

- #How to wipe a laptop clean of everything how to#
- #How to wipe a laptop clean of everything full#
- #How to wipe a laptop clean of everything windows 10#
- #How to wipe a laptop clean of everything pro#
- #How to wipe a laptop clean of everything windows#

As the format portion of the reset operation chugs along, a counter indicates the percentage of the operation that is complete. Regardless of which option you selected, you’ll see a screen like the one shown in Figure E. When you’re ready, click the Reset button and the reset operation will commence immediately. Figure D After you select an option, click Reset to begin.

Once you’ve made your choice, you’ll see the screen shown in Figure D. As you’d expect, this option will take a long time to complete. This almost ensures that you’ll never be able to recover any of the data files. This includes several passes over the hard disk writing 0’s and then other random numbers to every sector on the hard disk.
#How to wipe a laptop clean of everything full#
If you choose the Fully Clean The Drive option, the Reset This PC tool will perform a full format of the hard disk that will involve a much more methodical and secure erasure of your data. As such, you could recover some or all of the data files using an appropriate data recovery tool if you were so inclined. It doesn’t actually delete the data or modify the disk sectors containing the data in any way. This procedure deletes the file table that contains pointers to the data files.
#How to wipe a laptop clean of everything windows#
If you choose the Just Remove My Files option, the Reset This PC tool will perform a Quick Format operation on the hard disk and then reinstall Windows 10. Figure C You can choose how thoroughly you want to clean the drive. Let’s take a closer look at these two options. On the other hand, if you’re going to be passing your PC on to someone else, you may want to choose Fully Clean The Drive. For example, if you are resetting it to give yourself a completely new start, you’ll probably want to select Just Remove My Files. The option you choose will depend on the reason you’re resetting your PC. You can remove just your files or fully clean your drive. Choosing a cleaning methodĪfter you choose a target operating system, you’ll see the screen shown in Figure C, which prompts you to choose how thoroughly you want to clean your drive.
#How to wipe a laptop clean of everything windows 10#
Figure B You’ll select the Windows 10 tile to continue. The Reset This PC tool will then perform some preliminary work and will momentarily display a message telling you that it is getting things ready. Now you’ll be prompted to choose the target operating system, as shown in Figure B. Figure A After you select the Reset This PC tile, choose the Remove Everything option. Next, select the Troubleshoot | Reset This PC option and choose Remove Everything, as shown in Figure A. To begin, boot your system using your Recovery Drive. Using Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option will take some time to complete, but in the end, you’ll find that it is a straightforward operation. Running Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option If you find yourself in this situation, you’ll be glad to know that you can create your own Windows 10 installation media using the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool from Microsoft. You’ll just need to have some form of Windows 10 installation media on either USB or DVD. (See Be prepared: Create a Windows 10 Recovery Drive for a description of that process.) If you’re using an optical disc Recovery Drive–or for some reason you couldn’t use the Back Up System Files To The Recovery Drive option–you can still use Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option. To run Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option as I’ll describe in this article, you’ll need to have created a Recovery Drive.
#How to wipe a laptop clean of everything pro#
SEE: Windows 10 power tips: Secret shortcuts to your favorite settings (Tech Pro Research) What you need Let’s see how the Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option works. This approach comes in handy if you want to scrap everything and start over from scratch or you’re getting ready to decommission your PC and want to pass it on. Unlike its counterpart, this option removes all your data and settings and then reinstalls a fresh copy of Windows 10. However, Windows 10 also provides you with the Reset This PC with the Remove Everything option. This option is a great way to revive a Windows 10 system that has become unstable due to a virus infection or some other unfortunate circumstance.
#How to wipe a laptop clean of everything how to#
In last week’s post, Reset your Windows 10 system with the Keep My Files option, I showed you how to reset your Windows 10 system to a new installation state while keeping all your data files intact. Editor’s note: In the video, Brandon Vigliarolo walks through the steps as if you were booting from a USB also, he’s using a virtual machine, so there are slight differences from the following tutorial by Greg Shultz.
