I’d
like to be able to reset my computer to its default settings, and have it work
just like it did when I first got it. Is there an easy way to do this without
reinstalling Windows from scratch?
Both of us reinstall Windows
regularly (Ken does it more often—he seems to like that “new computer” smell),
mostly to clean up the “gunk” that piles up as you use Windows for a while.
Successfully wiping a drive, reinstalling Windows, and restoring all your
settings and information isn’t easy, however—you should leave that task to a
professional. With versions of Windows before Windows 8, however, that was your
only option, and it can take some time to back things up, confirm that the
backup works, reformat your drive, reinstall Windows, reinstall all your
applications, reinstall all your settings, and copy over all your documents.
And that assumes that you’re fastidious about how you store your documents,
keeping them all in one central location.
Windows 8, however, provides a very
nice mechanism for restoring your system to its original state. It gives you
the option of restoring to the computer to its original state, as if you have
never used it; or the option to keep all your Windows store applications,
documents, and settings, and simply restore Windows to its default state.
(There’s no magic to retain the Windows desktop applications that you have
installed—you will need to reinstall those manually from their downloads or
DVDs/CDs.) Recently, Ken needed to sell a Windows 8 computer, and the option to
completely wipe the drive and reset everything to its default state was
incredibly useful. But that doesn’t sound like what you need—instead, you want
to preserve all your content, and just reset Windows back to its default state.
To take this action, first back up
your computer. Confirm that the backup works by comparing the contents to your
computer’s contents (all backup software should have an option to do this).
Then, press Windows+I (that’s the Windows key, in the lower-left corner of the
keyboard), and click Change PC Settings. Click Update and Recovery, and
finally, click the option to refresh without affecting your files. Sit back for
a while, and let Windows 8 do its work. When you’re done, you should have a
clean Windows installation with your content intact—all your documents and
settings will still be there, along with any Windows Store apps you had
installed. You’ll need to reinstall any Windows desktop applications that you
had installed before resetting. (Please, we beg of you: Do not attempt this
action without first ensuring that you have a working backup. You will regret
it, if you do not. Sure, the reset procedure should work: But what if it
doesn’t?) For more information, check out this clear write up: http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-8/restore-refresh-reset-pc.
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