How to reinstall factory operating system on different laptops

In this post I explain how to reinstall factory operating system on different laptops. This should work for most laptops running Windows Vista or Windows 7 operating systems.

This could be useful if your operating system stopped working properly, got corrupted or infected with a virus.

WARNING! Running system restore utility will erase all personal data on the hard drive and re-image it back to factory defaults. Make sure all personal data is backed up before reinstalling the operating system. Also, make sure the laptop is running on AC adapter power during the recovery process.

These days most laptops are sold without recovery discs. Instead they have a hidden (or visible) recovery partition with the factory image. In order to re-image the hard drive back to factory defaults it’s necessary to initiate the recovery wizard and it’s very similar for many different laptop brands.

As an example I’ll show step-by-step operating system re-installation process on HP laptops.

Again, it will be the same or very similar for other laptop brands.

How to repair broken touchpad connector on laptop motherboard

In this post I explain how to repair broken touchpad cable connector on laptop motherboard.

Let’s say you were fixing a laptop yourself and accidentally damaged the touchpad connector or any other similar connector. The problem is the touchpad connector soldered to the motherboard and it’s impossible to replace it with regular soldering tools. Also, these connectors are not sold separately which makes the replacement even more impossible.

Well, the connector is broken and cannot be replaced. Let’s try to repair it. We’ll do it using the same technique as for fixing the broken keyboard connector.

On the following picture you see a typical laptop touchpad connector. The connector has а white base (permanently attached to the motherboard) and locking tab (moving part).

In order to unlock the connector you lift up the left side of the locking tab. The locking tap opens up at a 90 degree angle and releases the touchpad cable. After that you pull the cable from the connector.