Reinstall win 10 to get rid of HP software

One of the nicest things about HP computers is that they come with on board hardware diagnostics. In case they are outdated you can open the HP website for support and drivers > enter the computer's serial or product number and operating system > view all available drivers > download the latest edition of the UEFI diagnostics.
HP Software and Driver Downloads for HP Printers, Laptops, Desktops and More | HP® Customer Support


An alternative is to download the UEFI diagnostics version 6.4 from this link:
HP PC Hardware Diagnostics | HP® Official Site

To use the HP UEFI diagnostics you will power on the computer and repetitively click the F2 or F10 key.
Then in the bios menu open UEFI diagnostics.
Run the loop until failure test in the evening.
The next day view the test.
If it has stopped that indicates that it found a problem and aborted the testing and posted an error code.
If it is still running and has made at least one loop you can discontinue testing by clicking the keyboard escape key.
Then view the UEFI log to confirm the pass.
Then reboot.
If you have ran the loop until failure test you will have checked motherboard, CPU, GPU, RAM, drives, etc.

If you want to check the keyboard (not keyboard switches but keyboard keys) there is a component test in the UEFI diagnostics for the keyboard. This can be run after the UEFI loop until failure testing and either before or after checking the UEFI logs.

Once you have ruled in or out hardware problems you can then move onto software testing.

For software testing first check the operating system and the drive:
1) open administrative command prompt and type or copy and paste these commands:
2) sfc /scannow
3) dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
4) chkdsk /scan
5) When these have completed > right click on the top bar or title bar of the administrative command prompt box > left click on edit then select all > right click on the top bar again > left click on edit then copy > paste into the thread

If you think you may need better testing of the drive files you can plan to run this command overnight using administrative command prompt: chkdsk /x /f /r
To find and post the results into the thread use this link:
Read Chkdsk Log in Event Viewer in Windows 10 Windows 10 Performance Maintenance Tutorials

In the left column of this webpage is a section for my computer. Please fill out the information for the HP computer including: PSU, cooler, case, peripherals including keyboard, mouse, etc.)

tcebob said:

Kind of what I thought.

Hi there
check also you have Secure boot switched off / disabled and legacy boot enabled. Then you should be able to boot from a USB device -- any HP laptop that's not donkey's years old will boot from both a DVD (if it still has one) or a USB device.

To make a bootable windows install device simply use RUFUS and the windows .iso file.

Cheers
jimbo

Well, I know the keyboard works at bootup because occasionally I can call up HP Settings by madly thumping F2 and F9. Anyway, mouse and keyboard are connected through a dongle.

Good idea. Tried it and got a UEFI option on a menu. But the resulting page was HP's limited options, which did not include any choice to boot from usb or dvd. So actual interface with bios or uefi is still not possible.

Hurrah, I hope. It works at least for usb. (I thought a dvd of Windows iso would be bootable but perhaps not.) I found that when in the sub-menu of Change Boot Security you can change the options by hitting right arrow and left arrow. Having removed boot security and fast boot I can now hit esc and/or F10 to get a menu. I still long for the days when the system would detect a dvd and ask if I wanted to boot to it. But I'm gonna call this solved.

Thanks to all for your patient and accurate suggestions.

SonicBlue said:

OK so if you want to keep the pc from using the HP software during the install then you should delete the large Recovery partition then install from a usb flash drive a fresh copy of windows, But understand that there might be a driver needed you may have to hunt down. If there are 2 recovery partitions only delete the large one. The small recovery will allow you to access a command prompt then install from usb.

Sorry for the belated response. There are indeed 2 identical recovery partitions, both called Recovery (D:) and identical in all respects. I don't begrudge the extra 11 G but if it doesn't harm anything I will delete one.

I understood you wanted to remove the HP software from the beginning but maybe I am wrong. Delete all the recoveries (If you don't want HP software to load during install) and Install fresh from a usb. By the way on most HP laptops (i know you have a desktop) you can enter the recovery system at boot with F11.

SonicBlue the F11 method I was not familiar with and just checked it on the HP notebook. Repetitively clicking the F11 key on boot displays a black screen with these options:
F1 System Information
F2 System Diagnostics


F7 HP SpareKey
F9 Boot Device Options
F10 BIOS Setup

F12 Network Boot

ENTER - Continue Startup

For more information, please visit: HP Personal Computer Startup No-Boot | HP® Official Site

The link has multiple languages and if English is chosen it opens: HP PCs - Resolving Diagnostic Errors that Appear During Startup | HP® Customer Support