Windows 10 comes with a “Reset this PC” option that comes in handy when you want to reset your PC to the default settings. This option is faster than reinstalling Windows 10 all over again.
Here are a few things you should know about the Windows 10 reset:
What the “Reset this PC” option does
If you have purchased a PC which came with Windows 10 pre-installed, the “Reset this PC” option will take your computer back to the factory default configuration. However, if you have upgraded your PC to Windows 10, the “Reset this PC” option will take your computer to a state of freshly installed Windows 10 with no additional software.
When you reset the PC, you have the option to keep the files. However, all your settings and programs will be deleted. This ensures you have a fresh Windows 10 installation. “Reset this PC” is a good option if the file system or registry has somehow become corrupt, or you are facing problems with third party software or Drivers or a stubborn malware program has infected your PC.
How “Reset this PC” option works?
There are two ways to reset your PC in Windows 10.
- Reset your PC from within Windows
- Reset your PC from the Boot Menu
Reset your PC from within Windows
- Open the Settings app
- Go to Update & Security > Recovery
- Under the “Reset this PC” option, click the Get started button
- In the Choose an option screen, select “Keep my files” if you don’t want Windows to delete your personal files. If you want everything deleted, select “Remove everything”
- If you select “Remove everything”, you will be presented with an option to clean Drives as well
- You are presented with two options – Just remove my files and Remove files and clean the drive
- If you are selling the PC, select “Remove files and clean the drive”. Selecting this option will securely erase your files and it will be harder for anyone to recover those files
- If you select “Just remove my files”, windows will only delete the files
Reset your PC from the Boot Menu
- To access the Boot Menu, hold down Shift while choosing the Restart option
- When you execute the step mentioned above, Windows will not shutdown the PC like it does normally. It will display a menu with options like Continue, Troubleshoot, and Turn off your PC
- Select Troubleshoot
- In the next screen, you are presented with an option to “Reset your PC”
- Select “Reset your PC”
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