HP Recovery Manager on Windows 10: Guide & Alternatives

What does HP Recovery Manager do?

HP Recovery Manager is a software program offered by HP to help users maintain their computer system. It can be used to backup personal files and return the computer to a previous state. It can also create HP recovery media and remove recovery partition, etc.

Depending on the model of your computer and its configuration, your Recovery Manager screen might vary. It should be noted that HP Recovery Manager does not come preinstalled on Windows 10 computers beginning in 2018. Therefore, you may get HP Recovery Manager downloaded on Windows 10 if you don’t have it but still want to use it.

💡 How to download HP Recovery Manager

• Go to the Microsoft Store and search for HP Cloud Recovery Tool. 
• Select the HP Cloud Recovery Tool app from the search results, and then click Get.
• Run HP Cloud Recovery Tool and follow the wizard to create an HP recovery USB drive. Learn more >>

How to perform a system recovery using HP Recovery Manager

There are three recovery options offered by HP Recovery Manager:

• Reinstall drivers and/or applications: correct a problem with a preinstalled application or driver.
• System Recovery: Reinstalls the original operating system, and then configures the settings for the programs that were installed at the factory.
• Minimized Image Recovery (select models only): Reinstalls the operating system and all hardware-related drivers and software, but not other software applications.

In this case, I’ll show you how to reinstall the original factory image on the system partition when Windows loads correctly. Please backup important files and read all caution statements before performing a system recovery. 

Tip: If Windows 10 cannot start correctly, you can run system recovery from the recovery partition using F11. Or you can restore system image with HP supplied recovery media or the media you created.

1. Turn off the computer and disconnect all connected devices and cables except the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and power cord.

2. Turn on the computer. Type “recovery manager” in the search box of the taskbar. Then, select HP Recovery Manager from the search results.

3. In the HP Recovery Manager window, click Windows Recovery Environment under Help.

4. Click OK to let the system reboots into the Windows Recovery Environment.

5. Select Troubleshoot > Recovery Manager in order.

6. Select Recover without backing up your files and click Next if you have backed up your files. Otherwise click Back up your files first (recommended).

7. Read the System Recovery information and click Next to proceed.

8. Wait until the recovery preparations are complete. Then, click Continue. After the computer restarts, follow any on-screen instructions to finish the process.

HP Recovery Manager offers easy backup and recovery solutions for HP computers. However, errors occur sometimes. For example, some users receive an error message “Can't open file: X:\sources\Recovery\tools\HP\Rita-tool\” when opening Recovery Manager and some users find F11 system recovery not working. Are there reliable HP Recovery Manager alternatives? Please move on to the next part.

Alternatives to HP backup and recovery manager in Windows 10

If you are looking for HP recovery software in Windows 10 that is equivalent to HP Recovery Manager, you can turn to Windows 10 built-in feature Reset this PC or a third-party backup and recovery tool.

• Repair Windows 10 computer via Reset this PC

• Restore HP computer to factory settings using AOMEI Backupper👍

Repair Windows 10 computer via Reset this PC

The best part of the Reset this PC feature is that it allows you to reinstall Windows 10 while either preserving your personal data or removing everything. You can make a choice depending on your situation. Follow the guidance below to perform a system reset:

1. Search for Reset this PC from the search box in the taskbar and open it. In the pop-up window, click Get started under Reset this PC.

Tip: If your computer cannot boot into Windows correctly, you can restart your computer and immediately press the F11 key repeatedly. Then go to Troubleshoot > Reset this PC.

2. Choose to either Keep my files or Remove everything. Both options will reset Windows to its default state and remove your installed applications and settings. The difference is that whether to erase your personal files.

3. You’ll get to different windows based on your choice in step 2.

3.1. If you choose Keep my files, wait for Windows to get things ready and click Reset. You can check what apps will be removed by clicking “List of apps to be removed”.

3.2. If you choose Remove everything, you can do additional configurations. The default setting is only removing files from the drive where Windows is installed. It will not clean the drive nor will it remove files from other drives if your PC has more than one drive.

• Click Next if you want to keep the default setting.

• Click Change settings and you can choose to clean the drive and remove all files from all drives by turning on the corresponding switch. Click Confirm to affirm your settings and then click Next.

• Click Reset to begin the reset process.

Restore HP computer to factory settings using AOMEI Backupper

The best free backup and restore software - AOMEI Backupper Standard can also do you a favor when HP Recovery Manager comes into errors, and it can do much more.

• It can not only help you backup files on your HP computer but also backup different system states or a specified disk or partition.

• It allows you to schedule backups to run automatically so that new changes won’t be missed.

• When performing system restore, you are allowed to restore system image to either the original location or a new location.

• It enables you to create a recovery environment or bootable media to boot your computer in case Windows fails to start.

Wanna have a try? Click the button below to download HP Recovery Manager alternative right now.

Please note that AOMEI Backupper can only restore from the image files created by itself. As a result, to restore HP computer to factory settings via AOMEI Backupper, you need to backup the computer system once you get the computer.

★ Create a system image for your HP computer

Run AOMEI Backupper. Click Backup and select System Backup. Follow the wizard to complete the process. You are suggested to backup Windows 10 to an external hard drive or a network location.

★ Restore HP computer to factory settings

1. Launch AOMEI Backupper. Under the Home tab, you’ll see all the tasks you’ve created with AOMEI Backupper. Find the system backup task and click Restore from the expanded menu.

2. Select Restore this system backup to restore all partitions that have been backed up, including C drive, system reserved partition/EFI system partition, etc. Then click Next.

3. Confirm operations on the “Operation Summary” page and click on the Start Restore button.

4. You will receive a prompt reminding you to restart your computer. Click Yes to continue. The operations will be completed under the Restart Mode.

Notes:
● The program will automatically detect the original system partition(s) and select it (them) as the destination drive(s). You can specify a different destination by checking Restore system to other location in step 2.
● You can even restore the system image to another computer with different hardware using the “Universal Restore” feature. The feature is available in AOMEI Backupper Professional or higher editions.

FAQs about HP Recovery Manager

1. How do I open HP Recovery Manager in Windows 10?

If your computer can boot, you can open HP Recovery Manager from the Search bar. If your computer cannot boot, you can open HP Recovery Manager using F11 or HP recovery media.

2. How do I enable F11 in System Recovery?

If your system has an HP Recovery partition, you can use F11 for system recovery. Just press F11 while the computer is starting, then you can open the Advanced Startup Options menu.

3. Can I use HP Recovery Manager to recover deleted files?

Yes. If you have backed up files with HP Recovery Manager, you can use it to recover deleted files.

Wrapping things up

Now you know how to perform system recovery using HP Recovery Manager on Windows 10. If you find HP Recovery Manager not working, then you can resort to Windows 10 built-in feature or AOMEI Backupper.

In fact, AOMEI Backupper also runs well on other PC makes and you can use it to reimage a Lenovo laptop. If you have multiple computers that need to be backed up, you could consider upgrading to AOMEI Backupper Technician or Technician Plus.