We all know how popular the Windows operating system is. Everyone who’s a little familiar with computers has used Windows at least once in his lifetime. But that does not mean it’s the perfect operating system out there. Actually, Windows is far from perfect at times. It runs into many bugs and crashes from time to time, and one of the most useful ways to get rid of these bugs and errors is to factory reset the system for a clean start. So, this article will talk discuss how you can perform windows 10 factory reset from boot.
Why is the factory reset needed?
There are several reasons why one needs to factory reset windows 10 from time to time. You’ve discussed the most common ones below-
- When the PC is not booting properly
- When the system is stuck at boot loops
- To fix the blue screen of death issue
- To fix some programs malfunctioning
- To solve driver related issues
- Before selling your old PC to someone else, etc.
There are many ways to factory reset your system. You can do it from the settings panel too while the system is running, but sometimes the factory resets process fails because some applications were always running in the background, which can halt the reset process. So, if your device is stuck at boot loops or if the system crashes completely, a factory reset from the boot menu can help quite a bit. Let’s learn how to do that-
Windows 10 factory reset from boot – 2 methods.
There can be two scenarios trying to windows 10 factory reset from boot. Either you can start your Windows normally, or you can’t. We’ll discuss how to windows 10 factory reset from boot for both the scenarios-
[A] Windows 10 Factory reset from boot if Windows startup normally:
If you can boot into your system properly and then encounter some issues, you can initiate a factory process from your settings. Here is how you can do that-
- Step 1: From Start Menu, Go to Settings
- Step 2: From the Settings, go to Update & Security.
- Step 3: On the next screen, click on Recovery, and from the right panel Advanced Startup option, click Restart Now. This will restart your PC and take you to a windows PE screen.
- Step 4: On this Windows PE screen, along with other options, you’ll find an option called Troubleshoot. Click on it.
- Step 5: Now click on Reset this PC.
- Step 6: To start the reset, select ‘Keep my files’ or ‘Remove everything’ depending on why you are performing the Reset. Keep my files option lets you keep your documents, music, etc. but remove everything else, and as the name suggests, ‘Remove everything’ will wipe out everything and puts all options back to factory defaults. For both the options, you’ll get different options to choose from. Let’s discuss them one by one below.
- Step 6[A] Keep my files:
- If you select this option and are signed in with your Microsoft account and connected to the Internet, your PC will perform a quick restart and ask you to select an account. After selecting the account, enter your password for that account and hit Continue.
- Now on the next screen, you’ll have to choose between ‘Cloud download’ or ‘Local reinstall.’ If you select Cloud download, it will download a fresh copy of Windows 10 from Microsoft over the internet and use that. This requires a good internet connection with a minimum of 4GB of data. The other option, as the name suggests reinstall windows locally from your device itself. That’s all the options you get by selecting Keep my files.
- If you select this option and are signed in with your Microsoft account and connected to the Internet, your PC will perform a quick restart and ask you to select an account. After selecting the account, enter your password for that account and hit Continue.
- Step 6[B] Remove everything:
- On the other hand, if you select the Remove everything option, you don’t need to sign in to your account. On the next screen, choose between ‘Cloud download’ or ‘Local reinstall’ first, as we explained earlier.
- Next, you’ll again get two options- ‘Only the drive where Windows is installed and ‘All drives. Select accordingly and move on to the next screen.
- Here choose between ‘Just remove my files’ or ‘Fully clean the drive.’ Choose the second option if you are planning to sell your PC as it will hard reset everything making it impossible to recover any data later.
- Step 7: Once you choose all the options, all that is left is to confirm the factory reset process. To do that, click on the Reset button.
Must Read – What drivers to install after installing windows 10?
[B] Windows 10 Factory reset from boot when you can’t boot into Windows
If in any cash you cannot boot into your PC properly there is an option to get to the Reset screen that involves a little trick. If you are stuck in a boot loop and cannot perform System Reset via normal means, you can force your system to start the Windows Repair program automatically, and this will further allow you to go into System reset settings. Wondering how to do that? Let’s find out.
- Step 1: Turn your computer ON, and as soon as the Windows logo appears, press and hold the Power button again to perform a hard shut down.
- Step 2: Repeat this process at least 2- 3 times until it says Starting Automatic repair
- Step 3: This will start Diagnosing your PC for any issues you are having. After it finishes, you’ll have the option to Restart or go into Advanced options. Click on Advanced options.
- Step 4: Now, Click on Troubleshoot, and you’ll have the option to Reset the PC. The rest of the steps are the same as above.
This was our Guide on Windows 10 factory reset from boot. Would you please let us know If you have any doubts about this topic in the comment section below? If you have any trouble related to your PC and want to repair it, please read our comprehensive guide below.
How to repair windows 10 without CD or USB? [4 Easy Methods]
Still, want to install a fresh windows setup using USB? Here’s How to make bootable USB for booting using windows 10.
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