Intel C2Q 9550 Yorkfield
    Motherboard
    ASUS P5Q Pro
    Memory
    8GB Dominator 8500C5D
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX ATI 1GB 4870 XXX
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD 7-1
    Monitor(s) Displays
    1x 47" LCD HDMI & 2x 26" LCD HDMI
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080P & 1920x1200
    Hard Drives
    2x 500GB 7200RPM 32MB Cache WD Caviar Black
    PSU
    Corsair 620HX
    Case
    CM Cosmos RC-1000
    Cooling
    Tuniq Tower 120, 2x 140mm and 3x 120mm case fans
    Mouse
    Razer Diamondback 3G
    Keyboard
    HP Enhansed Multimedia
    Internet Speed
    18.6Mb/s
    Other Info
    My First Build ;)
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