How to restore Toshiba satellite laptop when holding 0 doesn't work

[CoCoNicole]

Hello! I have a Toshiba Satellite A205 S4577 that has issues. I would like to reset it to give to my mother.
A few years ago, a friend of mine reset the hard drive and created a partition...im not sure why or how he did what he did but i can only assume that is the issue.
When I hold zero, the system beeps but the warning screen never appears. I do not have the recovery disk; is there an alternate way to perform a factory reset?

 

[Titillating]

You don't necessarily need a recovery disk. Any Windows installation disk will work, or even a bootable USB drive with the Windows files on it. The only thing you'd need is the product key to activate it. If that is not printed on your laptop/packaging/manual somewhere, you can try to call Toshiba who might be able to provide you with that information after verifying your purchase.

My guess is that whatever your friend did wiped out the recovery partition that most laptops seem to come with in lieu of a physical disk. Not a big deal, just find/create some new installation media.

 

[Prostar Computer]

If you can get into Windows still, use the built-in Reset feature to launch the factory recovery.

1. From the Start screen, type reset to open the Search charm, and then select Remove everything and reinstall Windows from the search results.

2. Under Remove everything and reinstall Windows, click Get started.

3. On the Reset your PC screen, click Next.

If you can't get into Windows and the 0 (zero) key isn't getting you into the recovery, it could be that the recovery partition is damaged or missing. Your only other options then is to reinstall Windows from scratch, or purchase the recovery media for the laptop from Toshiba.

 

[CoCoNicole]

You don't necessarily need a recovery disk. Any Windows installation disk will work, or even a bootable USB drive with the Windows files on it. The only thing you'd need is the product key to activate it. If that is not printed on your laptop/packaging/manual somewhere, you can try to call Toshiba who might be able to provide you with that information after verifying your purchase.

My guess is that whatever your friend did wiped out the recovery partition that most laptops seem to come with in lieu of a physical disk. Not a big deal, just find/create some new installation media.

Thank you for your reponse. How would i get the Windows file? Is it somewhere online for download?

 

[CoCoNicole]

If you can get into Windows still, use the built-in Reset feature to launch the factory recovery.

1. From the Start screen, type reset to open the Search charm, and then select Remove everything and reinstall Windows from the search results.

2. Under Remove everything and reinstall Windows, click Get started.

3. On the Reset your PC screen, click Next.

If you can't get into Windows and the 0 (zero) key isn't getting you into the recovery, it could be that the recovery partition is damaged or missing. Your only other options then is to reinstall Windows from scratch, or purchase the recovery media for the laptop from Toshiba.

Thank you for your response. I can get into Windows just fine. I typed reset int he start search and found 'Restore'. There is also a link for Advanced recovery methods with 2 options. "Use a system image you created earlier to recover you computer" however, no image was ever created; and "Reinstall Windows (requires Windows installation disc)" and I don't have the disc

 

[Prostar Computer]

Thank you for your response. I can get into Windows just fine. I typed reset int he start search and found 'Restore'. There is also a link for Advanced recovery methods with 2 options. "Use a system image you created earlier to recover you computer" however, no image was ever created; and "Reinstall Windows (requires Windows installation disc)" and I don't have the disc

You're welcome, Nicole! Are you running Windows 7 or Windows 8(.1)?

 

[CoCoNicole]

Thank you for your response. I can get into Windows just fine. I typed reset int he start search and found 'Restore'. There is also a link for Advanced recovery methods with 2 options. "Use a system image you created earlier to recover you computer" however, no image was ever created; and "Reinstall Windows (requires Windows installation disc)" and I don't have the disc

You're welcome, Nicole! Are you running Windows 7 or Windows 8(.1)?

When i purchased it, it had Windows Vista but is now running Windows 7

 

[Prostar Computer]

Ah. The directions I listed were for Windows 8, so you would need to go about things differently in 7. My guess is that the original recovery partition was done away with when Windows 7 was installed. You can confirm whether it's there or not by doing the following:

Click on the Start button
Type 'disk manage' in search field
Click on "Create and format hard disk partitions" in search results
Look for anything that says "Recovery" or "OEM" partition in the Disk Management window

If it's not there, I'm afraid your only option is to reinstall Windows or contact Toshiba for recovery media (which they charge for if they can supply it). Note that if the laptop originally came with Vista, recovery media will reinstall Vista.

If your friend created a back up image for Windows 7, you may be able to use that. You just need to find it.

 

[CoCoNicole]

Ah. The directions I listed were for Windows 8, so you would need to go about things differently in 7. My guess is that the original recovery partition was done away with when Windows 7 was installed. You can confirm whether it's there or not by doing the following:

Click on the Start button
Type 'disk manage' in search field
Click on "Create and format hard disk partitions" in search results
Look for anything that says "Recovery" or "OEM" partition in the Disk Management window

If it's not there, I'm afraid your only option is to reinstall Windows or contact Toshiba for recovery media (which they charge for if they can supply it). Note that if the laptop originally came with Vista, recovery media will reinstall Vista.

If your friend created a back up image for Windows 7, you may be able to use that. You just need to find it.

The Partition is not there...oh well! Thanks so much for your help!

 

[Prostar Computer]

The Partition is not there...oh well! Thanks so much for your help!

You're welcome!

 

[Andyhart]

I have a problem with my laptop its a model c660 it simply froze one day and it just isnt working anymore and when i finally go through menus to get it on its just a black screen in safe mode holding the zero key asks me to start either windows 7 or memory review or something i dont have any other sort of factory reset software and my computer is a few years old so how can i proof of purchase it

 

[Prostar Computer]

Andy, it's better that you make your own topic to ask this question, as it is unrelated to the original poster's question.

If you can't find a receipt, look for a credit card invoice that reflects payment for the laptop if you paid with plastic.

 

[pcmagic]

Hi Nicole,

Im trying to figure out why he wanted to install that random partition that way. Was it being used for anything? As mentioned above you can use the Disk Management software within windows to delete and change parition sizes. Sometimes this will fail though and cause other issues with the computer.

If you dont have the original recovery media for the computer, contact Toshiba directly to get it. If for some reason you're unable to get it directly from the manufacture, use a third party like we do. They are usually easier to deal with and get ahold of the original media for the computer.

The reason you might need the recovery media is if you need to reinstall the partition properly and delete that random partition. Also, you're asking how to restore from the partition. You can usually manage these partitions within windows, but if that fails, you can restore toshiba satellite a205-s4577 recovery disk using a recovery disk from recovery-disks.com.

Once you have the recovery media, you can boot into it to reset up the partitions correctly and make them any size you want. If it doesnt give you the option to change the partition sizes, you can then edit the partitions from within windows after a fresh install.

 

[Vanessa_5]

You don't necessarily need a recovery disk. Any Windows installation disk will work, or even a bootable USB drive with the Windows files on it. The only thing you'd need is the product key to activate it. If that is not printed on your laptop/packaging/manual somewhere, you can try to call Toshiba who might be able to provide you with that information after verifying your purchase.

My guess is that whatever your friend did wiped out the recovery partition that most laptops seem to come with in lieu of a physical disk. Not a big deal, just find/create some new installation media.

I hold 0 when starting it and then it gives me the recovery warning. I hit yes and then all I get is a black screen for 10 minutes then I get the same blue screen stating there is a problem then a Toshiba start up screen then back to black screen then blue all over again. Help please!