(2 Easy Steps) How to Reinstall Windows 11/10/8/7

Do you know how to reimage your computer in Windows 11/10/8/7? Reimaging lets you restore your operating system when your PC or laptop encounters severe errors, malware, or crashes. In this post, you'll learn how to reimage a computer, the difference between reimaging and resetting, and when and where you should reimage your system.

What's the Difference Between Reinstalling and Resetting Your PC?

Reimaging is a process that allows you to restore your system without having to reinstall Windows. It wipes everything on the drive that contains the operating system (OS) and returns it to its factory settings. With reimaging, all settings are reset to default, and any additional software you installed is removed. However, the default software that came with the computer is preserved. When you reimage your system, it goes back to the state it was in when it was brand new, with all the default features, settings, and software intact.

Resetting your computer means reinstalling Windows. During this process, your files, settings, and apps will be deleted, but the pre-installed apps will usually be kept, though any customizations you made to them will be lost.

Why would you need to reimage a computer?

There are plenty of good reasons to reinstall your computer. You might need to remove all personal data from a Windows machine before selling it, for instance, or you may want to reinstall after a bad computer virus. It can even improve the performance of an older computer. Reinstalling is a great way to fix problems with Microsoft operating systems, speed things up, and permanently delete data. We'll show you how.

What do I need to do before re-imaging my computer?

Reimaging a computer is a permanent process! Once your computer has been reimaged, the data on your hard drive will be lost and cannot be recovered. Therefore, it's essential to back up your data before you reimage your computer to prevent data loss. You can use third-party backup software to back up the data on your drive. In this case, professional backup tools like tools Todo Backup come in handy.

Todo Backup Home is a versatile backup tool designed for Windows 11/10/8/7. It enables you to create system backups, disk/partition backups, and file backups. You can also use it to clone your hard drive and migrate Windows 10 to SSD. Additionally, it allows you to create various types of backups, such as full backups, incremental and differential backups, and save these backups to multiple locations. Most importantly, it offers 250GB of free cloud storage, enabling you to store your backups in the cloud and adhere to the 3-2-1 backup rule.

The following are the steps to back up a drive; you can use this guide to back up your drive before reimaging your computer.

Step 1. First, choose what you want to back up.

Step 2: There are four backup types to choose from: Files, Disk, System, and Mail. Click on Disk.

Step 3: You can back up either the entire disk or a specific partition. Choose your preference and click “OK.”

Step 4: Choose where you want to save your backup.

Select the backup destination location

Step 5. For disk/partition backup, you can choose to save the backup to a local drive or a NAS.

Step 6: Once the backup is complete, the task will appear in the left panel. Right-click on any task to manage your backups further, such as restoring them or creating incremental backups, and so on.

【Section 4】Two Practical approaches to Computer Imaging

Here are two methods with detailed steps. Read through them carefully to understand the process.

Method 1: Reimage your computer by restoring from a system image

Step 1: Connect an external hard drive to your computer.

Step 2: Go to Settings, click on Update & Security, and then click Backup from the menu.

Step 3: Click on "Backup and Restore (Windows 7)." A window will pop up. Click "Create a system image." Wait a moment while it scans your external hard drive. Once it finds the drive, click "Next."

<Step 4> Review your backup settings, and then click <b>Start backup</b>. Wait while the backup is created. When prompted with <b>Do you want to create a System Repair Disk?</b>, click <b>Yes</b>.

Step 5: Go to Settings, click on “Update & Security”, and then click on “Recovery” from the left menu.

Step 6. After the restart, click on "Reboot now." You will be presented with four different options. Click on "Troubleshoot" and then, from the Troubleshoot screen, click on "Advanced options."

Step 7. Here, click on "View recovery options from another location," then click on "System Image Recovery."

Step 8: The remainder of the process should be self-explanatory, and you may be prompted for your Windows password. Click Choose System Image, then click Next.

Step 9: Choose External drive, and then click Next.

<Step 10> Select <System Partition> and click <Next> to proceed with the remaining steps.

Method 2: Reimage your PC with "Reset this PC"

Note: Before you begin this process, move any important data from the C drive to another drive if it is present.

Step 1: Go to Settings, click on “Update & Security,” and then click “Recovery” from the left menu.

Step 2. Click on "Start", and then a window will pop up asking you to click on "Delete All." Proceed by clicking on "Next."

[[File:Reset this PC - 2.png|center|529px]]

Step 3: Click “Reset,” then wait for several minutes until the preparation process reaches 100%. The reinstall may take 30 to 60 minutes. Your computer or laptop will restart several times during this process.

Step 4: Finish the settings, choose your location and keyboard type, and complete any other simple steps that are necessary.

Bottom line

Do you know how to reimage your computer now? Reimaging your computer can save your system and remove all viruses. If you want to keep your data safe, you can follow Method 1. On the other hand, you have a powerful Todo Backup tool that can back up all your data. This excellent tool prevents data loss whether you are changing computers or resetting it. Method 2 will also be helpful for you, but before starting the process of Method 2, you need to transfer all files and other important data from the C drive to another drive. This ensures the safety of your data because this process will only reset the C drive and delete all data on it. Thus, moving your data to another drive saves your precious data.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Will reformatting remove the virus?

Of course, your computer will be completely free of the virus during reimaging, because the virus can't survive a reimage.

2. Should I reimage my computer?

When your computer is acting up, or if you want to sell it, you should reimage your computer to erase all personal data.

Will resetting my PC remove Windows?

No, it won't remove Windows. However, it will erase all your data and other installed apps, reverting Windows and all its settings to their original state. Pre-installed apps remain unchanged, with their default settings.

How do I wipe my computer and reinstall Windows?

Option 2 is the better solution, to clean your computer, remove viruses and malware, and reinstall Windows, as discussed in the steps in Option 2 above. However, this process could take 1-2 hours to complete the reinstallation.