It is common install apps that due to some failure in its development makes the operating system begins to crash, causing the computer to slow down or hang when processing data. To solve this, Windows designed a tool called "System restore".
But this is not the only thing you can do with your computer when it malfunctions, you can also make a hard disk. Which is a similar process to the previous one, but generates very different results.
If you want to know how you can save your team, you will have to know how to use one of these tools. That is why we have prepared this post, you will learn in a simple way to turn your PC into one of the fastest equipment you ever knew.
What are the differences between a hardreset and a system restore?
Hard reset or "Hard reset", is a procedure by which all the components of a computer are reset. In this way, it is possible to erase everything, allowing you to restart the operating system so that the computer is as if you had just bought it. Instead, a system restore, is a native tool of Windows for which the computer is returned to a previous state. That is, to an instance that is prior to a failure for which the user uses this tool.
In this way, some information that was stored in the system can be collected and then reloaded. This is done manually, since the user chooses the restore point, to get rid of everything that is after that change. It is a shallower process than the hard reset, because the user does not have to reload some applications, since the OS saved the information of the drivers and backed up the operation log.
Steps to format my Windows 10 PC without losing important programs and files by going back to factory settings
We will show you below the steps you must follow so that you can easily and safely format your Windows 10 computer without losing important programs:
Save important documents
The first thing you should try is to safeguard all the information that you consider necessary, since you will use it in the future. For example, photos, videos and any other file related to your usual tasks. For this, you will have to connect a USB memory.
Then, you will have to go to File Browser, to select "In this team" and find all the files that you consider necessary, which may be in "Desk", "Documents" or the location that you chose at the time. When you know what to save, you will have to select each one by clicking on them without releasing the key. CTRL. Then, you must drag this group to the name of the USB that you have connected.
Create a restore point
What you are doing in this step is informing Windows that this is the point you want to have when you restore the whole system. To do this, you will need to go to "Control Panel", by typing this name in the search bar. Then you will select "System properties", you will press the tab "System protection" and you will search "Create". If you wish, you can write a description to help you identify the point you are creating in the future. To finish you must click on "To accept".
Enter the system configuration
To access the application "Windows Settings", you're going to have to do the same thing you did with him File Browser. You will have to type what you are looking for in the search bar, located next to the icon Windows. When you have the results, you must click on the first option within that list. This will open a window with different functions between titles and subtitles.
Click on Update and security
In this section you will find everything related to the version of Windows that is available, plus the system security which has the OS. You will have on your screen a panel with two columns in which the one on the left has the different functions.
Check the affected software
What remains is to check which programs will be altered with the restore point. You must not forget that you indicated to Windows that you need to have the equipment as you had it at a certain moment. This is why all the programs and actions that you installed later will be lost. In order to carry out this task, you will need to click on the option "Detect affected programs". This will be useful to save any files or information that you did not take into account in the first step.
Click on Recovery
You can find this tool on the left panel. You must click on it and thus you will know all the necessary data of your team. You will have to click on "Open and restore system". After a new window opens, you must choose the restore point to recover that you have previously created. When you click on "Following", it will take a few minutes for your computer to complete the process.
What to do when you don't have a restore point?
In this case you can reset a computer from settings of the system.
For this, you must follow these steps:
- Go to "Setting" of the SO.
- Choose "Update and security".
- Press "Recovery".
- Look for the option "Reset this PC" and click "Start".
- Choose if you want to keep the files or remove everything.
Will I lose my Windows 10 activation license if I restore my computer?
By having the operating system Windows 10 a tool to recover files to factory settings natively you will not lose your license. You can retrieve it through the email that your seller sent you or through a label that is attached to the box of your computer or PC cabinet. If you make a hard disk, it will be necessary to use this process. On the other hand, if what you did was restore from a certain point, it will not be necessary to enter the 5 series of 5 numbers or letters issued by Microsoft.