HP Pavilion a6000 PC Troubleshooting and Maintenance Guide - Page 29

System Recovery After you have tried the previously mentioned methods of repairing your computer, you can run a System Recovery as a last resort to reinstall the factory-shipped operating system, software programs, and hardware drivers. System Recovery - Completely erases and reformats the hard disk drive - this includes deleting all data files you have created. System Recovery reinstalls the operating system, programs, and drivers. However, you must reinstall any software that was not installed on the computer at the factory. This includes software that came on CDs included in the computer accessory box, and software programs you installed since your purchase. NOTE: If your computer includes an HP Personal Media Drive (select models only), you must remove it before starting the System Recovery program. Additionally, you have to choose from the following methods for performing a System Recovery: Recovery Image - Run the recovery from a recovery image stored on your hard disk drive. The recovery image is a file that contains a copy of the original factory-shipped software. To perform a System Recovery from the recovery image on your hard disk drive, see "Running System Recovery from the Hard Disk Drive" on page 27. NOTE: The recovery image uses a portion of the hard disk drive that cannot be used for data storage. Recovery Discs - Run the System Recovery from a set of recovery discs (CDs or DVDs) that you create from files stored on your hard disk drive. To create recovery discs, perform the procedure in the next section. Creating Recovery Discs Complete the procedure described in this section to create a set of recovery discs from the recovery image stored on your hard disk drive. This image contains the operating system and software program files that were originally installed on your computer at the factory. You can create only one set of recovery discs for your computer. The recovery discs you create can only be used with your computer. After creating the recovery discs, you can delete the recovery image if you would like to make extra space available on your hard disk drive. NOTE: Do not delete the recovery image unless you have made recovery CDs or DVDs. Repairing Software Problems 25