Doing a reset in Windows 10 or 11

I have never done a reset in Windows, (any version that is was available in) as I thought it would be easier just to take the whole thing off and start again using a USB.  So I thought I would challenge myself to see how easy it was to do and if, it was easier than doing a clean install. 

If you go for a reset make sure that you have a back up of all your important applications and files, just in case things go wrong. You may be able to reset choosing to keep your personal files, but it is best to be safe than sorry.

FOR THE PURPOSES OF LEARNING HOW TO DO THIS, I INSTALLED, WINDOWS 10 WITHOUT DOING EVERY THING THAT I WOULD DO IF I WAS SETTING UP A SYSTEM FOR USE.

Having set up Windows 10 and not being satisfied that it wasn't as I wanted it to be like, I was faced with two choices, which are found in the Recovery Options which can be found in the Settings.  Now you might have other reasons to want to reset and possibly have never considered doing the Reset this PC, I certainly hadn't.  

When you chose to reset This PC you will be given the choice of either keeping your files or not, but be aware this will remove your applications, which is why I said about backing up, or removing everything. To be honest in the real world it is easier to remove everything and it seems a lot quicker doing this way as well. 

So having made your choice just press the reset button and then windows will do what it has to do. 

I am not going to bore you by going through the process here as there are plenty of websites that will tell you that in boring detail, yawn! Just keep an eye on things, that doesn't mean you have to sit in front of the screen waiting for things to happen, as if your attention is needed then the reset will pause until you've done so.

Now here's a thing, IF your hardware is capable of having Windows 11, you will come to a screen asking you if you want to continue with Windows 10 or to install Windows 11.  I chose to go with Windows 11. Having done so, the reset went ahead with the Windows 11 install and everything on the reset/install was done fairly quickly afterwards. 

A thing to note here, if you chose the Windows 11 option and you are not happy with it, you can as with the upgrade install chose to go back to Windows 10 which is found in the recovery options.  Before doing this, give Windows 11 a try out, you might find you love it as much as I do.

Once the reset is done, if you've done a back up then you can put your files and applications on again much as you would with a new install, which is what this really is. 

So there you a simple and easy to use tool built into Windows if you ever need it which you probably won't. I have never had to do so, apart from doing it to complete this blog. I doubt I will ever use the reset again, but I can not stress enough, don't get stressed if you do have to do one. Please don't bother with other things on offer, Windows will do it for you without them all you need to do is read the instruction and press a few keys.