How to reset Windows 11 to its original state

If your Windows 11 PC is running slowly or your device is experiencing problems and crashes, you can restore the system to factory default settings to resolve the issues. In this case, you need to reset Windows 11 to factory settings.

There are many reasons why you want to return Windows 11 to its original state, for example, there was a severe slowdown in your PC, you may have installed some components in the system and they affected the system, or due to incorrect settings, viruses and the like.

If you want to give away or sell your computer to someone else, it would be better to factory reset your laptop or desktop PC in Windows 11.

In this guide, you will find instructions on how to return Windows 11 to its original state.

Resetting your computer

Errors and crashes appear on the computer that seriously affect the operation of the system. You can solve problems in several ways: by restoring the system from a restore point or by restoring from a previously created system backup.

But, the user may not have suitable restore points or he did not create an archive backup image of the system in advance. In this case, these recovery methods will not work. In addition, often the user does not have a recovery disk or a Windows 11 installation flash drive to access the tools of the Windows RE recovery environment.

You can download the Windows 11 ISO image to your computer, burn it to a flash drive, and perform a clean install from bootable media, but you don’t have to. Like Windows 10 and Windows 8, Windows 11 has a built-in feature that allows you to factory reset your computer.

This method is used as an alternative to reinstalling Windows. Resetting Windows is an easier solution for novice users because they won’t need to create a bootable flash drive, boot from that media, format partitions, and so on.

Resetting your computer will solve the problem or clear the system of data if you transfer the computer to others.

Resetting Windows to its original state: recovery methods

First of all, you need to be aware that you can start the Windows 11 factory reset process from a running operating system or, if it cannot start, from the WinRE recovery environment from bootable media.

In Windows 11, resetting occurs in two ways:

  • Local reinstallation – reinstallation of the system from an image located on the computer.
  • Download from the cloud – reinstall the OS using an image that will be downloaded from the Microsoft server.

The first method uses the installation image located on the “C:” drive. The recovery process is faster. Internet is not needed. However, this image may be corrupted due to viruses or system failures.

In the second method, the Windows image is downloaded from the Microsoft website to the computer. To do this, you must have a permanent internet connection. The recovery process takes longer.

Before starting the system restore operation directly, you can decide what to do with the data on the computer. Two options are offered:

  • Keep personal data – only programs will be removed and system settings will be reset, and your user profile will remain intact.
  • Delete all data – a complete reinstallation of Windows with the removal of personal data and third-party programs.

During the recovery process, you need to select the appropriate settings for your case.

How to reset Windows 11 to its original state

On a working computer, a system reset is launched from the Windows settings or using the command line. This article shows the process of reinstalling the OS locally.

To reset Windows 11 to default settings, do the following:

  1. Right-click on the Start menu and select Settings from the context menu , or press the Win + I key combination to open the Settings app.
  2. Open the “System” tab, click on the “Recovery” option.
  3. In the Recovery Options section , click the Restart PC button next to the Reset your computer option .

You can open the “Reset this PC to factory settings” window from a command prompt run as an administrator. To do this, you need to run the command:

systemreset -factoryreset
  1. In the “Select an option” window that opens, you are offered two options for restoring Windows 11 to factory settings:
  • Keep my files – Remove apps and settings while keeping your personal data.
  • Delete everything – Delete all personal files, applications and settings.
  1. Select the appropriate option by clicking on the appropriate button.

The first method is suitable if you want to reset Windows 11 without data loss. The second method is used when you need to return Windows 11 to its original settings with the removal of all data, programs and settings. This action is worth using if you will no longer be using this computer.

  1. In the next step, choose how to reinstall Windows 11:
  • Download from the cloud – download a fresh copy of the installation from the cloud and reinstall Windows 11. However, this option will not restore the tools, applications, and configurations that came with the device manufacturer’s original files.
  • Local reinstall – use existing files to reinstall the system. This process will restore the original drivers, settings and tools from the device manufacturers (Dell, HP, ASUS, Lenovo…).

The next steps are shown with the option to keep user files.

  1. In the “Advanced Options” window, click on “Next”.

In the Ready to Factory Reset this PC window, review the implications of this step.

  1. Click the “Reset” button.

If you have chosen to completely delete the data, the next steps are as follows:

  1. The Advanced Options window lists the current Windows 11 reinstall options:
  • Delete apps and files. Do not clean disk.
  • Delete all files from the Windows drive only.
  • Reinstall Windows from this device only.

In most cases, it is recommended to keep the default reset settings, so click on the “Next” button.

You can click on the “Change Settings” link to change some settings.

The “Select Options” window has the following settings:

  • Clear data? – complete cleaning of the disk from files, which takes several hours.
  • Download Windows? — transition from a local reinstallation to a cloud one.
  • Delete files from all drives? – Complete cleaning of all computer disks. This settings item appears if the PC has partitions other than the C: system drive.

Use the options “Clear data?” and “Delete files from all drives?” only if you are really worried that someone will use this computer and run special software to recover deleted files, or to prepare to sell the computer.

To exit this window, click on the “Confirm” button.

After switching the slider to “Yes”, you will see an explanation of the application of these parameters.

  1. The next step will open a window with information about the readiness to return this computer to its original settings. After reviewing, click on the “Reset” button to proceed to reinstall the system.
  2. The computer will take a few minutes to prepare before automatically restarting.
  3. After that, the Windows 11 reset process begins, during which the computer will restart several times.

Returning to the original state may take several hours, wait until the reinstallation is completed. If you have a laptop, then it must be constantly connected to the electrical network, because the battery may not be enough before the operation is completed.

If you chose the method of resetting Windows with saving data, then when the process is completed, the Windows operating system will open on the screen.

If you choose to reset the system and delete data, you will be presented with the same questions as when performing a clean install of Windows 11. This includes choosing a country, keyboard layout and privacy settings, as well as signing in to a Microsoft account.

How to reset Windows 11 from the recovery environment

In some situations, you can use the Windows 11 recovery disc or enter the WinRE recovery environment to perform the necessary actions from there.

To reset your PC to its original Windows 11 state from the recovery environment, follow these steps:

  1. In the Select Action window, click on Troubleshooting.
  2. In the Diagnostics window, click on Reset your PC.
  3. In the next window, you need to choose what to do: keep your files or delete all personal data.
  4. Choose a reinstallation method: “Download from the cloud” or “Local reinstallation”.
  5. In the “Reset your computer” window, look at the information about the proposed changes, and then click on the “Reset to its original state” button.
  6. After that, the process of reinstalling Windows begins.

Article Conclusions

In case of problems or for other reasons, the user can reset Windows 11 to its original state. Select options for resetting your computer to factory settings. During this process, your computer will restart several times. The reset time can be quite long, so if you are using a laptop, you should plug in the charger while you reinstall Windows 11.

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