How to Reset Your Windows 10 laptop or PC

In this post I will show you how to reset your Windows 10 laptop or a PC running Windows 10 OS. You can also use these steps to reset Windows 10 running on virtual machine.

While working on Windows 10, you may encounter several issues. If your computer is giving you strange errors or performing slowly, then it’s probably time for a reset. Refer the following article to know more about Windows 10 recovery options.

Another scenario where you can reset your Windows 10 laptop would be when you’re selling your laptop to buy new one. Some eCommerce sites allow you to trade your laptop, pay extra money and buy a new one. In such situation, you would not want to sell your old laptop with personal documents and other files stored on it.

While some of you may think of formatting the OS drive and install Windows 10 from scratch. However this cannot be done by most of them as it requires a Windows 10 setup media.

What does reset this PC mean in Windows 10 ?

Windows 10 includes a “Reset this PC” option that quickly restores Windows 10 to its factory default configuration. You may also call it as factory reset your PC.

While performing the Windows 10 reset either on your laptop / PC, you get an option to wipe all the files or keep them intact.

What’s the Difference Between Windows 10 Reset and System Restore ?

Reset your PC and System Restore are not same and they do work differently. Some of you might assume both do the same job but that’s not true.

Resetting your Windows 10 PC takes it back to factory settings. Resetting basically reinstalls Windows 10, but lets you choose whether to keep your files or remove them, and then reinstalls Windows.

You can reset your PC from Settings, the sign-in screen, or by using a recovery drive or installation media.

Whereas a system restore will restore your PC to a previous period in time. The system restore points are created whenever any major changes done at OS level. For example, you installed a new software, uninstalled a driver etc, the restore points are created.

Out of the two, the best option is to use the Reset your PC option. Most of all, backup your important data and perform a reset with the option to remove all files.

How to Reset Your Windows 10 laptop or PC

Here’s how to reset your PC in Windows 10 using the settings menu. If you are geek, you simply need to know that final step which resets your PC. So here are the quick steps for you.

• Login to your Windows 10 laptop.
• Click the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.
• Under Reset this PC, select Get started. Select one of the option – Keep my Files or Remove everything.
• Next you will asked how would you like to reinstall Windows 10. Cloud download or Local Reinstall. Select Local Reinstall.
• On the Additional Settings window, click Next.
• Finally on the Ready to Reset this PC window, click Reset.
• The PC will restart and perform a reset.

Factory Reset Windows 10 PC / Laptop

If you are performing a reset for the first time, the below screenshots will help you. Click the Start button, then select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.

Under the Recovery > Reset this PC, click Get Started.

You can choose to keep your existing files or remove everything and do a clean reinstall. I have selected Remove Everything.

When asked how would you like to reinstall Windows, select Local Reinstall.

On the Addition Settings window, review the settings and click Next.

Click Reset.

Your PC is now Preparing to reset.

The PC restarts and the reset process begins.

It takes at least 10-30 minutes to reset your PC. So while the PC reset is being done, ensure you don’t restart your laptop or unplug the power adapter.

After the reset is complete, you will see the initial screen where you will be asked to select region, keyboard layout etc. Complete those initial steps. Congratulations, you successfully performed a reset.