I find that starting up the PC while holding down a raft of keys often forces a keyboard error and I can get into the setup / BIOS that way. Does no harm, and is handy if you can't remember the correct key / combination!
Did you get a CD or diskette with the laptop? The tools might be on that.
Also, have you re-partitioned the HDD since you got it?
Approximately 20 MB of the Hard disk is allocated to diagnostic software. This space is unavailable for other uses, and not included in hard disk capacity reported by
Windows.
If the disk has been re-partitioned, it is possible that this has been deleted, so f10 has no effect. It should be possible to run the same diags by booting off a floppy or CD with the diags installed - you may be able to get them from the HP website.
You could also try the HP web-based diagnostic tools
here.
I suggest that you search the HP website to see if you can find further information and support.
SD