How to Reboot Your Windows Computer to Start Over
Resetting your Windows PC can be a good way to clear out old junk files and help fix technical problems your computer is experiencing. Previously, you had to rely on a physical disk and ISO files to reinstall Windows. However, Microsoft has now made it much easier: you can restart your computer to start over , right from the operating system and without completely reinstalling Windows. Here’s how to do it.
How to restart your Windows 11 computer
It only takes a few steps to reset your Windows 11 computer. Microsoft offers two options for rebooting your computer: you can keep your files, which makes the process easier, or you can delete everything. If you want to delete everything and start over, be sure to back up all your important files to an external drive and/or your cloud service of choice before you begin.
After backing up all your data, go to Start > Settings > System > Recovery and select Reset this PC .
At this point, you will be faced with two options that I mentioned earlier. If you want to keep your files and simply reinstall Windows, choose Keep My Files , select your preferred storage option (cloud or local), and change any other options you see that you want to change. (If you’re unsure about the setting, leave it at the default.) When you’re ready to continue, set the Restore preinstalled apps option to No , and then continue the process. If you don’t see the “Restore preinstalled apps” option in Settings, it means your computer doesn’t have preinstalled apps that you can customize.
The process for erasing everything is pretty much the same, although you’ll have to confirm that you really want to erase all files before you continue. Now all you have to do is let Windows complete the process and then do the tweaking to get everything back to where you want it.
Windows products to consider:
-
Windows 11 Home ($124.99)
-
HP 17t-cn300 17.3-inch Notebook ($379.99)
-
Surface Laptop 5-13.5″ ($899.99)
How to restart your Windows 10 computer
Depending on which version of Windows 10 you’re using, you’ll have to do this process a little differently.
If you are using a version of Windows 10 older than 2004, you need to use the Fresh Start option. Start > Settings > Update & Security > Windows Defender > Device Performance & Health > Fresh Start . Then select More Information , then click Get Started and follow the settings here.
If you are using a version of Windows 10 later than 2004, follow these steps:
Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get Started . Select Keep My Files if you want to start over with all your saved files, or back up all your important files in advance and delete everything. Be sure to set the Restore preinstalled apps option to No , and then click Continue to complete the process and restart your computer.