Your computer is crawling. Maybe it’s a weird registry error that won’t go away, or perhaps you’ve just downloaded so much bloatware over the last three years that your CPU is screaming for mercy. Whatever the reason, you're here because you need a fresh start. You need to know how to do a factory reset on pc without losing your mind—or your tax returns from 2019.
Honestly? It's not the scary, data-destroying monster it used to be. Back in the Windows XP or Windows 7 days, a "factory reset" meant hunting for a physical CD-ROM that you probably lost in a move three years ago, typing in a 25-digit product key that was rubbed off the bottom of your laptop, and praying the drivers for your Wi-Fi card still existed on some dusty FTP server. Today, Microsoft has basically baked the "nuclear option" right into the settings. It’s a surgical strike now, not a carpet bomb.
The difference between a "Cloud Download" and "Local Reinstall"
When you start the process of how to do a factory reset on pc, Windows is going to ask you a very specific question that confuses almost everyone: Do you want a Cloud Download or a Local Reinstall?
🔗 Read more: What Is The Least Expensive iPad: Why Paying Less Might Actually Cost You
If your current Windows installation is acting buggy—like, your Start menu won't open or you're getting Blue Screens of Death (BSOD)—you should absolutely choose Cloud Download. This pulls a fresh, "pristine" copy of Windows directly from Microsoft's servers. It takes longer because you’re downloading about 4GB of data, but it ensures you aren’t just reinstalling the same corrupted files that caused the mess in the first place.
On the flip side, Local Reinstall uses the files already sitting on your hard drive. It's faster. It doesn't need an internet connection. But if your system files are mangled, you're just putting a fresh coat of paint on a crumbling wall. Use this only if you’re just trying to speed up a sluggish but otherwise "healthy" computer.
Preparing for the plunge
Don't just click "Reset" and hope for the best. That’s how people lose their saved game files or that one specific folder of photos they forgot was on the Desktop.
📖 Related: How Do I Turn Off Caller ID on iPhone? Why Your Number Is Still Showing Up
- Check your browser sync. Make sure Chrome, Edge, or Firefox has actually synced your bookmarks and passwords to the cloud.
- The "User" folder trap. Most people back up their "Documents" and "Pictures," but they forget the "Downloads" folder or the "AppData" folder where specific software settings live.
- License keys. If you use specialized software like the Adobe suite or older versions of Office, make sure you have those login credentials or keys handy.
How to do a factory reset on pc: The step-by-step reality
Ready? Let’s get into the actual clicks.
- Hit the Start button and type "Reset this PC."
- Click the top result. This opens the Recovery menu in your System settings.
- You'll see a button that says Reset PC. Click it.
- Now you get the big choice: Keep my files or Remove everything.
"Keep my files" is a bit of a misnomer. It keeps your personal documents (Word docs, PDFs, photos), but it deletes every single app and program you have installed. Your games? Gone. Photoshop? Gone. Chrome? Gone. You'll have to reinstall them all. "Remove everything" is exactly what it sounds like. It wipes the drive clean. If you are selling the computer to a stranger on Craigslist, this is the one you want. In fact, if you're selling it, look for the "Data erasure" toggle in the subsequent menus—it overwrites the drive so people can't use recovery software to find your old data.
What happens if Windows won't even boot?
Sometimes you can't even get to the Settings menu. The PC just loops or gets stuck on a black screen. This is where the Advanced Startup menu comes in.
You can usually trigger this by turning the computer on and then immediately holding the power button to force it off. Do this three times in a row. Windows will get the hint that something is wrong and boot into a blue-screen menu called "Automatic Repair." From there, you navigate to Troubleshoot > Reset this PC. It’s the same process, just a different doorway.
Common myths and what usually goes wrong
There is a weird myth floating around that a factory reset wears out your SSD.
Technically, writing data to an SSD "wears" it, but a single factory reset is the equivalent of downloading a few high-def movies. It's nothing. Your drive will be fine.
Another issue is the "stuck at 99%" problem. If your reset seems to hang for two hours at 99%, don't pull the plug. Windows is often performing massive clean-up operations or driver configurations in the background that don't update the progress bar. Give it time. If it’s still there after five hours? Yeah, something's wrong. At that point, you’re looking at a clean install using a USB drive created with the Windows Media Creation Tool, which is a more advanced version of a factory reset.
Post-reset: The first 30 minutes
Once the screen says "Hi" and you're back at the desktop, you aren't actually done.
First, run Windows Update. Your "fresh" Windows might actually be six months out of date. Let it churn through those updates and restart a couple of times. Second, check your Device Manager. If you see yellow exclamation marks, it means Windows couldn't find the right drivers for things like your graphics card or your fancy soundbar. You'll need to visit the manufacturer's website (like Nvidia, AMD, or Dell) to grab those.
📖 Related: Who invented tin cans and the weird reason it took 50 years to open them
Taking the next steps for a cleaner PC
The real trick to never having to search for how to do a factory reset on pc again is maintenance.
Once you have your apps reinstalled and everything is perfect, consider creating a "System Image." This is basically a snapshot of your computer in its perfect state. If things go south in six months, you can revert to that snapshot in twenty minutes instead of spending a whole afternoon reinstalling software.
To keep things running fast moving forward:
- Disable unnecessary "Startup Apps" in the Task Manager.
- Use a dedicated uninstaller like Revo Uninstaller to remove apps; it catches the registry junk that Windows leaves behind.
- Keep at least 15% of your SSD storage space empty. SSDs slow down significantly once they are nearly full because they struggle with "garbage collection" (the process of clearing out old data blocks).
If you've followed these steps, you now have a machine that feels brand new. No more lag. No more mysterious errors. Just a clean slate.