The Complete Guide to Resetting Windows 10: Step-by-Step Instructions
Windows 10 is a trustworthy system, but sometimes you need to know how to reset Windows 10? . If you confront some performance problems, Windows 10 provides you with different recovery options to reset the system, retain or delete your files to fix the problems, and develop your performance. Sometimes you may need to use the original image instead of the producer recovery image, which is useless, or they have settings that you do not require.
One of the issues that cause resetting the Windows may be because you need to upgrade to a new device and sell the old device. Therefore, before selling your device, make sure to reset the device. In this article, we are going to tell you the ways to reset your device.
What to do Before Refreshing or Restarting your PC?
When you start to reset or refresh your device, it finishes itself. Nevertheless, you may be asked to put recovery media if it needs missing files. It is usually on a DVD or thumb drive. The required data is based on your PC. If the Windows of your Pc is 8.1 or RT 8.1, you have a thumb drive or discs on your device. Check your PC information to see whether your PC produced this disk or media. Sometimes you may have created them at the beginning of your setup.
You can create them if you do not have either of them. A recovery drive can help fix problems in your PC even if it does not start. Use the disc of the time you upgraded your PC to Windows 8.1 or Windows RT 8.1 with a DVD. Contact Microsoft Support if you can run Windows 8.1 or Windows RT.
How to Reset Windows 10 on a PC or Laptop
Follow the steps below to reset your Windows 10:
- Go to the Start Menu.
- Enter Settings.
- Choose Update & Security option.
- In the left section, select Recovery.
- Windows provides you three options as Reset this PC, Advanced Startup, and Go Back to an Earlier Version of Windows 10. The best option for fresh starting is to Reset this PC. The usage of Advanced Startup allows you to run a USB drive or disk recovery, and the usage of Go Back to an Earlier Version of Windows is to downgrade the system to the previous version of the OS.
- Select Get Started.
Whether you need to keep your data files or not, click Keep My Files or Remove Everything. If you choose to Remove Everything, it will delete all files, programs, and files. In both ways, all of your settings will go back to the defaults, and the applications will be uninstalled. Make sure that everything is deleted before giving your device to the next person, but if you use the device yourself, choose to Keep My Files.
- Decide to use the Cloud or locally to install Windows.
- If Windows alerts you that you cannot go back the previous version of OS, click on Next.
- Click on Reset. It takes some times to reset.
Use the Sign-in Screen to Reformat Windows 10
If you cannot access the Setting menu because your laptop is doing something, you can use the sign-in screen to restart your PC.
- Keep the Windows logo and L to enter Windows 10 sing in, but do not log in.
- If you hold the Shift key when you click on the Power key you can reset your device too.
- Click Restart in the lower right corner of the screen.
- Your device will restart in in Windows Recovery Environment.
- Click on Troubleshoot.
- Press Reset this PC.
Use Windows Installation Media to Reset or Reinstall Windows 10
One of the ways to reset your Windows 10 PC is using Windows Installation Media. If you confront trouble, you can decide to delete the hard disk entirely or use Windows Installation Media instead. On the Microsoft website, you can download the Windows installation disk. You can burn it to a clean DVD or flash it to a USB. If you access another Windows 10, you can flash the ISO file to a USB drive with Rufus flashing tool. WoeUSB is practical for Linux users. On the other hand, the official Boot Camp Assistant app is suitable for macOS users. To use this method, follow the steps below:
- Go to Rufus on the second Windows PC after downloading Windows 10 ISO file and Rufus tool. Ensure that you selected USB flash drive in the dropdown menu.
- Click on Select to choose your ISO files.
- In the file section menu, choose your Windows 10 installation ISO file.
- Press Open.
- One of the features of Rufus is that it changes its Settings automatically to coordinate with the requirements to flash a USB Windows installation drive. Hold Start to flash your drive. With this action, everything will delete. Therefore, backup any important files before starting.
- After flashing your USB flash drive, reset your device.
- You should choose the language during the installation process.
- Also you can choose your time, currency location, and keyboard location.
- Click on Next.
- Select Install now to start the installation.
- At this stage, the Windows installation files will load. You might require a Windows 10 product to activate the installation. Therefore, type the key here. Type I Don’t Have a Product key if you do not have a key. If you have the option of Windows installation, you should activate it.
- If you have this option, choose the version of Windows 10 you would like to install.
- Press Next.
- In the next stage, you should accept the Windows 10 license agreement. Tick the box of I Accept the License Terms.
- Press Next.
- The installer recognizes an existing Windows installation. To pass the stage of password, you should choose the Custom. It will delete all your files before reinstalling Windows.
- Choose the drive to install Windows at this stage. You may require to delete and remake partitions if you have multiple partitions.
- Select Next.
- In this stage, Windows will delete your drive and files for getting ready a new installation. Windows will start rebooting and it let you create a new account to use your device again.
Steps after Factory Reset in Windows 10
After finishing the reset, make sure that Windows does not have any drivers, security, or patches. In this stage, you need to reinstall some applications.
Checking for updates
Follow the steps below to check for updates in Windows 10:
- Go to Settings.
- Select Update & Security.
- Hit Windows Update.
- Choose Check for Updates.
After these steps, Windows Update will download and install missing drivers and updates if there are available.
Checking for drivers
Follow the steps below to check for missing drivers after resetting:
- Go to Start.
- Find Device Manager.
- Make sure that there is no Other Devices. It usually lists missing drivers.
You can use these steps to update the components, if you have missing drivers. The last thing you need to know is to reinstall applications.
Conclusion
Have you ever faced any problems related to your device or PC? Or has it ever happened to you to sell your laptop, and you do not know what to do with your files? In this article, we provided some ways for you to reset your device and make your system fresh. Which technique would you choose if you faced a problem? From these techniques, which one do you prefer?
