A factory reset reinstalls Windows from scratch — wiping all apps, personal files, and settings, and replacing them with a clean copy downloaded from Microsoft’s servers.
Use it when your Windows 10 PC has persistent slowdowns, crashes, malware, or corruption that can’t be resolved by fixing individual components like system files or drivers.
Quick Answer
Go to Settings ? Update & Security ? Recovery ? Reset this PC ? Get Started. Choose Remove Everything, then Cloud download, toggle Clean data to Yes, and click Reset.
How to Factory Reset Windows 10
Method 1: Factory Reset via Windows Settings
Open the Settings app from the Start menu (or press Win+I), navigate to Update & Security, then select Recovery from the left sidebar to reach the Reset this PC section.
Click the Get Started button under Reset this PC to launch the reset wizard — this is the entry point for all factory reset options on Windows 10.
Select Remove Everything when prompted. This deletes all personal files, installed applications, and settings — giving you the cleanest possible starting point and eliminating any hidden malware.
When asked how to reinstall Windows, select Cloud download — this downloads a fresh copy directly from Microsoft’s servers and requires about 30 GB of free space on the Windows drive.
Click Change settings if you want to enable Clean the drive — this option overwrites the drive so that deleted files cannot be recovered, which is recommended if you’re selling or giving away the PC.
Ensure Clean data and Download Windows are both toggled to Yes, then click Confirm to return to the summary screen. When ready, click Reset to begin the process.
The reset process begins automatically — Windows downloads the fresh installation, wipes the drive, and reinstalls. This typically takes 30–60 minutes depending on your internet speed and hardware.
Method 2: Factory Reset Without Logging In (via WinRE)
If you’ve forgotten your Windows 10 password and can’t log in, you can factory reset from the Windows Recovery Environment — no password required for the Remove Everything option.
At the login screen, hold Shift and click Restart from the Power button — this boots directly into WinRE. You can also trigger WinRE by interrupting the normal boot process three times in a row.
From WinRE, select Troubleshoot ? Reset this PC, choose Remove Everything, then select Cloud Download and Fully clean the drive — then click Reset.
Note: The Keep My Files option from WinRE requires you to enter your correct user password before it proceeds — only Remove Everything bypasses the login requirement completely.
When to Factory Reset Windows 10
Factory reset when you’ve exhausted all other repair options — including sfc /scannow, DISM, and driver reinstalls — and the system still crashes, freezes, or behaves erratically.
Also reset before selling or donating the PC to ensure all personal data is permanently erased — use Clean the drive to overwrite the storage so data can’t be recovered with recovery tools.
For malware infections that survive antivirus scans, a factory reset with Remove Everything is the only reliable way to guarantee the system is completely clean and uncompromised going forward.
Related Guides
These Windows recovery and system repair guides cover tools to try before or after performing a factory reset on your Windows 10 machine.