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How to Reset a Troubling Windows 10 Computer – Without Losing Your Personal Data

By Vivek Nayyar

Posted in Windows-10

Unlike Windows 8 in Windows 10 both ‘Refresh’ and ‘Reset’ features are combined together and a common name ‘Reset’ has been assigned to the feature.

However when you attempt to ‘Reset’ your Windows 10 computer you are provided with the two options as whether you want to keep your personal files or erase them permanently from the computer. When you choose to keep your personal files Windows 10 is reinstalled on the PC without removing your personal data.

Although you can initialize the Reset process for your Windows 10 computer from within the operating system itself in case Windows fails to boot normally a bootable/installation DVD for the operating system must be required.

In order to reset your troubling Windows 10 PC without removing your personal files you can follow the steps given below:

Note: Assuming that Windows 10 is unable to boot normally the below steps would guide you through the process of resetting the OS using the Windows 10 bootable/installation disc.

  1. Power on your Windows 10 computer and insert the operating system’s bootable/installation DVD in the CD/DVD drive.
  2. Use the appropriate keys to go to the BIOS setup of the motherboard.
  3. In the BIOS go to the Boot option (may have a different name in a different PC) and set the CD/DVD drive as the first boot device.

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  1. Press the F10 key and then press Enter to save the BIOS settings and restart the PC.
  2. When prompted for press any key to start the computer with the Windows 10 bootable/installation disc.
  3. On the first screen click Next.

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  1. On the next window click Repair your computer from the bottom-right corner.

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  1. On the Choose an option window click the Troubleshoot option.

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  1. From the Troubleshoot window click Reset this PC.

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  1. From the next window click the Keep my files option.

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  1. Follow the on-screen instructions from there to reset your Windows 10 computer back to factory defaults without erasing your personal files.