Return to factory state

What term is used for restoring PC with Windows 10 back to out of box state? I am confused on terminology for this. Is it Reset, Restore, Refresh. etc...?

If its PC that was supplied with W10 already installed then 'out of the box state' is often a dedicated recovery process that reinstalls not just the operating system but also all the stuff it originally came with.

The user manual (look online at the manufacturers site) will detail the procedure which is usually a combination of button presses to launch the process.

That is the only route to 'out of the box state' for a PC purchased with W10 already preinstalled.

All the terms you mention are unique Windows recovery modes but these do not return the PC to 'out of the box state'.

Reset this PC. Choose the option to keep nothing.

Thanks for your help. Its sooo bad I cannot navigate the PC. She did a hard shutdown during an update. Its only a few weeks old. I decided to order the recovery CDs (cheap). Based on the user of this PC this is more than likely a good move. Will probably need them in the future. I really need to get on top of 8.1 and 10. Its moving sooo fast . Thanks again for the quick response.

OK and good luck :)

(most PC's come with the recovery media already installed on the HDD. You usually get prompted to make your own recovery discs (DVD) on a new PC. Just for interest, what is the make and model ?)

Hi there.

I usually suggest a better option - as in the past my experience with those "built in" recovery options has not been all that good.

As soon as you get home with a new PC boot from a bootable stand alone copy of Macrium (or any other backup program you like) and image the PC to an external USB.

Then whatever happens you can restore the whole kybosh back to the state you got it in from the Store.

Advantage of doing this too is that you can remove a load of Bloat and Trial ware that usually comes with these things and install a pristine new OS.

You might on first boot have to disable secure boot in order to boot from a USB but that should easily be seen in the BIOS.

Note you have to boot from the USB --once you've booted from the Computers HDD it will do all sorts of "Initialising" and installing the OS so you won't be able to get it back to "Factory" state. This is why FIRST BOOT must be from the USB to run your imaging program.

Cheers
jimbo

Mooly said:

OK and good luck :)

(most PC's come with the recovery media already installed on the HDD. You usually get prompted to make your own recovery discs (DVD) on a new PC. Just for interest, what is the make and model ?)

HP Slimline Desktop 450-a120. This is not mine. I am fixing for a friend of my sister.

jimbo45 said:

Hi there.

I usually suggest a better option - as in the past my experience with those "built in" recovery options has not been all that good.

As soon as you get home with a new PC boot from a bootable stand alone copy of Macrium (or any other backup program you like) and image the PC to an external USB.

Then whatever happens you can restore the whole kybosh back to the state you got it in from the Store.

Advantage of doing this too is that you can remove a load of Bloat and Trial ware that usually comes with these things and install a pristine new OS.

You might on first boot have to disable secure boot in order to boot from a USB but that should easily be seen in the BIOS.

Note you have to boot from the USB --once you've booted from the Computers HDD it will do all sorts of "Initialising" and installing the OS so you won't be able to get it back to "Factory" state. This is why FIRST BOOT must be from the USB to run your imaging program.

Cheers
jimbo

I agree. I love images. They make things easy. In this case the PC belongs to a friend of my sister. I personally do periodic images for my stuff using Macrium. Macrium works just fine for me. Thanks for your help.

copiman said:

HP Slimline Desktop 450-a120. This is not mine. I am fixing for a friend of my sister.

Thanks.

Read section 6 'Backing up, restoring, and recovering' in the linked pdf.

As long as the PC is still bootable you might be able to create a disc or you might even be able to launch directly into the recovery mode. Its all detailed.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04843029