There are various ways to reset Windows 10 so this guide will cover various scenarios/options that you can pick.

Regardless of the option you pick, we would recommend you have a backup of your files, just in case, before proceeding.

All of these options will remove all software.

Starting with the methods you can use from within Windows:

Reset Keeping Data

  1. Click on the Start Menu
  2. Click the Settings icon
  3. Click Update & Security
  4. Click Recovery
  5. Click Get Started under the Reset this PC section
  6. Click Keep my files
  7. Choose either Cloud download (longer) or Local reinstall (quicker but slightly less likely to work)
  8. Continue following instructions until the system reboots and resets


Positives

Quick (~30 minutes)

Keeps personal files


Negatives

Less likely to resolve issues

Retains User so any issues relating to the user account itself won't be solved

May retain some drivers so any issues associated with drivers won't be solved

Reset Removing Data

  1. Click on the Start Menu
  2. Click the Settings icon
  3. Click Update & Security
  4. Click Recovery
  5. Click Get started under the Reset this PC section
  6. Click Remove everything
  7. We would recommend Cloud download for this process
  8. Continue following instructions until the system reboots and resets


Positives

More likely to resolve the problem


Negatives

Slower (~1 Hour)

Data has to be restored after

Reset and Wipe (i.e. selling system on)

  1. Click on the Start Menu
  2. Click the Settings icon
  3. Click Update & Security
  4. Click Recovery
  5. Click Get started under the Reset this PC section
  6. Click Remove everything
  7. We would recommend Cloud download for this process
  8. Click Change Settings and say Yes to all and click Confirm
  9. Continue following instructions until the system reboots and resets


Positives

Very thorough - should solve most issues

Quite secure (there are probably better solutions out there but they're far more complex)


Negatives

Very slow - it's typical for this to take 3+ hours and it depends on how much storage you have

Reset Keeping Data & Software

[To be added at a later date]


Positives

You lose nothing (at least in theory)


Negatives

It rarely solves anything

Typically it's just a waste of time

Essentially it just resets a few components of Windows itself - mostly useful for Windows Feature Update errors but even then it's more likely to fail than work

What if I just can't login or my start menu doesn't work?

  1. On the login screen click the Power Icon in the bottom right hand corner or from the desktop, right click on the Start Menu and hover over Shut down or sign out
  2. Hover over Restart but don’t click it
  3. Hold shift on the keyboard and then click Restart. When you see Restarting on the screen, let go of shift.
  4. Click Troubleshoot
  5. Click Reset This PC
  6. Follow the instructions above for whichever scenario you wish to do


What happens if you can't load into Windows any more?

[To be added at a later date - for now read our Clean install guide]