returning windows 10 to factory settings

If you want to reset your PC, click on “Troubleshoot.” Your system will reboot, and you’ll get a blue screen that lets you “Choose an option.” These options may vary on my system, I could choose to continue to Windows 10, boot from an external device, turn off the PC, or troubleshoot.When you arrive at the Recovery screen, click on “Restart now” under the “Advanced startup” heading. Follow the directions for resetting above.Now every computer is digitally registered through the Internet so there is no need to keep the product keys around. In previous Windows versions, this wasn’t possible without using an external disk or USB to reset the password, and if you needed to reinstall the operating system you needed to have the product key to activate it. Its kind of nice that Microsoft have added the option of resetting a computer to default settings without knowing the current account password. Then choose “ Remove Everything” on the following screen:ĭon’t try doing “Keep my files” option, it will ask you for the account password, which you obviously don’t have.Īfter you choose that option, the computer will reboot immediately, and then give you these two options:Ĭhoose whatever option fits you the best, and the computer should start resetting:Īfter a couple of reboots, you will be presented with a fresh install of Windows 10įollow the configuration wizard after that.

While pressing the “ Shift” key on your keyboard down, click on the Power icon on the screen and then select RestartĪfter a while of keeping the Shift key pressed, this screen will pop up:Ĭhoose the Troubleshoot option and hit Enter. When you get to the Windows logon screen: Your computer will be reset to Windows 10 fresh defaults.

Please note that using this procedure you will lose all data saved on the computer’s hard drive.

If for any reason you need to reset your Windows 10 computer to factory settings there is an easy way to do it without using a disk or USB as its commonly the norm.

Returning windows 10 to factory settings