# Off-Topic Discussion > The Lounge > Tech Talk >  >  Can't press F10 on startup...

## slayer

Whenever I try to get to the system recovery on startup I have to press the F10 key, but when I press it, nothing happens. I also have the option of the ESC key and F1 key, but those both do different things, and it's the F10 key I need to work.

My F10 key works just fine, but something is blocking it from being used to reach the system recovery which is what I need really bad...

Any suggestions on how I fix this?

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## ExoByte

Tap it really, really fast as your computer is starting up, and before it prompts you for it.

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## slayer

> Tap it really, really fast as your computer is starting up, and before it prompts you for it.



Tried that, didn't work.

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## Merlock

Hm, you didn't specify which system you're using, but isn't it supposed to be F8?

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## slayer

I'm using an HP with Windows XP. And it is F10.

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## guitarboy

I used F8 for safe boot, once. F10 is the correct one, I believe, for system recovery.
What are you trying to do it for?

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## slayer

> I used F8 for safe boot, once. F10 is the correct one, I believe, for system recovery.
> What are you trying to do it for?



To recover my system .___.

I need to reset it to factory settings.

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## sanispirational

> To recover my system .___.
> 
> I need to reset it to factory settings.



You may be better off just formatting and reinstalling. 

If you can boot into your windows system at all you could back your data up to an external medium, or if you cannot boot into windows you can boot into a live system like knoppix or ubuntu and copy your files to an external medium that way then reinstall windows.

As for hitting F10 it has to be during the bios boot, as in even before you see the screen giving you the option to click it. Your going to want to tap F10 or F8 or F12 depending on your bios as soon as you hit your power button, but if that doesn't work try reinstalling windows using the methods I mentioned above, just remember to back up what you need. If you successfully hit f10 during the bios screen you should hear a loudish beep from your system speaker. Don't know if that clears anything up.

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## slayer

> You may be better off just formatting and reinstalling. 
> 
> If you can boot into your windows system at all you could back your data up to an external medium, or if you cannot boot into windows you can boot into a live system like knoppix or ubuntu and copy your files to an external medium that way then reinstall windows.
> 
> As for hitting F10 it has to be during the bios boot, as in even before you see the screen giving you the option to click it. Your going to want to tap F10 or F8 or F12 depending on your bios as soon as you hit your power button, but if that doesn't work try reinstalling windows using the methods I mentioned above, just remember to back up what you need. If you successfully hit f10 during the bios screen you should hear a loudish beep from your system speaker. Don't know if that clears anything up.



The F10 thing just isn't working...

And I don't know what you mean by the first part. I have no recovery disc, and if I do, I have no idea where it is at. I've tried asking others if they have a recovery disc, and they don't.

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## sanispirational

> The F10 thing just isn't working...
> 
> And I don't know what you mean by the first part. I have no recovery disc, and if I do, I have no idea where it is at. I've tried asking others if they have a recovery disc, and they don't.



You can download and burn the image for the linux systems and use them for live boot to back up your data before format. If you just want to format and reinstall XP then your going to need a XP disk. I'm assuming that is what your trying to do by resetting your system to factory settings, make everything as it was when you got it. If you lost the disk and can't find one but want to reinstall windows there is not much I can help you with.

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## slayer

Well, I didn't need the disc or the F10 key.

I found out that there is a PC Recovery and Tools folder that has a system recovery in it  :tongue2: 

computer should be good for now  :tongue2:

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## Marvo

sanispirational, Slayer wants to recover his HP system back to how HP gave it to him. Not exactly a smart way to go about it, in my opinion.

Slayer, are you sure you don't need a recovery disc, in order to use the files you found?

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## slayer

I've already done the PC recovery. It didn't delete everything on my computer but it really cleaned it up.

So I didn't have to redownload all my games (thank god)

Edit: If anything, I should really just get a new computer. This one sucked from the day we got it...

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## Exhalent

I recommend a new computer every 2 or 3 years, that is unless you have a high-end one.

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## Marvo

> I recommend a new computer every 2 or 3 years, that is unless you have a high-end one.



You have obviously never owned a laptop.

Or you simply assume a cluttered harddrive equals broken computer.

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## slayer

> You have obviously never owned a laptop.
> 
> Or you simply assume a cluttered harddrive equals broken computer.



The only reason you would really need to upgrade your computer every 2-3 years is because of video games.

Which is what I like.

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## Marvo

2-3 years is too often in my opinion. Unless you want max settings with max FPS, it seems excessive to me.

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## Keresztanya

I agree, unless you play a lot of games, there is no point in upgrading every 2 years.

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## slayer

The only thing I've upgraded after 5 years was my graphics card and now I can run all my games at like 150fps just fine.

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## Exhalent

> You have obviously never owned a laptop.
> 
> Or you simply assume a cluttered harddrive equals broken computer.



In most cases, you can get a computer 2x more powerful and with a better video card, sound card, etc , cheaper than replacing the parts on an old PC (this is only after 2-3 years). But it also depends if you are going to be running anything resource intensive. Hey if you are not running resource intensive programs, sure, you could be using the same PC for 10 years... as powerful as my cell phone haha. I do not let my HDD get cluttered for long... and have had a laptop on which I never run anything other than a couple of programs... But I thought we were talking about desktop here?
I would still say 4 years is average for a pc upgrade at least, is 5-6 yrs a reasonable replacement?

And on gaming... I try to get a couple hundred fps in the Q3 Arena fps test. 

I just prefer optimal performance in everything that I do ( without spending thousands of dollars on a very high end pc, that is) and the ability to do more. Personally, when I can max out the performance of my PC too easily, upgrade or replace.

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## Marvo

I'd say 4 years really, but then again, I usually go all-out when I buy new stuff. My current computer (which I bought 2 years ago now) can probably last another 3 years, before I will have to upgrade it.

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## Exhalent

That is what I like to see in hardware.  As long as it works for the user. Cheers.

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