A315-51-581X system reset stuck on 12%

hi guys, hopefully someone can help, I’m so not technical it’s scary.
I bought Aspire 3 15.6 Inch i5 8GB 2TB Laptop less than a month ago, and it’s been very slow. I contacted support and they suggested system reset that I performed but it did not help, plus the personal files it should have removed have reappeared after an hour or so. I was hoping to try and return it tomorrow, but wanted to completely remove and personal info so started another system reset, and now it’s stuck on 12% and has been there for hours, with the spinny circle of dots still going. Laptop had minimal use, no software installed apart from some Firefox plug ins, and only been used a few times doing email, office programs and internet.
I’m scared to press any buttons, any advise?

Accepted answers

JackE

Press and hold the power button for about 5 seconds or until the machine completely shuts off. Then turn it back on again and immediately press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key. The recovery screen should re-appear as in the video below. Try to re-set it again this way. If it fails, try it one more time. Then report back. Jack E/NJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzLJRAZldA

JackE

Yes, give it time. If it fails. Try it again. Jack E/NJ

All comments

JackE

Press and hold the power button for about 5 seconds or until the machine completely shuts off. Then turn it back on again and immediately press and hold the ALT key while tapping the F10 key. The recovery screen should re-appear as in the video below. Try to re-set it again this way. If it fails, try it one more time. Then report back. Jack E/NJ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cpzLJRAZldA

Ohilliar

Thank you, Jack. That’s what I did before which resulted in it being stuck... and now I tried again but I’m really worried: video said it should take 20-30 minutes to reset and so far I have 5% after 40 minutes... wait and see, I guess.

JackE

Yes, give it time. If it fails. Try it again. Jack E/NJ

Ohilliar

It worked: took almost 11 hours... Scared a life out of me though when at 5.45 am I got woken up by a very loud ‘Hi, I’m Cortana!’.

Thank you again, Jack, really appreciate your help!
Olia

JackE

>>>I bought Aspire 3 15.6 Inch i5 8GB 2TB Laptop less than a month ago, and it’s been very slow.>>> I was hoping to try and return it tomorrow>>>It worked: took almost 11 hours... Scared a life out of me though when at 5.45 am I got woken up by a very loud ‘Hi, I’m Cortana!’.>>>

Congrats. But you're still going to return it, right? Sounds to me like the HDD might have issues. Shouldn't have taken 11 hrs even if it is a big drive. Jack E/NJ