Sometimes, a Windows laptop consumer can face a situation where it becomes mandatory to factory reset their notebook. Situations such as laptops being affected by malware, or laptops getting too slow can easily be fixed by restoring the laptop to its factory settings.
In this tutorial, we will show you different methods for factory resetting your Windows OS laptop. Conclusion: there are many methods through which a laptop can be reset, but we have picked two main methods that are pretty easy to perform for an average consumer.
Factory Reset through Windows OS Setting
This method is for those people who can easily access their Windows settings after login. Following are the steps to perform the factory reset.
- Go to Start Menu Search Box and type “Reset This PC,” then click on “Reset This PC.”
- In the recovery section, click on “Get Started.”
- After clicking, you have to select one option, “Keep My Files” or “Remove Everything.”
Note: If you want to keep all your personal files (such as Documents, Downloaded Files, and Media Content), you can select the “Keep My Files” option, but if you want a complete removal, you can select the “Remove Everything” option.
Further, in the Remove Everything option, you would get two options: “Only The Drive Where Windows Is Installed” and “All Drives.” If you only want to remove data from the drive where Windows is installed, click the first option. Or, if you want to remove all files from the entire notebook, click “All Drives.”
In the end, another screen will appear in which the following two options will appear “Just remove my files” and “Remove files and clean the drive.” If you only want to delete your files, click on the first option. Or, if you want to clean the drive, click the second option. The second option will clean the drive and make it harder to recover the files, a useful option if you are recycling your laptop.
- On last, all the options will be listed that you have selected; if it seems fine as per your needs, click on Reset and wait for the whole process to be completed.
Factory Reset through Windows Recovery Menu
If you cannot access the Windows login screen or home screen, resetting your notebook through the Windows Recovery Menu would be the best option. The following are the steps:
- Make sure your laptop is powered off, and all the external devices are unplugged (disconnected).
- Turn on your notebook, and immediately start pressing the F11 key continuously until the “Choose an option” screen appears.
- Now click on “Troubleshoot.”
- Click on the “Reset This PC” option.
- If you want to keep the files, select the “Keep My Files” option. Otherwise, go for the “Remove Everything” option.
- On the final screen, click on “Reset” and wait until the whole process finishes.
If you are facing other laptop problems or have any queries, check out our previous articles.