Laptop - Faulty and now Bitlocked

mimi1234

Hi everyone,

I bought a laptop from John Lewis Partnership (JLP) in December 2022. Switched it on and the fan was very noisy and the battery went from 90% to 20% in a matter of minutes. Phoned up and asked for help within the first 10 days and was told HP would have to sort it and to reach out to them as it was under guarantee for 24 months. I went on Google Chrome once and I think I added the link of a spreadsheet I was working onto Google bookmarks but didn't use it other than this.

HP never responded by phone so I ended up whatsapping them and they were responding at crazy times. This went on for a while and I gave up on them.

In April, my old laptop died so phoned JLP again. I was told that I should have been told to send it in for a check and repair in December but I was not given an option. They booked it in for a repair and I was told the motherboard was faulty which was replaced. Laptop came back a month later but has a bit locker key on it. I was told it was done to safeguard any information on it when it was being repaired.

I phoned up JLP who told me it was no longer their problem and it was a software issue. They told me to contact Microsoft who told me they could not replace or recover the bitlocker key.

It keeps asking me to put in a key but I don't have one. I've looked on my Microsoft account and it shows the laptop but when I click on "manage recovery keys", it asks me to go into a very old hotmail account to get a code. When I try going into the very old hotmail account, it asks me to log into my recent hotmail account to get a code but no codes are sent to either email account. I've checked the junk box and the spam box but no codes are there.

I phoned up JLP technical support who told me to get a USB and download Microsoft 11 onto it and then use it to reboot the new laptop. I ordered one off Amazon and tried doing it but it won't work and is now asking me for a microsoft office key/code. Another phone call to JLP who told me it would be the box I got with the new laptop but it's not there. JLP said they could not help me and to contact HP who are now closed over the weekend.

I'm currently typing this from my nephew's laptop which I have borrowed. I phoned up JLP again to complain and they told me it's my fault, it's a software issue and I need to deal with it. When I said I needed a laptop for work urgently, the advisor told me to sell the new laptop on eBay and buy a new one. 

What a bloody mess. Does anyone know how I can this microsoft office key/code or am I going to have to sell the laptop to be able to buy a new one? HELP! It's a HP Pavillion 13 and it is silver.

km1500

This is appalling and there are two sides to it - the technical side and the customer service side

Better people than me will be along to advise you on the technical side but as far as customer service is concerned I would put in a complaint to John Lewis

How did you pay - you might also contact your credit card if that's the way you paid and start a section 75 claim

There is also if you Google it and escalated John Lewis complaints email address

Neil_Jones

Did the laptop come with Windows 10 or 11?

If it came with the former, then the "USB" you've downloaded Windows 11 is no good to you.

https://support.hp.com/lv-en/document/ish_4374279-4216685-16 might be of interest.

mimi1234

Neil_Jones said:

Did the laptop come with Windows 10 or 11?

If it came with the former, then the "USB" you've downloaded Windows 11 is no good to you.

https://support.hp.com/lv-en/document/ish_4374279-4216685-16 might be of interest.

It came with Windows 10 but I was told I would need Windows 11 Media by the tech expert.

Oh !!!!!!. I've just checked. I bought it with PayPal and it was just over 180 days (6th of December 2022) so I can't put in a claim. In all fairness, I thought it would have been sorted by now but it just went on and on and on. I was promised the by the tech expert that if I got a USB stick and downloaded Windows 11 Media, it would work. Today I got told, it won't work. 

I can't even sell the stupid thing on eBay or anything because I don't know what the bit locker key is. :-(

Neil_Jones

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/finding-your-bitlocker-recovery-key-in-windows-6b71ad27-0b89-ea08-f143-056f5ab347d6 - "

• If you are unable to locate the BitLocker recovery key and can't revert any configuration change that might have caused it to be required, you’ll need to reset your device using one of the Windows recovery options. Resetting your device will remove all of your files.

• Microsoft support is unable to provide, or recreate, a lost BitLocker recovery key"

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_4511095-4511141-16 will be your only option now to get the machine reset.  Eitherh that or a standard Windows 10 installer from https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10 - but you'd have to find all the drivers.  My first link should reset the machine to the state it was in when you first bought it.

[Deleted User]

I wipe BitLocker laptops and reinstall Windows regularly, it isn't an issue and shouldn't ever stop you reinstalling Windows.

Just try again with the Win 11 /10 or formal HP factory recovery  - format all drives when asked and install Windows afresh.

You might need to turn off secure boot or allow boot from USB.

What was the error / problem when you tried to reinstall with USB Win 11?

cm4ever

@mimi1234 if Windows 10 was previously loaded on the laptop and activated, if you download a copy of Windows 10 onto a usb stick, you should be able to wipe and re-install the laptop.

At the point it asks for an install key just skip not entering anything and hopefully Microsoft's authentication servers should hopefully automatically activate the Windows 10 based on the laptops BIOS SLIC licence.

It's best to use the HP recovery image for that specific laptop - which should be available from HP's website.

prowla

That's pretty rubbish customer service, but you can't expect the techies employed by a shop to be that great.

If you're looking to wipe the machine and reinstall Windows then whether the PC has anything on it or not is irrelevant.

GDB2222

Just to clarify one minor point, Bitlocker is an encryption system. There is no way to unencrypt the disk without the password. That is the point of the system. 

It's not Microsoft being awkward.  They could have built a back door into the system, but how long would it have been before crooks got their hands on that?

mimi1234

@Neil_Jones and @[Deleted User] sorry to be a bother but how do I download the HP cloud recovery tool?  It comes up with this but it hasn't downloaded in my downloaded folder, where do I right click to run as administrator?

Thanks for your help,

Neil_Jones

Stuff from the store doesn't appear in your Downloads folder, it appears on the Start Menu.

See the picture on https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/ish_4511095-4511141-16 in the "Run the HP Cloud Recovery Tool" section.