Ultimate Guide for 2024: How to Reset Your Computer to Factory Settings (UTF-8 Encoded)

1. Reset or reinstall Windows 10: What are your options?

When users want to sell or give away their old computer, one of the most important preparations is to clean and erase any personal data to prevent leaks. There are two ways to wipe your PC and start over: a factory reset or a fresh install of Windows 10. But which method is right for you?

First, let's see what they mean.

A factory reset will delete all of your personal settings and data from the computer. Any programs you've installed will be gone, as will your personal files, photos, videos, and so on. In short, it will be like the day you first turned the computer on. The only things that will remain are the bare essentials needed to run Windows.

A Windows 10 reset, in contrast, keeps your personal files and some settings, but all your programs disappear. You will have to reinstall them after the reset.

So, which should you choose? If you're selling or giving away your PC, you'll want to do a factory reset so the new owner can start fresh. If you just want a clean slate and to get rid of junk that's accumulated over time, a reinstall of Windows 10 is probably the better choice.

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How can I factory reset my computer without losing data and passwords?

Now that you know what a factory reset is and how it's different from reinstalling Windows 10, let's see how to do it. There are a few ways to perform a factory reset on your PC without losing data: from within Windows, using a recovery partition, or by backing up before you reset. We'll show you how to do all of them.

Method 1: How to Factory Reset Your Computer in Windows

This method is the simplest and most direct, and can be done right within Windows 10. Windows also offers an option to keep your personal files. Here's how:

Step 1: Click the "Start" button, then choose "Settings" > "Update & Security."

Step 2. Click on Restore from the left sidebar.

Step 3: Click on “Get started” under “Reset this PC.”

Step 4: You'll see two options: "Keep my files" and "Remove everything." Choose the first if you want to keep your personal files. Select the second if you want to start from scratch.

Select a factory reset option

Step 5: Click on “Reset” once you've made your selection.

Step 6. The system will begin the reset process, which may take some time. Please wait patiently.

When it's done, the system will prompt you to set up Windows, just as you would when first opening and booting a new computer.

Method 2: Resetting Your Computer with a Recovery Partition

The second method is slightly more complex but still relatively straightforward, and it involves using a recovery partition, a special partition on the hard drive used for restoration purposes.

Step 1: Restart your computer first.

Step 2. While booting up Windows, press either F2/F10/F8/DEL. This should bring up the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Step 3: Select “Repair your computer” from the list.

The System Recovery Options dialog box should appear.

Step 5: Click “Command Prompt.”

Step 6. In the Command Prompt window, type the following command and press Enter:

rstrui.exe translates to "Restore Strategy User Interface Execution File" in Chinese.

Step 7. This will launch the System Recovery wizard. Click on Next to proceed.

Step 8. Choose the restore point you want to use, then click Next.

Step 9: Review your choices, and click on “Finish.”

Now, Windows will begin the recovery process, which might take some time. Be patient. When it's done, you'll be prompted to set up Windows 10 as if it was just installed on your PC for the first time.

Method 3: Back Up Your Computer Before Restoring It to Factory Settings

The above two methods are applicable when you want to perform a factory reset but wish to keep the files on your computer. But what if you want to factory reset your computer before selling it and also want to save your current data elsewhere? Backing up your existing data is a good choice. To back up your computer completely, the best way is to create a full backup image. You can accomplish this with "Windows Backup and Restore" (Windows 7) or third-party backup software. In this section, we will illustrate a simpler method using the third-party backup software, Todo Backup. If you are more interested in using the built-in Windows feature "Backup and Restore," you can click the given link.

Click on the button below to download Todo Backup, and then follow the detailed guide to learn how to create a full backup.

Step 1. On the main screen, tap on "Select Backup Content".

Step 2: Click on the Operating System category from the four available options.

Create System Backup Step 2

< strong > Step 3. Todo Backup will automatically select your system partition. You just need to choose a destination for the backup.

Step 4. You can choose to save the backup file on your local hard drive or NAS.

5. After the backup is complete, you can check the backup status, restore, open, or delete the backup by right-clicking the backup task on the left.

After backing up your computer, you can reset your PC to factory settings using the guide in Method 1.

Some Windows users set up a password to log into their computer. If you forget your Windows password, you can easily reset your computer to its factory settings from the login screen.

Step 1: In the bottom-right corner of the login screen, you'll see options to change network settings, access Windows accessibility options, or shut down your computer. Hold down the Shift key on your keyboard and click the "Restart" option in the power menu.

This will restart Windows and display the Advanced Startup menu. Click on “Troubleshoot” to continue.

Step 3: In the Troubleshoot menu, click on the “Reset this PC” option.

Click **Reset this PC** in **Troubleshoot**.

Step 4: You can choose to keep your files or reset your Windows computer completely, removing all files and settings. To keep your files, click “Keep my files.” Otherwise, click “Remove everything.”

These contents revolve around how to reset a computer without losing data or having a password. You can choose the method that suits your needs accordingly.

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III. Exclusive Guide: How to Reset Lenovo/HP/Acer Laptops

In the content above, we have introduced some common methods to reset a computer. If your laptop is from Lenovo, HP, or Acer, you may have questions about how to reset a Lenovo/HP/Acer laptop. Here, we will explain how to do it step by step.

#1. Resetting a Lenovo Laptop Using OneKey Recovery (OKR)

Applies to: Lenovo Yoga, IdeaPad

To perform an exclusive factory reset on your Lenovo laptop, you must first check if your laptop has a Novo button. It is usually located in the upper-left corner beside the power button. Follow the steps below to reset your Lenovo desktop to its factory settings.

Step 1: Press and hold the Novo button for a few seconds, and select System Recovery from the Novo button menu.

Step 2. To perform a Lenovo desktop factory reset, select "Restore from initial backup."

Step 3: Click “Start,” and wait for the process to complete. Then, configure your settings as instructed on the screen.

You can also watch Lenovo's official support video on how to use OneKey Recovery.

Watch the official support video: How to reset your laptop to factory defaults using Lenovo OneKey Recovery (OKR)

#2. How to Reset an HP Laptop

Actually, the steps to restore HP laptop or desktop to factory settings are the same. You just need to resort to the general methods. We've shown you how to reset PC above. Follow the guide above.

#3. How to Reset an Acer Aspire Laptop

The way to access the boot menu on an Acer Aspire laptop is different from the usual method. For a detailed guide, watch this video on how to reset an Acer Aspire laptop.

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4. How to Restore from Bootloader Mode

This section focuses on performing a factory reset at boot, which means doing so when your computer won't start up normally and you need to do something during the boot process.

A factory reset from the boot menu essentially uses Advanced Recovery options. You can start your PC from a Recovery Disk or a bootable USB drive to access Windows Advanced Recovery.

Here are the steps to reset your PC to factory settings using Startup Settings:

Step 1: Create a bootable USB drive using third-party software, or download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. (Your USB drive must be at least 16 GB.)

Step 2. With the bootable USB drive created, enter your computer's BIOS/UEFI and set the first boot device to USB. Insert the USB drive, then reboot your computer. Your computer should now boot from the created drive.

Step 3: When you see the Windows setup screen, look for the option to Repair your computer in the bottom-left corner of the Windows Setup screen.

Step 4: Click on "Repair your computer." You'll see the "Advanced Recovery" screen. Select "Troubleshoot" > "Reset this PC."

Step 5: From this point on, the reset process will be the same as a regular one. Choose between the two reset options: Keep my files and Remove everything.

Step 6: Once you've made your choice, let Windows do the rest.

When it's done, your computer will reboot into the initial setup process, at which point you can shut down.

5. Repair: Problems with resetting your PC

There's a post on the Microsoft support forum about getting the error "Reset failed. No changes were made" after attempting to reset the computer. This article aims to teach you how to restore your computer to its factory settings, but it's also important to know how to troubleshoot when things go wrong. This section will help you fix the "Reset failed" issue.

The recommended solution from the official source is to use the Command Prompt. You can follow a detailed guide on how to do this to resolve the issue.

Step 1: Press Windows + R to open the Run box, type cmd, and then press Enter to open the Command Prompt.

Step 2: Copy the following command and press Enter to run it.

/online/clean/image/healthy

Step 3. Restart your computer and try resetting your PC again.

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VI. Appendix Alert: Can Files Be Recovered After a PC Reset?

If you accidentally performed a factory reset on your computer without backing up your data, don't worry. Data recovery software can help you get your lost files back. We recommend using the Data Recovery Wizard tool. It's a powerful and user-friendly program that can recover deleted files from hard drives, memory cards, USB flash drives, and more.

To retrieve files lost after a factory reset with the Data Recovery Wizard, simply follow these easy steps:

Note: To ensure a higher chance of data recovery, install the data recovery tool on a different disk from the formatted one.

Step 1: Run the Tool Data Recovery Wizard. Select the partition on which you accidentally formatted the hard drive, and then click "Scan".

Step 2: The formatting hard drive recovery software will start scanning all lost data and files. After the scan, you can click "Filter" to filter specific file types and quickly locate your required files. Alternatively, click on "Search File or Folder" to select the data you wish to recover.

Step 3: Preview the scanned files. Select the ones you want to recover and click “Recover.” Choose a new location to save these files and then click “OK.”

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Bottom line

That's all you need to know about resetting your PC. We hope this guide was helpful. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment below, and we'll do our best to assist you. Thanks for reading!