Hi! I made two new videos you might be interested in that are about Microsoft's "Reset this PC" process. This Video: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html shows how to secure erase ALL of the hard drives installed in your PC, in case you have more than one drive or partition with sensitive data stored on it. And this Video: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html proves that you can NOT use a data recovery program to restore old data from a hard drive after you have performed the "Reset this PC" process with the "Remove Everything" and "Clean data: YES" options selected. The second video is a little long but I show a timestamp at the beginning that lets you skip/forward to my results and conclusions. JUST SO YOU KNOW: I was UNABLE to recover any of the old data files after the "Clean data: YES" process finished. :) Thank you so much for your support and I will continue to post new Tech videos and grow this channel. Cheers!! -- Jason 😀
Yes, true but some people want to resell their fully functional old PC to a new owner, without having traces of their personal data on the drive. The Windows "Reset this PC" process isn't too complicated and it achieves that goal quite well, as long as the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: YES" options are selected. On a side note, whenever I upgrade one of my customer's mechanical hard drives to a SSD drive, I pull out the old mechanical drive and tell them to hold onto it for safe keeping (or leave it in the computer's case). The old drive acts like a perfect backup of the PC, on the date that the new drive was installed. They sometimes end up giving me the drive a few months later and ask me to secure erase it or destroy it. In most cases, I take any drives I have to a local technology recycling center that guarantees that they secure erase the drives to DoD-7 standards. If the drive can't be secure erased, they put it into a metal chipper and turn it into dust! a1assets.com/site/ Have a great day -- Jason
@JasonBagnell true, but how old is that hard drive? It is better for sellers or new owners to put in a fresh hard drive. And new os, so new owner can get updates from os maker. Old os likely doesn't get any more updates. If computer can install new os that is.
@CartGoBroom Hi! The "Reset this PC" procedure should leave the PC in a usable state once it has finished. The drivers will revert back to the same state it was in when the PC was first turned on for the first time. The chipset and CPU will definately be fine but it is possible that you might have installed a better video card and downloaded specific drivers for it to operate. In that case, "Reset this PC" should download whichever drivers are available directly from the Microsoft Windows Update driver repository. So Yes, it will probably revert your GPU drivers but Windows 10 and 11 are both pretty good at downloading what they need from the Microsoft Update servers to get you up and running. I hope this helps! Cheers -- Jason
A lot of the video tutorials you see on RUclips were created using a Windows Virtual Machine, running on a second monitor. You can use a program like VMPlayer or VirtualBox to run an independent copy of Windows, in a window! Then we use a program like “OBS Studio” to save a video of that screen and then edit it into our final video. It’s a little movie magic combined with some computer nerd tricks - LOL! Cheers - Jason
Nice video, and I do this same thing, with two exceptions. First, before resetting, I make sure to secure erase other drives before resetting the C: drive, as only the C: drive gets secure erased, other drives are untouched and have all of their data still. The second thing I do is after resetting the PC, when it relaunches and wants you to start setting up the PC, I just tap the power button to turn it off, so the user can set things up themselves. Unless, of course, the user wants you to set it all up for him.
As a buyer of a second hand pc, I would only buy one if it shows the set-up page when booting. If not, that means possible malware, dodgy files and what not that could be installed.
Recently bought a used, Dell Latitude E6430 to replace my old, Lenovo Thinkpad T440 with Windows 10. I chose to erase everything on the drives. Great, informative video. Thank you!😊
Thank you bro I’m selling my pc tomorrow and I was so stressed but I found your video and you described it simply and friendly! You my man, just earned another like and sub!
I like your thumbnail photo. I had a black/tan convertible 2003 Cobra Mustang back in the day. It was the one they called the "Terminator" and it was the first Mustang Ford sold (stock) with a supercharger. I miss it! Do you have another channel with car videos? Just curious.
@@JasonBagnellyea turns out my other monitor display port was messed up, hence why my screen was flickering. Everything went well all though it did take a bit since I had “4” 4tb ssds and had them all wipe completely. Thanks for the video.
Hey. So I just bought a pc, and the last person who had this did not factory reset, so I factory reset. (Windows 10) when it was in the loading screen where everything is black except the % it's at and the Windows logo, my monitor said power saving and turn off (pc is still on) when I try to turn my monitor on it says no singal and power saving (turns back off my monitor) what do I do?
Amazing video! This will help me alot when I'm selling my pc. I just have one question. Do i need to do the things after 5:02 or can i turn off my pc and the buyer will do the next steps?
Thanks! Yes, if you selected the "Remove everything" and the "Clean data: Yes" options, the PC's hard drive will have been secure erased. The secure erase procedure takes a long time to complete. It can be 20-90 minutes on PCs that have a SSD drive installed and it will take multiple hours (1-20+ hours) for PC's that use a mechanical hard drive. Many people simply power off the computer once it reaches the state you mentioned at 5:02 and then the new owner will be able to complete the rest of the Windows 10/11 installation from that point forward. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
My old laptop is originally WIndows 7. When Microsoft offered the WIndows 10 for free. I was able to take advantage of it. So my question is "if I reset my pc, will it go back to WIndows 7 or WIndows 10?
Thank you very much for this video. I have done everything what you said, but I can not restart the installation. It 24 hour just reloading and preparing all the time. I don't know what to do 😢
Tried this went for local install , wipe data of hard drive Started it screen can up preparing to reset worked up to 54% then it stopped left it for 24 hours no change had to give
Hi! I just re-watched part of my video and noticed that the "Preparing to reset" appears when Windows is downloading the files required to reset the PC. Try this: If you used "Local Install", try using the cloud download. If you used "Cloud Download", try using the "Local Reinstall" option. Some people have had success by trying the opposite method. It's also possible that there are bad spots on the hard drive that are causing the process to get stuck whenever Windows is trying to access one of the bad areas. You can open an Administrative Command Prompt and issue the following command to have Windows check out the hard drive and attempt to repair the bad sectors/clusters: CHKDSK C: /F /R Also, if your PC has one or more very large (4TB-16TB) hard drives, the secure erase procedure will take a VERY LONG time. The hard drive activity light should be on solid or flashing during the secure erase procedure. My video makes it look like the secure erase part happened quickly but that was because I edited the video and sped things up. Hopefully some of this will help! Cheers -- Jason
Hi, I tried to repair bad sectors and got following text: “Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges or the disk may be locked by another process. You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode and make sure the disk is unlocked.” What does it mean? I am the only user in this pc and I just did factory reset and got stuck at 99%…
Hi man. I think im in trouble. Okay part 1: Im selling my asus x515m. Theres two user accounts on here. The main one when i signed in first time is my moms (administrator) account I then made my own sperate acount and have been using that since. Today i did a factory reset and wiped everything on my account. I wasnt too sure if it would wipe my moms account too. PART 2: I then signed in onto my wifi network and attempted to sign in But i held the power off button to turn off rather because i felt confident it was all removed. NOW I CANT TURN THE LAPTOP BACK ON PLEASE HELP
Hi! Push and hold the laptop's power button for 10 seconds or more. That will force the laptop to power off, no matter what it's doing. You can also try removing the battery (IF your laptop has a removable battery) and then unplug the power adapter. Let it sit for a while with the power adapter and battery disconnected. Reconnect the power adapter and see if it powers back on. Then install the battery and see if everything works properly. If you've been running the laptop on battery power only, connect the laptop to it's power adapter/charger and make sure the corresponding power light illuminates on the laptop once it's plugged in. Check that all of the cable/cord connections are secure on the power adapter. Unplug them and plug them back in. Try connecting the power adapter to a different outlet. Try using another power adapter if you have access to one. If the power indicator is not illuminating, try lightly putting your finger on the power plug that plugs into the computer. Put slight pressure at different angles while looking at the power indicator. If the indicator turns on an then turns off while you are light pressing in different directions, it is possible that the solder joints on the power connector (on the laptop's motherboard) may need to be repaired by a repair shop. The Windows Reset process itself cannot cause the laptop to stop powering on. The problem must be caused by something else. Normally when you power a laptop on, the BIOS/SETUP screen appears or the manufacturer's logo appears. If I understand what you wrote correctly, it sounds like you don't see anything on the screen at all when you try to power it on. Do any of the indicator light light up or do you hear any fan sounds? Try some of those suggestions and let me know what happens. Thanks -- Jason
Hi! I searched Google for an answer to your question and saw a few answers that seemed to contradict each other. Tonight I'm going to setup a Windows 10 Virutal Machine that has 3 hard drives so I can find out exactly what happens after using the "Clean Data: YES" option. I'll load up drive #2 & #3 with some data files to see if the data is no longer present at the end. Stay tuned and I'll write back my findings in a Reply to this comment. Thanks! --Jason
😀Hello again @jureknowak3851 ! I finished creating my *_Video Response_* to your comment. Please see: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html for my full answer. You can view it now or wait until it becomes publicly available on my channel at 12:00PM EST on 10/31/2023. I hope the information helps you! Cheers -- Jason
I'd lay ya 5-1 that it is just the C: Drive that is effectively having 'clean all' run, but, somehow just on it's space not containing the ISO recently downloaded for reinstall....
Hi! I made another video where I figured out how to get the "Reset This PC" procedure to secure-erase ALL hard drives installed in the computer. See the following: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html Have a great day and thanks for subscribing! -- Jason @@mdd1963
Hi! The "Reset this PC" procedure will always remove the Applications (Programs) and settings, no matter which option you choose. Don't run the "Reset this PC" program if you need your user-installed software (Word, Adobe, Chomre, etc) to remain on the computer. Your programs will need to be reinstalled from scratch afterwards. Thanks -- Jason
Thanks for Win 10/11 Reset PC Tutorial; helped me out cause I want to sell my used gaming laptop and didn't want my personal information on it. It seemed to work but I had to connect to my local wifi it didn't give an option to use it without internet, I guess on win10 you could do this but I have Win 11 Home.
Some people just turn off the computer and hand it over to the new owner when it reaches the "Connect to network" point during the reset. As long as you used the "Remove Everything" and "Clean Data: YES" option, the PC will not have any of your data on it. Other people like to log into the computer after it has been Reset just to make sure that no data remains. I made another video where I show a few tricks about how to bypass the Network and Microsoft Account requirement. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks! -- Jason
Hi! As long as you used the "Remove everything" option, all of your data would have been deleted but the drive would not have been secure-erased, like you mentioned. It is unlikely that that that the next owner will run a data recovery program on the drive to restore your old files, but it is possible. I'm glad you changed your E-Mail password and you should consider changing any other critical passwords just to be safe. Hopefully the buyer is an honest person and not a scammer. Best wishes -- Jason
Wow...Great video. Thank you so much for posting this easy to understand and, most importantly, to follow tutorial. I was in the process of getting rid of my 14 year old desktop and every other video I watched skipped a lot of the procedures you discussed... especially when you recommended unplugging your internet cable after the reset phase. It all work perfectly. Outstanding! My wife is thrilled because the computer, desk and chair will soon be gone. Happy Wife...Happy Life
Hi! If the PC has a large *mechanical* hard drive (not a SSD drive), it can take a LONG time. Mechanical drives usually have a minimum write speed of 100MB / second, or 2.9 hours per Terabyte. Give it plenty of time to complete or let it run overnight. SSD drives are much faster but it can still take several hours to overwrite a large (1TB, 2TB, 4TB, etc) SSD drive. I hope this helps! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell okay thanks i did it and it feels like brand new thank you! I restarted it because i had problems on pc and had too much used memory that i could not delete. Thank you for tutorial
Yes, if you use the "Remove everything" option, all of your Internet browser histories and passwords will be removed, along with everything else. Thanks -- Jason
Hi @JasonBagnell, How about removing/deactivating the digital Windows license? I'm going to sell my PC and I do not want a stranger to use my license. I want to keep the license for myself for the future (I do not need it now as I'm using a mac) Thanks!
Hi! I've never thought about that before. Windows "OEM" licenses stay assigned to the PC the manufacturer originally assigned them to. Windows "Retail" licenses, however can be moved to different hardware a certain number of times. Try doing a quick Google Search to see if there is a way to temporarily disable or deactivate your Windows License and something might turn up. I would be more helpful but we're on the outskirts of a hurricane in Central Florida tonight. Thanks! -- Jason
Hi Jason, thanks for posting this well presented and clearly explained vid, you are a great teacher! BUT, I have a Yoga 730 with factory installed Win 11. It automatically reinstalls Win11. Problem is that it forces me to my MS account for the Win 11 reinstall. MS account demands my login credentials reintroducing my personal data again. There's NO option not to reinstall Win11. Besides putting a sledge hammer on this piece what advise do you have to get all data cleared before selling this piece of art?
Hi! Some people do this: If you ran "Reset this PC" with the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: YES" options, some people just turn off the computer and hand it over to the buyer at the point where it asks them to connect to a network or enter their Microsoft Account. They simply let the buyer finish performing the Windows 10/11 setup process. If you want to log into the laptop to see (for yourself) that your data is no longer present, connect the computer to your network and then enter "No@ThankYou.com" as the E-Mail address with a bogus password. The Microsoft Account verification phase will fail and it will then create a "local account" and take you to the Windows Desktop screen where you can dig through the drive to make sure that you data is no longer present. Some people trust that "Clean data: YES" does it's job while others like to look for themselves. There is another trick that might bypass the Microsoft Account requirement. See video on this topic here: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.htmlsi=3nHKBqSbV-HPqwLH Have a great day! -- Jason
A bit curious. If you were to shut down and finish after the reboot before setting anything up, would the next user get to configure it all themselves like a new computer? It feels like it should be possible, but sometimes you never know if it would count as messing up half-way through the re-install and the computer gets angry.
Hi! Yes, some people like to power off the PC towards the end of the process, when it starts asking you to join a network or enter a Microsoft Account. If you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options, the hard drive will have been secure-erased by that point. Other people like to continue forward so they can reach the Windows desktop to make sure that 1) everything is working properly and 2) verify that none of their data is still on the PC. I made another video that shows how to use the BYPASSNRO trick to skip joining a network or being required to enter a Microsoft Account during the Windows setup process. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html ... if the tricks shown in the "Reset this PC" video didn't work. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
I think it would have worked well, but my sister unplugged my PC while I was outside, and the process was still running, so my computer shut down. Now I only see a message saying the erasure didn't work well, "Click OK to restart the PC." So I can't even open my PC. Is there a way to make it work again? Thx
Hi! If the PC no longer boots into Windows no matter what you try, you can perform a "Clean Install" of the Windows 10/11 operating system. I assume you were trying to completely erase/destroy all of the data on the hard drive so it can be resold or discarded. I made videos on how to perform the "Clean Install" here: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html You will need an empty 16GB+ flash drive and access to another working Windows-based computer to complete the steps that are required. Once you get the PC running again, you might want to re-run the "Reset this PC" program using the "Clean data: Yes" option to securely erase all unused portions of the hard drive. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Just used your instructions to clean a laptop to return under warranty for replacement. It was terrific and worked perfectly! Thank you very much for your quick, clear and very easy to understand step by step video. Keep up the great work!
This does automatically sign you out of your Google and anything else your signed in on right? Might sound like a stupid question but just making sure 😂😅
Yes, using the "Remove everything" option will completely clear all of your accounts and data from the computer. Use the "Clean data: Yes" option if you want to secure erase the hard drive so the data can't be recovered using a data recovery program. Make sure that you DO NOT enter your E-mail address or Microsoft Account information at the end of the process or your computer will start downloading your data files from Microsoft One drive back onto the computer. I made another video that has more information on how to bypass creating a Microsoft Account. Let me know if you need a link. Thanks -- Jason
Thanks for your comment! Malware and viruses will be removed when the process is complete. "Reset this PC" refreshes the Windows installation to a clean-working state. You can choose whether or not you want to keep your data files on the computer or if you want to secure erase the "empty" portions of the drive so someone with a data restoration program can't recover your old files. Have a great day -- Jason
Hi! The "Clean Data: Yes" option physically overwrites ALL areas of the hard drive that are not occupied by the files that are required for the fresh Windows installation to operate. If someone tries to use a data recovery utility to recover your old files, they will only be able to see the "garbage data" that the Reset this PC program overwrote the empty space with, and not the original files. I made a video about it here: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html If you have a mechanical drive, all empty portions of the primary boot partition (C: Drive) will be overwritten. If your PC uses a SSD drive, the user data files will be erased and then all empty portions of the SSD drive will be overwritten. In some very unlikely situations there is some debate about the way that SSD drives are "overprovisioned". SSD drives can occasionally bring unused portions of the SSD drive online to replace damaged portions of the drive. The question is: Can someone use a utility/program to access portions of the SSD drive that failed and were moved "offline"? The SSD drive completely controls this and it is unlikely that anything located on a portion of the SSD drive that has been marked as "BAD" will ever be retrievable. The risk is minimal and it would probably take a lifetime of trying to locate and recover a single data file that was on the drive previously. Microsoft's website does not indicate that there is anything to be concerned about when using the "Clean data: Yes" option on a SSD drive. The process does, however, take a chunk of the SSD drive's write cycles away but today's SSD drives have more write cycles than most people will ever come close to exceeding. Most people who run the "Reset this PC" program with the "Clean data: Yes" option are looking to sell or discard their old PC anyway. I hope this helps -- Have a great day! -- Jason :)
You could try holding down the shift key while clicking on "Restart" in the Windows Start Menu. That will cause the PC to boot into the Recovery Environment and you'll be able to run the "Reset this PC" program from there. It is not quite as powerful as creating a Windows Recovery Drive like I mentioned in my previous comment. -- Jason
the reason i searched for this on youtube is because i overheard two buttheads on the NYC metro at the end of last week going on about some just divorced single mother had garage sale to raise fudns and they bought her husbands 2003 dell laptop for not even 20 bucks. At first i only payed them an ear in case of the typical credit card/bank account data rip idea would come up amongst the seeminly younger gentlemen (22-26). was not the case lol As absolutely nuts.. like f***ing nuts
Yes, some people don't think about the fact that their old computer contains 1000's of files that can be used to invade their privacy or worse yet, steal their identity or money. Anyone that wants to dispose of or sell their old computer should really do one of three things: 1) Run a secure erase program like the one presented in this video, 2) hand the PC over to a certified electronics recycling company that will secure erase or destroy the drive, on 3) destroy the hard drive themselves by removing it and smashing it with a hammer or drill holes into the drive at various points. Like you found, the two guys on the NYC Metro didn't talk about stealing data and scamming accounts, but the wrong person might actually do it! Better to be safe than sorry. Have a great day! -- Jason
Hi! I viewed your video and found all the steps that i need to reset my old laptop. The only question I have is how should I deal with my local OneDrive folder, to make sure that it is not synched back to the cloud once it is erased by the reset? Thanks - Guy
If you do not want your OneDrive folder to get synchronized back to the computer after the Reset process is complete, do NOT enter your email address when it prompts you at the end. You might have a “I don’t have Internet” or “Continue with limited setup” option. If it makes you enter an email address to continue, you can type in No@thankyou.com” and enter a random password. The password will fail and the installation should continue using a Local account instead of a Microsoft account, which will not synchronize to anything. Here’s another video I made that might help you: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.htmlsi=uwIRtYyldkh5OIjx Cheers! - Jason
I did this and my login is still there and I’m unable to login. Tried doing safe mode and it takes forever to load it and when it does, it just glitches on a black screen. What can I do?
Hi! I sounds like the "Reset this PC" program didn't work too well on your PC for some reason. There are two things you can try to get Windows running again. Try first: If you get to the Windows login screen and see the Restart button on the bottom right corner of the screen, hold down your Shift key and then click "Restart". That will cause the PC to boot into the recovery environment. You will be able to find "Reset this PC" in the recovery environment and run it from there. Here's a short video I made about how to reach the Recovery Console that way: ruclips.net/video/g6PllTROKAE/видео.html If you don't have that option, you can power off (or unplug) the PC 3 times WHILE it is booting up to Windows. That will cause the Windows troubleshooting screen to appear and the "Reset this PC" program should be one of the choices on the menu. Second, if that doesn't work and you have access to another Windows based computer, you can create a Windows Installation Media USB flash drive and then perform a Clean Install of the Windows operating system. Make sure you have saved a copy of any files you need to keep first. See the following videos for instructions on how to perform a Windows 10/11 clean install: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html After doing that, the PC will be running a fresh copy of Windows. If you're selling or throwing out the PC, you should probably try running the "Reset this PC" program again to secure-erase the "unused" parts of the hard drive. I hope some of these suggestions are helpful! Let me know what ends up happening. Thanks -- Jason
Dumb question, but if I reset to get a new account, can I redownload my games if I sign into the same Steam account with the same credit card info too? Have my buddies old pc but I am struggling to get games add ons to load in cause I need info of his that he doesn’t have/know. Anything helps
Hi! The "Reset this PC" program will return the computer to a fresh/clean running state, similar to how it would be if you bought a new computer and turned it on for the first time. After the PC has been reset, you could log back into your gaming websites and install of the relevant software & games. Only the games that have been assigned to your account (from the past) will be available. If your buddy's old Steam account is causing you problems when you try to access your account, maybe try uninstalling the Steam program(s), reboot and then reinstall them. It should ask you to sign into your account at some point during the reinstallation. I'm not a gamer so I don't have the specific information but you might want to try this first before running the "Reset this PC" program. "Reset this PC" does a great job of making everything run like new again but it does cause you a lot of work because you'll need to install all of your programs, applications, printers, data, etc back onto the computer after it has been reset. Maybe try fixing the Steam account issue first before wiping everything out. I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
Hi! It sounds like something on your computer is preventing the "Reset this PC" program from running normally. I have two options you can try. If you PC can still boot to the Windows Desktop screen, try running the 1) CHKDSK 2) DISM and 3) SFC repairs I show in this video: ruclips.net/video/EWvt5OtZ1e4/видео.html That might fix errors in your current Windows operating system and may allow "Reset this PC" run properly afterward. If you can't get your PC to boot up at all, you could perform a Windows 10/11 "Clean Install" to completely reload the Windows operating system. Make sure you have saved any information you want to keep first. Instructions here: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html Sorry you're having trouble with it. Sometimes pre-existing problems (failing hard drive, file table in need of repair, corrupt Windows files, etc.) on a PC will cause things like this to happen. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Hi! Microsoft will try to push you into connecting to a network and joining or creating a Microsoft account. I made another video that shows a few tricks that can bypass the network and Microsoft Account requirement. It works *most* of the time. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks for your comment! -- Jason
Thank you, Jason, what a relief. I can confidently send my laptop back to the outfit I bought it from knowing it is clean. You explained it all very well. Even this klutz made it through pretty easily. Good work.
Hi, I have an old laptop that I want to recycle. How do I do that? If I wipe it will it affect my current laptop information or saved/backed up files/pics? I also have 2 ancient phones and an old kindle to recycle that I need to wipe. Advice?
Hi! If you run the "Reset this PC" using the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options, it will remove all of your personal data and programs from the laptop. It it will also overwrite the "empty" space on the laptop's hard drive so no one can use a drive recovery utility to recover your old data files. The process does not remove any data from Microsoft OneDrive or from your Microsoft Account, which are both stored on the "cloud". That data will not reappear on the laptop as long as you don't re-enter your Microsoft Account information at the end of the "Reset this PC" process. Just make sure you have a copy of your important data/pictures/etc saved in another location that is not connected to the computer you are about to erase. Phones and other devices usually have an "Erase" or "Reset" feature somewhere in the device's Settings menu. You can do a Google Search for "How to erase" and then type the name of the device you're trying to erase. Some RUclips videos should appear that give you a walk-through on how to erase the device before you hand it over to someone else. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Hello! I’m not trying to sell my lap top, I’m was just trying to reset it because my computer moved slow and If I tried to play games on it it was laggy. Would doing this help it not be so slow and laggy?
Hi! If you ran the "Reset this PC" program and selected the "Keep my files" option, it would remove all of the programs and apps that are installed and it would reset Windows to a clean-running state. You would then need to reinstall all of your programs again, like Microsoft Office, Chrome, Adobe Acrobat, games, printer drivers, etc. Any problems, bad registry entries or bugs from the past would no longer be present, so it usually makes the PC run better but it does take a lot of work to get the computer reloaded and configured the way it was before. Thanks! -- Jason
Hi, i exchanged my old laptop for a new one i have a doubt actually i did the reset in a hurry and i don’t remember which option of reset i choose i.e keeping files or erase all data. So i remember when the reset was complete the laptop pin was removed the wallpaper everything was removed and cortona asked me to fill the region the administrator details etc. so by this should i consider that the reset was done fully like all the files were erased? Please reply
Hi! From what you described, it sounds like the "Remove everything" option was used. I'm not sure if you completed the Windows Setup program and made it to the desktop screen, but if you did and don't see any of your old files or folders, the PC should be good to sell or discard. Click on the Yellow folder at the bottom of your screen and then look at the contents of the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Downloads folders and then click on "This PC" followed by C:. If any of your old files DO show up, you can run the "Reset this PC" program again and use the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options. When it finishes resetting the computer, do NOT join your WiFi network or enter an E-mail address when prompted or some of your old data files might flow back into the PC through your Microsoft OneDrive account. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Hi! That's an OLD laptop! I'm glad it is still working. Windows 7 does not have a built in "Secure Erase" program like Windows 8-Windows 11. Being that old, I'm sure you're not going to try to sell the computer to someone else, except to a museum --LOL! If you want to make the data on your old laptop's hard drive unrecoverable, I can think of a few options. 1) Remove the laptop's hard drive and smash it up with a hammer. Beating up old hardware is usually a very therapeutic process. :) 2) Take your laptop to a certified electronics recycling center that guarantees that they secure erase all drives from all equipment that they receive. I often drop off my customers' old laptop and desktop computers to one of these centers and they don't even charge for the service. See: a1assets.com/ They said that if the drives/chips can't be secure erased, they drop it into a metal shredder and turn it into dust! 3) Upgrade the laptop to Windows 10 and then perform the "Reset this PC" procedure with the "Remove Everything" and "Clean data: YES" options. See my Windows 10 Clean Install video at: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html 4) If you're feeling techy, watch some videos on how to create a bootable USB flash drive for the DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) program and use it to secure erase the drive. Search RUclips for instructions on that one. 5) Download an image of "Hiren's Boot CD" and make a bootable DVD or flash drive for it. Then use the utilities in Hiren's to secure erase the drive. Sorry for all of the techy mumbo-jumbo. Those are some of the options that come to mind. One more thing -- If you end up on Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can download and install "OpenShell" to make the Windows Start Menu look and feel like Windows 7/XP. You can also change a few other settings to make the Windows desktop look and feel like the good old days. I go over those changes in this video: ruclips.net/video/cQEw4mLvIsA/видео.html Good luck and have a great day! --Jason
I don’t have the option for I don’t have internet, it tries to make me pick one of my wifi’s, what do I do? I don’t have an Ethernet plugged in either. Just leave it as is and let the person buying my computer do the setup then?
Hi! Yes, some people just turn off the PC when it gets to the point where it asks to join a network and/or enter a Microsoft account. The next person can continue the installation from there the next time it boots up. If you instead want to finish the Windows Setup process, get to the Desktop screen and check the PC out before turning it over to the new owner, try the "BYPASSNRO" trick I mention in this video: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Once you issue the command, the computer should reboot and then allow you to continue the installation without requiring an Internet Connection or a Microsoft Account. I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
Thank you. I am hoping at the finish that my husband's computer will be wide clean of all my real estate documents and not mine lol. Your site was great because for technologically challenged person it was easy to follow. I am now waiting for the device to download and restart so hopefully all goes well. Thank you.
Hi! I'm glad you found the video helpful. If you are selling or discarding the computer and don't want any of your information going with it, the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options ensure that everything will be secure-erased by the time it is finished. Just make sure that you DO NOT enter your Microsoft Account info at the last part of the Windows Setup process after it reboots. That way it won't start downloading all of your documents and pictures from your Microsoft OneDrive account. Give the program plenty of time to finish. If the PC has a mechanical hard drive, it is not uncommon for it to take 2-10 hours (or more) to completely erase the drive. Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell I went for secure erase and was able to transform my Dad's second-hand laptop to a fast, smooth and nice PC; that I would turn on every now and then and feel proud of myself for having done it I tried cleaning my own PC in Jan 2k23, and reinstall windows using pendrive and was very disappointed with the results, months later, you made this marvelous tutorial and glad that I came across it I wish every tutorial ever, in every niche, was this much accurate and truthful Thank you from Pakistan (subbed already ;) )
@@iqratahir4688 Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad that the video was helpful for you, and thanks for subscribing. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Hi! Running "Reset this PC" will not invalidate your Windows product key. The PC will continue using the same product key it was using before. Thanks-- Jason :)
after following your tutorial my PC fails to finish resetting process instead it gives me these words." There wsa problem resetting your PC.no changes were made" how to fix this problem
Hi! Try following the steps in this article: support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/-there-was-a-problem-when-resetting-your-pc-no-changes-were-made-error-after-attempting-to-reset-this-pc-365f1c42-6928-63ed-dd84-bb264cdad5a8 The DISM command repairs any invalid/faulty or missing operating system files. It should only take 1-15 minutes to complete once the command is issued. Try running the command like the article describes and then reboot and try using Reset This PC again. If that doesn't help, you can try starting the "Reset this PC" program from the Recovery Console instead of from within Windows. I recently made a video for someone else about it here: ruclips.net/video/g6PllTROKAE/видео.html Basically hold down the shift key while you click Restart. You''ll find a button for "Reset this PC" in the menu that appears when it boots up. Hopefully one of those two ideas will work! -- Jason
Was that really you? I'm sorry, there in EVERYTHING and I'm so so thankful 🙏 for your advice, I'm going to share and watch and like the heck out of your channel! You're truly a blessing and very kind which is very rare in this world. Thank you again and God bless you!
Yes, it is really me -- LOL! I hope you have some backups from before the time the hacker problems first started. The bad guys are really smart and their programs and connections can be hard to get rid of. In a simple case, you might have accidentally run an encryption virus executable that began the process. From my experience, once the encryption virus program is finished encrypting all of the data it can reach, the virus sometimes deletes itself so it can not be reverse engineered by someone later. Performing a virus scan and then restoring your files from a backup (if you have one) is a great option at that point. Please don't pay the bad guys because there are no guarantees that you will get your data back after you pay them. Other times, the hackers remain actively in the system(s) and work diligently to counteract everything you try to do to cleanup the problem. If you plug in a backup drive to restore files, they might start encrypting the backup drive as soon as it is connected. It's very nerve racking when that happens. Again, keep the network OFFLINE so the hackers can't continue to cause problems. You can run the "Reset this PC" using the "Remove everything" and "Local Reinstall" option to clear out a PC if none of the data on it is required (or if everything of value already got encrypted). I wish you best of luck with everything you're dealing with. Take care -- Jason
@JasonBagnell Thank you. You are very informative and helpful. God bless.(like this,ie.. I didn't write this message! Unreal. Anyhow, thank you for all your help
"The computer restarted encountered an unexpected error, Windows installation cannot proceed". I am receiving this message after the installation. Please assist what to do?
Hi! Does the PC still boot up to the Windows desktop? If so, click on the start button and try holding the SHIFT key while clicking on "Restart". The PC should boot into the Windows Recovery Console and you'll find the "Reset this PC" program in there. Try running it that way to see if it makes a difference. If the PC will not boot to the Windows Desktop, you might need to perform a Windows 10/11 Clean Install to get everything up and running again. I made two videos about how to do that here (but you'll need access to a USB flash drive and another working PC to create the Installation Media flash drive): For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html Feel free to send me any other questions you might have. Thanks -- Jason
Hi! There might be another way for your PC to run the "Reset this PC" program. Try holding down the shift key while clicking "Restart" in the Windows Start Menu. The PC should boot to a "Choose an option" screen. Click on "Troubleshoot" and you should see an icon for "Reset this PC" in there. Hopefully that will work for your situation. Cheers -- Jason
Im trying to sell my dell laptop windows 10 ,i want to make sure if i do the factory reset it wont delete my files on my other devices? Please help, i need to sell my dell laptop..respond ASAP! Thankyou,,
Hi! The "Reset this PC" will not remove any of the files from your other PCs or devices. It only removes them from the computer you run the program on. It will not send any "delete" commands through any cloud sync services like Microsoft OneDrive or DropBox. For your case, you should backup all of your data files first and then use the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options to make sure that your data on PC is not recoverable by the new owner. Thanks -- Jason
@@JasonBagnellI just did the factory reset ! I followed along with this video,But I just Want to make sure All My photos etc are off my laptop before I sell it,It Looks like its all off but Id like to make sure before I sell it?ThankYou,,
@@JM-rp9qf Ya the person wanted 1 day shipping and told me a half hour before my local post office was closing but I ended up swapping the SSD with one the same size
Hi! I know that you can't use the same license on multiple computers except if it is a volume license. I searched on Google and found an article on Microsoft.com about "Reactivating Windows after a hardware change". I think you'll find the information you're looking for there: support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665#ID0EBD=Windows_10 You can select "Windows 11" or "Windows 10" at the top. Have a great day! -- Jason
I hope my video helps get you to the finish line. Let me know how it goes. If you get into a "fight" where the Windows Setup program tries to force you to Create/Join a Microsoft account, check out my other video on that topic: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks! -- Jason
Hi! If your PC is able to boot up to the Windows desktop, try running the Reset Procedure again and choose the opposite answer to the "How would you like to reinstall Windows?" question. Some people say that they are able to get it to work after doing that. Also, you can try this: Click the Start menu and then click on the Restart option **While holding down the shift key**. The PC should boot into a diagnostic/troubleshooting menu. You will get a choice of "Restart" or "Advanced Options". Click on "Advanced Options". Click on "Troubleshoot" on the next screen. "Reset this PC" should appear on the next screen. You can use that to reset the computer without Windows actively running in the background. Hopefully some of those suggestion will help. Let me know how it goes!! -- Jason
Google must ne listening to what I'm saying. I'm in the middle of erasing 4 extremely old laptop before I recycle them and this video pops up in youtube. That's handy but scary too. Great video and helps me a lot
That's happened to me too! Like when you've talked with a friend or family member about some obscure topic that you've never searched for and then it starts coming up later on the Internet everywhere you look. I turned off all of the relevant "Background App Refresh" settings on my iPhone to keep the apps from spying on me when the apps are not open. It makes you wonder.. I'm glad you found the video helpful! Have a great weekend -- Jason
Yes, I'm glad Microsoft gave us an easy way to secure erase our data from the PC. Make sure you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: Yes" options so all of your personal data will be removed during the process. Thanks! -- Jason
Hello Jason I am selling my pc and was wondering if I reset this pc will it also delete my Microsoft account because maybe later on I want to buy another one all I will need to do is sign in to my Microsoft?
Hi Jose, when you run the "Reset this PC" program, it will disconnect the computer from your Microsoft account but it does not delete the Microsoft Account and all of your files from the Microsoft servers. Because you're selling your PC, you should: 1. Make a backup copy of your files (They will remain in OneDrive under your account on the Microsoft Servers but it never hurts to have an emergency copy just-in-case). 2. Run "Reset this PC" and choose the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options. That will remove your data files and your Microsoft Account from the PC and it will perform a secure-erase on the drive to keep someone from running a data recovery program to get your old files back. 3) At the end of the Reset this PC program, it will ask you to join a network and enter your Microsoft account. Do NOT enter your account information because you don't want your OneDrive files and Microsoft Account getting reloaded onto the computer. Some people just turn off the PC and turn it over the the new owner at that point. Other people like to finish the Windows Setup program to make sure that none of the files remain. I mentioned some tricks on how to bypass joining a network and how to skip connecting it to a Microsoft account in the video but you can watch another video I created with more ways to skip connecting to a Microsoft Account. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Hopefully this is the information you're looking for. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Hi! Have you tried again using the "Local Reinstall" option? That will not require Internet access and should not take as much time as the Cloud Download option. Thanks -- Jason
Can you help me figure out what "user" my laptop is? We are being hacked and I need to delete them.. please help 🙏 I just don't want to delete myself bc they have created so many Auth.users." please and I would L Really appreciate any help. Complete Network take over ddos attack and sql malware injections. Any advice would be highly appreciated! Thank you so much and thank you for your teaching. God bless you! "Bill and Jenn Johnson @ RUclips.
Wow, I feel for you in that situation. I've helped a few people when they are dealing with that same issue. Make sure to disconnect the Internet so the hackers won't be able to continue causing new problems. If you are currently logged in as the user you want to locate, open the command prompt window by clicking the Start Button, type CMD.EXE and press enter. Inside the command prompt window, enter the following command and press enter: CD %USERPROFILE% That will change the current directory to where the current user's profile data is being stored. If you want Windows display the current username, enter the following command: ECHO %USERNAME% The username can be different from the directory name if the user account has been "renamed" previously. I hope this little tid-bit of knowledge helps you while trying to weed-out the hackers and restore your data. Best wishes -- Jason Bagnell
I made a video that shows some of the "tricks" I use to bypass the Windows Setup network requirement. The Shift-F10 trick followed by entering the BYPASSNRO command seems to work most of the time. Here's a link to the video: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html
I had a issue with my pc its mainly for gaming i changed some setting from watching a guy on youtube and it messed up my pc saying it doesnt have the file when i try to run my games will this help me if i reset my pc back to factory or will i still have those mistakes i made on the pc ?? Need help lol
Hi! Running the "Reset this PC" program will reset Windows, all of it's settings and the Windows Registry back to the default settings. If you made the changes inside Windows, the Reset process should take care of reverting them. If you made changes inside your PC's BIOS/UEFI, you'll need to boot into the BIOS and then load either the Optimal Defaults or System Default settings to get things back to where it was before you made the changes. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Hi Timayy! I made another video that shows how to use the "Reset this PC" to erase ALL hard drives that are installed in the PC. See: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html Thanks -- Jason
Hi! The "Reset this PC" feature reinstalls a fresh copy of Windows and it removes all applications, including Microsoft Office. You'll also need to log back into your Microsoft Account once the process is complete, if you want to have the new Windows installation reconnected to it. That being said, the answer to your question would be "no". I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
NOPE- I'm not selling mine.. I'm making it a decicates SECURTY SYSTEM control unit-- or something similar.. BUT- if I DO - I can without any problems--as I keep ALL my personal stuff on a separate hard drive- and sign in to it every use-- it's never "autobooted".. and nothing on the drive left in it but the OS, which I don't care about..
Followed this procedure. Not sure if there's been an update but I did not have an option to proceed without internet or logging in without the use of a Microsoft account
Here's a reply I posted recently about this. You might find it helpful: "Yes, Microsoft is starting to tighten down the ability to bypass joining a network and connecting to a Microsoft Account. I don't run into this road block too often but I have seen it before. Microsoft Surface tablets often won't allow me to bypass the requirements. I made another video where I show two tricks for bypassing the network/account requirement: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html One method is the OOBE/BYPASSNRO command. The other trick involves using "No@ThankYou.com" for the E-mail address. We'll see how long those last for." Thanks for you comment! -- Jason :)
I bought a second-hand laptop. I am in the process of resetting it. How does the reset affect viruses or malware the laptop might have? I don't want my external hard drive infected by viruses/malware. Thank you.
Hi! Don’t connect your external hard drive until the process is complete. When the “Reset this PC” program is finished, no viruses or malware will remain on the computer. Hopefully you used the “remove everything” option when running it. The computer will operate like-new when everything is done. Enjoy! - Jason 😀
I've noticed that too. When Intel & AMD release new, faster, more powerful processors, Microsoft continues writing inefficient programs that gobble up all of the extra processing power. Their apps seem to be getting slower and more bloated as time goes by. Lord help people with older 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation CPUs. Intuit is also guilty of that too. I just upgraded to an Intel i9-14900K CPU and QuickBooks Pro is *Still Slow* on my new monster machine!!! Cheers -- Jason!
Hi! Windows 10 and Windows 11 unfortunately have a bulit-in transfer wizard that copies everything from your old PC to your new PC. I wish that Microsoft could offer us a program similar to the one the Apple/Mac PCs have. There are some 3rd party programs that can be purchased to perform that task, like LapLink's PC Mover Professional, but most people end up copying all of their files to a Flash Drive or External Hard drive, and sometimes all of their data files are already being stored in Microsoft's OneDrive (cloud storage) under the user's Microsoft Account. Most of the files you'll want to back up are in the C:\Users\USERNAME folder. Once the new PC is up and running, they move all of the files that they backed up, to the new PC from there. You'll need to manually reinstall all of your programs, games, etc from the original download file or DVD. I have also had luck using a free bare-metal backup and recovery program called "Veeam Agent for Windows" to perform a full backup, create a bootable recovery DVD for the PC and then perform a bare-metal restore to the new machine. That process is a little complicated but I have seen it work successfully 2 or 3 times and all of the user's programs and settings were in-tact on the new computer when it finished. Remember that once you run the "Reset this PC" program on your old computer, all of the applications/programs and possibly all of the user data files (if you selected the "Remove everything option") will get erased. I hope this provides a little insight on the issue and I hope that Microsoft will give us a better option sometime in the future. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Hi! If you don't have a option to continue without Internet, you can enter "no@thankyou.com" as your Microsoft E-mail address and just enter a random/bogus password. An error will be displayed and then the Windows Setup program will continue forward using a "local account" instead of a "Microsoft Account". Try that and see if it works. I made another video that shows some of my tricks for bypassing the Microsoft Account requirement. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html I hope you find this helpful! Have a great day -- Jason :)
Hi! After the "Reset this PC" process is complete, it will boot back up and ask for you to connect to a WiFi/LAN network and it will want you to create or join a Microsoft Account. At that point, many people just power off the PC and then turn it over to the next owner (or just discard the PC) so that person can continue forward. As long as you selected the "Remove everything and "Clean data: Yes" options, the drive has already been erased at that point. If you want to boot to the Windows Desktop screen to see exactly how things came out, you can use one of the tricks from another video I made that show you how to get Windows Setup to bypass the Network/Account requirement. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
This video is about how to wipe (erase) your PC before selling it or discarding it. What exactly happened? Did you choose the "Remove Everything" option? If so, the process is designed to do just that. If you selected the "Keep my files" option, your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, etc should still be available after the Reset process is complete.
I want to know if this keeps all the drivers installed cause I think this is the most tedious part, if not this is not helping me cause its the same as a windows fresh install.
Hi! I did some research on your question and found this reoccurring statement on several of the articles: "All the manufacturer installed software and drivers that came with the PC will be reinstalled." If you have custom/unusual hardware or if you have added a piece of hardware that does not have it's drivers pre-loaded in the Microsoft Online Driver Library, you might need to manually reinstall the drivers for those devices. The Windows Driver Library has become quite extensive and Windows Updates will usually do a good job of automatically downloading the drivers that are required for your system. Sometimes might be 1 or 2 device drivers that need to be downloaded and installed. -- Jason
Hi! Give it a LONG time to finish before assuming that the process is stuck. If the PC has a large mechanical drive (not a SSD), it will take quite a while for the Secure Erase process to complete. I used a lot of fast forwarding in my video. Let it run all day and overnight if necessary. Maybe other people can "chime in" and tell us how long their PC took to complete the process? Thanks! -- Jason
Newer releases of Microsoft Windows are making it more difficult to complete the Windows Setup process without joining a network or entering you personal Microsoft Account information. Some people simply power OFF the computer when it reaches the point where it asks you to join a network and enter a valid Microsoft Account. The secure erase has already been performed, so they hand it over to the new owner and let the new owner finish the Windows Setup process. I have another video that shows a few "tricks" that might work to bypass the requirements: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html The easiest thing to try is entering "No@Thankyou.com" when you are asked for the E-Mail address. Enter a random password and then continue forward. Hopefully the account will error out and the installation will move forward, bypassing the Microsoft Account requirement. Another trick involves entering a command into the Command Prompt window during the Setup process. See the video for more detail. Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell OMG I wish I had watched that other video before commenting. Thank you for this! Note: Shift-F10 didn't do anything, but the login trick worked great. Thank you!
The "Reset this PC" program should take care of any viruses, malware and backdoors that might be present on your system. You'll end up with a completely fresh installation of Windows when it is finished running. It is possible that a virus/backdoor might have stored it's files on a partition other than the Primary Windows partition. If you want to make 10000% sure that the virus is no longer present, you can follow one of these two videos that show how to delete all of the data partitions on the hard drive and then perform a Windows 10/11 installation from scratch. For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html ** Make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before deleting the partitions because everything on the drive will be cleared out during the Clean Install process ** Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnellthanks for getting back to me about this because i thought the back door could be stored on my external 5tb hard drive and the problem with this is i have at least 3tb of that space taken up so im doubting i can plug it back up again. it has sll my youtube videos on there which is sad
If I have spyware on my PC that I can’t remove so I reset my PC, should I make it reset/clear my drivers too or is that something I shouldn’t worry about?
Hi! Running the "Reset this PC" program should leave the PC in a perfectly clean/fresh/spyware-free state when it's finished, including the hardware device drivers. Give it a try and hopefully everything will be squeaky clean and virus/spyware free. If you still have problems after the reset, you can perform a Windows 10/11 "Clean Install". I made videos that show how to completely remove all partitions from your computer's hard drive and then it shows how to install a fresh copy of Windows 10/11 from a USB flash drive. Make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before following the procedures these videos. Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html Let me know how it turns out. Cheers! -- Jason
Hi! On the Windows login screen, you can try clicking on the power button in the bottom right corner. A little menu with Restart, Shut Down, Sleep, etc. should appear. Hold one of the SHIFT keys on your keyboard and click on RESTART while holding SHIFT down. That should boot the PC into the Windows Recovery Console and you'll be able to find the "Reset this PC" in there. It's possible that it might still ask you for an Administrator password before it lets you reset the PC. Hopefully you'll be able to get the program running this way. Thanks -- Jason
Any thoughts on how to do this if it asks for a password that you don't know. I'm dealing with one company that bought another including all their computers and I haven't been able to get a list of passwords from the old company's IT dept. Let me know. Thanks
Well, because it doesn't seem like you're concerned with securely erasing the computers and you just want to get them cleared out and running a stock Windows 10/11 operating system, I recommend that you do the following: Create a bootable USB flash drive that contains the latest Windows 10 / 11 installation files. That flash drive can then be used to reload a fresh copy of Windows onto the hard drive. If the PC has an 8th generation Intel CPU or newer, the Windows 11 "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" link is: www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 For Windows 10, the Windows 10 "Create Windows 10 Installation media" link is here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 The product keys for these operating systems are stored Digitally at Microsoft so you should not be required to enter them. Click the "Download Now" button and follow the instructions to load the Windows installation media onto an 8GB+ flash drive. Next, boot each PC from the flash drive (For Dell, tap F12 after turning on the PC, etc). and follow the instructions to install a fresh copy of Windows onto the drive. When you reach the point where it asks "Where do you want to install Windows?", individually click each partition and click "Delete". Once all of the previous partitions are gone you will be starting with a completely blank C: drive.
Nejlepší je mít flešku s bootovatelnejma nástrojema, přemazat celej disk nástrojem co náhodně zapíše data celym rozsahu disku (sebere to jeden životní cyklus SSD ale co) a pak nainstalovat windows z flešky. A to jsem BFU, předpokládam že VY jako IT profesionál tyhle věci znáte. Těmhle Windows neprůhlednejm postupům nevěřim od tý doby, co Microsoft zabraly indové.
Hi! I made another video where I tested using the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: YES" options on a mechanical hard drive that held over 400GB of my personal data. Once the procedure was complete, I tried using a few programs (Recuva, Disk Drill, a hexadecimal editor) to see if data could be recovered from the drive after Windows finished securely erasing it. The programs were unable to recovery any of my previous files after "deep scans" were performed. See: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html Most people are not I.T. technicians like you and I, so they need a simple and effective way to clear their data before discarding an old computer. Microsoft's "Reset this PC" seems to be effective for that purpose. Thanks for your comment! Cheers -- Jason
Do you have to go through and set up the Microsoft if your selling your pc or can you just turn the pc off and then give it to the person your selling it to
Yes, you'll want to make sure that you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: Yes" options and later in the process when it asks for you to join a network and enter a Microsoft Account, many people just turn off the PC at that point and turn it over to the new buyer. That way the new owner finishes the Windows setup process with their information. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Make sure you don't have any flash drives or USB hard drives connected to the computer and then turn the PC off and back on. It might be trying to boot from a device other than the hard drive. Also, if your PC has a large mechanical hard drive and you selected the "Clean data: Yes" option, it will take a LONG TIME for the process to complete. Let me know if you have any additional questions. -- Jason
Hi! I made two new videos you might be interested in that are about Microsoft's "Reset this PC" process. This Video: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html shows how to secure erase ALL of the hard drives installed in your PC, in case you have more than one drive or partition with sensitive data stored on it. And this Video: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html proves that you can NOT use a data recovery program to restore old data from a hard drive after you have performed the "Reset this PC" process with the "Remove Everything" and "Clean data: YES" options selected. The second video is a little long but I show a timestamp at the beginning that lets you skip/forward to my results and conclusions. JUST SO YOU KNOW: I was UNABLE to recover any of the old data files after the "Clean data: YES" process finished. :) Thank you so much for your support and I will continue to post new Tech videos and grow this channel. Cheers!! -- Jason 😀
Just pull harddrive. No need to wipe harddrive. Use it for extra storage.
Yes, true but some people want to resell their fully functional old PC to a new owner, without having traces of their personal data on the drive. The Windows "Reset this PC" process isn't too complicated and it achieves that goal quite well, as long as the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: YES" options are selected.
On a side note, whenever I upgrade one of my customer's mechanical hard drives to a SSD drive, I pull out the old mechanical drive and tell them to hold onto it for safe keeping (or leave it in the computer's case). The old drive acts like a perfect backup of the PC, on the date that the new drive was installed. They sometimes end up giving me the drive a few months later and ask me to secure erase it or destroy it. In most cases, I take any drives I have to a local technology recycling center that guarantees that they secure erase the drives to DoD-7 standards. If the drive can't be secure erased, they put it into a metal chipper and turn it into dust! a1assets.com/site/ Have a great day -- Jason
@JasonBagnell true, but how old is that hard drive? It is better for sellers or new owners to put in a fresh hard drive. And new os, so new owner can get updates from os maker. Old os likely doesn't get any more updates. If computer can install new os that is.
Does this mean you wipe out all the data including the GPU driver and CPU too? Sorry for asking I'm just a noob about pc
@CartGoBroom Hi! The "Reset this PC" procedure should leave the PC in a usable state once it has finished. The drivers will revert back to the same state it was in when the PC was first turned on for the first time. The chipset and CPU will definately be fine but it is possible that you might have installed a better video card and downloaded specific drivers for it to operate. In that case, "Reset this PC" should download whichever drivers are available directly from the Microsoft Windows Update driver repository. So Yes, it will probably revert your GPU drivers but Windows 10 and 11 are both pretty good at downloading what they need from the Microsoft Update servers to get you up and running. I hope this helps! Cheers -- Jason
Me wondering how he wiped his laptop while screen recording
A lot of the video tutorials you see on RUclips were created using a Windows Virtual Machine, running on a second monitor. You can use a program like VMPlayer or VirtualBox to run an independent copy of Windows, in a window! Then we use a program like “OBS Studio” to save a video of that screen and then edit it into our final video. It’s a little movie magic combined with some computer nerd tricks - LOL! Cheers - Jason
Knowledge is important
He used a virtual machine
@@Abdallahkhawaja No shit, are you blind?
This was so incredibly helpful, thank you
Great video. This is literally the first comment I've ever made after decades on RUclips. Perfect level of detail.
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found the video helpful. Cheers! -- Jason
Clear, well-paced, and straight forward instructions. Thanks!
Thank you so much! Have a Happy New Year! -- Jason
I agree. Just won't work. Sorry.....BTW, I am a retired software engineer. Can it be done? Absolutely! Just not as simple as this video suggests.
Nice video, and I do this same thing, with two exceptions. First, before resetting, I make sure to secure erase other drives before resetting the C: drive, as only the C: drive gets secure erased, other drives are untouched and have all of their data still.
The second thing I do is after resetting the PC, when it relaunches and wants you to start setting up the PC, I just tap the power button to turn it off, so the user can set things up themselves. Unless, of course, the user wants you to set it all up for him.
As a buyer of a second hand pc, I would only buy one if it shows the set-up page when booting. If not, that means possible malware, dodgy files and what not that could be installed.
Recently bought a used, Dell Latitude E6430 to replace my old, Lenovo Thinkpad T440 with Windows 10. I chose to erase everything on the drives. Great, informative video. Thank you!😊
Thank you bro I’m selling my pc tomorrow and I was so stressed but I found your video and you described it simply and friendly! You my man, just earned another like and sub!
Hi, I'm glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for like & sub!
Have a great week -- Jason
I like your thumbnail photo. I had a black/tan convertible 2003 Cobra Mustang back in the day. It was the one they called the "Terminator" and it was the first Mustang Ford sold (stock) with a supercharger. I miss it! Do you have another channel with car videos? Just curious.
Thank you. Your video is the best among those "reset pc" videos. Detailed and easy to understand!
I'm glad it helped!
Happy Holidays! -- Jason
I agree. I wish I'd found his first! LOL
Just reset now we wait, about to take a nap 😂
Also is my screen suppose to flicker? I’m seeing some flicker
Hi! How did everything turn out? Did it reset successfully?
@@JasonBagnellyea turns out my other monitor display port was messed up, hence why my screen was flickering. Everything went well all though it did take a bit since I had “4” 4tb ssds and had them all wipe completely. Thanks for the video.
@@berrymycawkner I'm glad everything went well -- Have a great weekend! -- Jason :)
Amazing video, I was just about to sell my pc and this is what I needed thanks
Thanks! I'm glad you found my video helpful.
Have a great day! -- Jason
Thanks for every Information❤
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the video helpful. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
I wipe it with a hammer. works every time, i even land one or two on monitor just to be sure it wont remember anything that was on the screen.
ROFL!! & LOL!!! :)
Please leave me a comment (and subscribe!) if you found this video helpful. Thanks! :)
Hey. So I just bought a pc, and the last person who had this did not factory reset, so I factory reset. (Windows 10) when it was in the loading screen where everything is black except the % it's at and the Windows logo, my monitor said power saving and turn off (pc is still on) when I try to turn my monitor on it says no singal and power saving (turns back off my monitor) what do I do?
I did local reinstall
Amazing video! This will help me alot when I'm selling my pc. I just have one question. Do i need to do the things after 5:02 or can i turn off my pc and the buyer will do the next steps?
Thanks! Yes, if you selected the "Remove everything" and the "Clean data: Yes" options, the PC's hard drive will have been secure erased. The secure erase procedure takes a long time to complete. It can be 20-90 minutes on PCs that have a SSD drive installed and it will take multiple hours (1-20+ hours) for PC's that use a mechanical hard drive. Many people simply power off the computer once it reaches the state you mentioned at 5:02 and then the new owner will be able to complete the rest of the Windows 10/11 installation from that point forward. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
My old laptop is originally WIndows 7. When Microsoft offered the WIndows 10 for free. I was able to take advantage of it. So my question is "if I reset my pc, will it go back to WIndows 7 or WIndows 10?
Hi! It will reset to the same version of Windows it is running now. In your case , Windows 10.
thank you@@JasonBagnell
@@JasonBagnellThat was my question too. Thanks
Thank you very much for this video. I have done everything what you said, but I can not restart the installation. It 24 hour just reloading and preparing all the time. I don't know what to do 😢
Tried this went for local install , wipe data of hard drive Started it screen can up preparing to reset worked up to 54% then it stopped left it for 24 hours no change had to give
Hi! I just re-watched part of my video and noticed that the "Preparing to reset" appears when Windows is downloading the files required to reset the PC. Try this: If you used "Local Install", try using the cloud download. If you used "Cloud Download", try using the "Local Reinstall" option. Some people have had success by trying the opposite method.
It's also possible that there are bad spots on the hard drive that are causing the process to get stuck whenever Windows is trying to access one of the bad areas. You can open an Administrative Command Prompt and issue the following command to have Windows check out the hard drive and attempt to repair the bad sectors/clusters:
CHKDSK C: /F /R
Also, if your PC has one or more very large (4TB-16TB) hard drives, the secure erase procedure will take a VERY LONG time. The hard drive activity light should be on solid or flashing during the secure erase procedure. My video makes it look like the secure erase part happened quickly but that was because I edited the video and sped things up. Hopefully some of this will help! Cheers -- Jason
Hi, I tried to repair bad sectors and got following text:
“Access Denied as you do not have sufficient privileges or
the disk may be locked by another process.
You have to invoke this utility running in elevated mode
and make sure the disk is unlocked.”
What does it mean? I am the only user in this pc and I just did factory reset and got stuck at 99%…
Hi man. I think im in trouble.
Okay part 1:
Im selling my asus x515m. Theres two user accounts on here. The main one when i signed in first time is my moms (administrator) account
I then made my own sperate acount and have been using that since. Today i did a factory reset and wiped everything on my account. I wasnt too sure if it would wipe my moms account too.
PART 2:
I then signed in onto my wifi network and attempted to sign in
But i held the power off button to turn off rather because i felt confident it was all removed.
NOW I CANT TURN THE LAPTOP BACK ON
PLEASE HELP
I don't know what to do
Hi! Push and hold the laptop's power button for 10 seconds or more. That will force the laptop to power off, no matter what it's doing. You can also try removing the battery (IF your laptop has a removable battery) and then unplug the power adapter. Let it sit for a while with the power adapter and battery disconnected. Reconnect the power adapter and see if it powers back on. Then install the battery and see if everything works properly. If you've been running the laptop on battery power only, connect the laptop to it's power adapter/charger and make sure the corresponding power light illuminates on the laptop once it's plugged in. Check that all of the cable/cord connections are secure on the power adapter. Unplug them and plug them back in. Try connecting the power adapter to a different outlet. Try using another power adapter if you have access to one. If the power indicator is not illuminating, try lightly putting your finger on the power plug that plugs into the computer. Put slight pressure at different angles while looking at the power indicator. If the indicator turns on an then turns off while you are light pressing in different directions, it is possible that the solder joints on the power connector (on the laptop's motherboard) may need to be repaired by a repair shop. The Windows Reset process itself cannot cause the laptop to stop powering on. The problem must be caused by something else. Normally when you power a laptop on, the BIOS/SETUP screen appears or the manufacturer's logo appears. If I understand what you wrote correctly, it sounds like you don't see anything on the screen at all when you try to power it on. Do any of the indicator light light up or do you hear any fan sounds? Try some of those suggestions and let me know what happens. Thanks -- Jason
Does this process remove files on all of your drives or just your C drive?
Hi! I searched Google for an answer to your question and saw a few answers that seemed to contradict each other. Tonight I'm going to setup a Windows 10 Virutal Machine that has 3 hard drives so I can find out exactly what happens after using the "Clean Data: YES" option. I'll load up drive #2 & #3 with some data files to see if the data is no longer present at the end. Stay tuned and I'll write back my findings in a Reply to this comment. Thanks! --Jason
😀Hello again @jureknowak3851 ! I finished creating my *_Video Response_* to your comment. Please see: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html for my full answer. You can view it now or wait until it becomes publicly available on my channel at 12:00PM EST on 10/31/2023. I hope the information helps you! Cheers -- Jason
I'd lay ya 5-1 that it is just the C: Drive that is effectively having 'clean all' run, but, somehow just on it's space not containing the ISO recently downloaded for reinstall....
Hi! I made another video where I figured out how to get the "Reset This PC" procedure to secure-erase ALL hard drives installed in the computer. See the following: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html Have a great day and thanks for subscribing! -- Jason @@mdd1963
How to leave default Windows programs? Says Remove all of apps and programs. Will programs such as Word remain?
Hi! The "Reset this PC" procedure will always remove the Applications (Programs) and settings, no matter which option you choose. Don't run the "Reset this PC" program if you need your user-installed software (Word, Adobe, Chomre, etc) to remain on the computer. Your programs will need to be reinstalled from scratch afterwards. Thanks -- Jason
Hey Jason great video ... i was curious if this process will reinstall the current version of windows or revert to factory install? Thanks
🔥❤🔥🔥❤🔥 thank you
Thanks for Win 10/11 Reset PC Tutorial; helped me out cause I want to sell my used gaming laptop and didn't want my personal information on it. It seemed to work but I had to connect to my local wifi it didn't give an option to use it without internet, I guess on win10 you could do this but I have Win 11 Home.
Some people just turn off the computer and hand it over to the new owner when it reaches the "Connect to network" point during the reset. As long as you used the "Remove Everything" and "Clean Data: YES" option, the PC will not have any of your data on it. Other people like to log into the computer after it has been Reset just to make sure that no data remains. I made another video where I show a few tricks about how to bypass the Network and Microsoft Account requirement. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks! -- Jason
Damn i didnt click on clean data in additional settings and already sold the laptop. I changed google password to feel safer doe.
Hi! As long as you used the "Remove everything" option, all of your data would have been deleted but the drive would not have been secure-erased, like you mentioned. It is unlikely that that that the next owner will run a data recovery program on the drive to restore your old files, but it is possible. I'm glad you changed your E-Mail password and you should consider changing any other critical passwords just to be safe.
Hopefully the buyer is an honest person and not a scammer. Best wishes -- Jason
Wow...Great video. Thank you so much for posting this easy to understand and, most importantly, to follow tutorial. I was in the process of getting rid of my 14 year old desktop and every other video I watched skipped a lot of the procedures you discussed... especially when you recommended unplugging your internet cable after the reset phase. It all work perfectly.
Outstanding! My wife is thrilled because the computer, desk and chair will soon be gone. Happy Wife...Happy Life
I'm glad you found the video helpful! Thanks for your nice comment and have a great weekend -- Jason :)
Hey bro im doing it right now , but ive been waiting for about 1.5 hours is that normal? What should I do?
Hi! If the PC has a large *mechanical* hard drive (not a SSD drive), it can take a LONG time. Mechanical drives usually have a minimum write speed of 100MB / second, or 2.9 hours per Terabyte. Give it plenty of time to complete or let it run overnight. SSD drives are much faster but it can still take several hours to overwrite a large (1TB, 2TB, 4TB, etc) SSD drive. I hope this helps! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell okay thanks i did it and it feels like brand new thank you! I restarted it because i had problems on pc and had too much used memory that i could not delete. Thank you for tutorial
You're welcome! I'm glad things are running well again. Cheers -- Jason
Thanks so much, am i assuming correctly that this will erase all passwords and history of all browsers (Chrome, Edge, etc.) ?
Yes, if you use the "Remove everything" option, all of your Internet browser histories and passwords will be removed, along with everything else. Thanks -- Jason
Hi @JasonBagnell,
How about removing/deactivating the digital Windows license? I'm going to sell my PC and I do not want a stranger to use my license.
I want to keep the license for myself for the future (I do not need it now as I'm using a mac)
Thanks!
Hi! I've never thought about that before. Windows "OEM" licenses stay assigned to the PC the manufacturer originally assigned them to. Windows "Retail" licenses, however can be moved to different hardware a certain number of times. Try doing a quick Google Search to see if there is a way to temporarily disable or deactivate your Windows License and something might turn up. I would be more helpful but we're on the outskirts of a hurricane in Central Florida tonight. Thanks! -- Jason
Hi Jason, thanks for posting this well presented and clearly explained vid, you are a great teacher! BUT, I have a Yoga 730 with factory installed Win 11. It automatically reinstalls Win11. Problem is that it forces me to my MS account for the Win 11 reinstall. MS account demands my login credentials reintroducing my personal data again. There's NO option not to reinstall Win11. Besides putting a sledge hammer on this piece what advise do you have to get all data cleared before selling this piece of art?
Hi! Some people do this: If you ran "Reset this PC" with the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: YES" options, some people just turn off the computer and hand it over to the buyer at the point where it asks them to connect to a network or enter their Microsoft Account. They simply let the buyer finish performing the Windows 10/11 setup process. If you want to log into the laptop to see (for yourself) that your data is no longer present, connect the computer to your network and then enter "No@ThankYou.com" as the E-Mail address with a bogus password. The Microsoft Account verification phase will fail and it will then create a "local account" and take you to the Windows Desktop screen where you can dig through the drive to make sure that you data is no longer present. Some people trust that "Clean data: YES" does it's job while others like to look for themselves. There is another trick that might bypass the Microsoft Account requirement. See video on this topic here: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.htmlsi=3nHKBqSbV-HPqwLH Have a great day! -- Jason
A bit curious. If you were to shut down and finish after the reboot before setting anything up, would the next user get to configure it all themselves like a new computer?
It feels like it should be possible, but sometimes you never know if it would count as messing up half-way through the re-install and the computer gets angry.
Hi! Yes, some people like to power off the PC towards the end of the process, when it starts asking you to join a network or enter a Microsoft Account. If you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options, the hard drive will have been secure-erased by that point.
Other people like to continue forward so they can reach the Windows desktop to make sure that 1) everything is working properly and 2) verify that none of their data is still on the PC. I made another video that shows how to use the BYPASSNRO trick to skip joining a network or being required to enter a Microsoft Account during the Windows setup process. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html ... if the tricks shown in the "Reset this PC" video didn't work.
Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Subscribed. Love videos that help people who don't know much about this stuff. Very easy to follow very helpful!
I’m glad you found the video helpful! Stay tuned for more coming soon. Have a great weekend - Jason :)
I think it would have worked well, but my sister unplugged my PC while I was outside, and the process was still running, so my computer shut down. Now I only see a message saying the erasure didn't work well, "Click OK to restart the PC." So I can't even open my PC. Is there a way to make it work again?
Thx
Hi! If the PC no longer boots into Windows no matter what you try, you can perform a "Clean Install" of the Windows 10/11 operating system. I assume you were trying to completely erase/destroy all of the data on the hard drive so it can be resold or discarded. I made videos on how to perform the "Clean Install" here: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html
You will need an empty 16GB+ flash drive and access to another working Windows-based computer to complete the steps that are required. Once you get the PC running again, you might want to re-run the "Reset this PC" program using the "Clean data: Yes" option to securely erase all unused portions of the hard drive. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Just used your instructions to clean a laptop to return under warranty for replacement. It was terrific and worked perfectly! Thank you very much for your quick, clear and very easy to understand step by step video. Keep up the great work!
That's great!! I'm so glad the video made it easy for you to get the job done. Have a great day -- Jason :)
Reset this pc, remove everything
Reinstall win,local instsll
Additional set,change sttng,clean data,down win
Ready to reset.
.......time......
Region,key, new wizard screen
Yes! I hope everything went smoothly when you tried. Have a great day! -- Jason
This does automatically sign you out of your Google and anything else your signed in on right? Might sound like a stupid question but just making sure 😂😅
Yes, using the "Remove everything" option will completely clear all of your accounts and data from the computer. Use the "Clean data: Yes" option if you want to secure erase the hard drive so the data can't be recovered using a data recovery program. Make sure that you DO NOT enter your E-mail address or Microsoft Account information at the end of the process or your computer will start downloading your data files from Microsoft One drive back onto the computer. I made another video that has more information on how to bypass creating a Microsoft Account. Let me know if you need a link. Thanks -- Jason
Does it Remove Malwares and Viruses??
Nice Video Btw❤❤
Thanks for your comment! Malware and viruses will be removed when the process is complete. "Reset this PC" refreshes the Windows installation to a clean-working state. You can choose whether or not you want to keep your data files on the computer or if you want to secure erase the "empty" portions of the drive so someone with a data restoration program can't recover your old files. Have a great day -- Jason
2:54 It said "will make it harder to recover files" so there is still a possibility that files may be recovered ?
Hi! The "Clean Data: Yes" option physically overwrites ALL areas of the hard drive that are not occupied by the files that are required for the fresh Windows installation to operate. If someone tries to use a data recovery utility to recover your old files, they will only be able to see the "garbage data" that the Reset this PC program overwrote the empty space with, and not the original files. I made a video about it here: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html If you have a mechanical drive, all empty portions of the primary boot partition (C: Drive) will be overwritten.
If your PC uses a SSD drive, the user data files will be erased and then all empty portions of the SSD drive will be overwritten. In some very unlikely situations there is some debate about the way that SSD drives are "overprovisioned". SSD drives can occasionally bring unused portions of the SSD drive online to replace damaged portions of the drive. The question is: Can someone use a utility/program to access portions of the SSD drive that failed and were moved "offline"? The SSD drive completely controls this and it is unlikely that anything located on a portion of the SSD drive that has been marked as "BAD" will ever be retrievable. The risk is minimal and it would probably take a lifetime of trying to locate and recover a single data file that was on the drive previously. Microsoft's website does not indicate that there is anything to be concerned about when using the "Clean data: Yes" option on a SSD drive. The process does, however, take a chunk of the SSD drive's write cycles away but today's SSD drives have more write cycles than most people will ever come close to exceeding. Most people who run the "Reset this PC" program with the "Clean data: Yes" option are looking to sell or discard their old PC anyway. I hope this helps -- Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Finally Somebody goes straight to the point, and explains later a bit more! Awesome, Thanks!
Thank you so much!! I really appreciate your comment 😀
I hold shift while pressing reset and it reset everything but it put all my data back what do I do???
You could try holding down the shift key while clicking on "Restart" in the Windows Start Menu. That will cause the PC to boot into the Recovery Environment and you'll be able to run the "Reset this PC" program from there. It is not quite as powerful as creating a Windows Recovery Drive like I mentioned in my previous comment. -- Jason
the reason i searched for this on youtube is because i overheard two buttheads on the NYC metro at the end of last week going on about some just divorced single mother had garage sale to raise fudns and they bought her husbands 2003 dell laptop for not even 20 bucks. At first i only payed them an ear in case of the typical credit card/bank account data rip idea would come up amongst the seeminly younger gentlemen (22-26). was not the case lol
As absolutely nuts.. like f***ing nuts
Yes, some people don't think about the fact that their old computer contains 1000's of files that can be used to invade their privacy or worse yet, steal their identity or money. Anyone that wants to dispose of or sell their old computer should really do one of three things: 1) Run a secure erase program like the one presented in this video, 2) hand the PC over to a certified electronics recycling company that will secure erase or destroy the drive, on 3) destroy the hard drive themselves by removing it and smashing it with a hammer or drill holes into the drive at various points. Like you found, the two guys on the NYC Metro didn't talk about stealing data and scamming accounts, but the wrong person might actually do it! Better to be safe than sorry. Have a great day! -- Jason
Hi! I viewed your video and found all the steps that i need to reset my old laptop. The only question I have is how should I deal with my local OneDrive folder, to make sure that it is not synched back to the cloud once it is erased by the reset?
Thanks - Guy
If you do not want your OneDrive folder to get synchronized back to the computer after the Reset process is complete, do NOT enter your email address when it prompts you at the end. You might have a “I don’t have Internet” or “Continue with limited setup” option. If it makes you enter an email address to continue, you can type in No@thankyou.com” and enter a random password. The password will fail and the installation should continue using a Local account instead of a Microsoft account, which will not synchronize to anything.
Here’s another video I made that might help you: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.htmlsi=uwIRtYyldkh5OIjx
Cheers! - Jason
I did this and my login is still there and I’m unable to login. Tried doing safe mode and it takes forever to load it and when it does, it just glitches on a black screen. What can I do?
Hi! I sounds like the "Reset this PC" program didn't work too well on your PC for some reason. There are two things you can try to get Windows running again. Try first: If you get to the Windows login screen and see the Restart button on the bottom right corner of the screen, hold down your Shift key and then click "Restart". That will cause the PC to boot into the recovery environment. You will be able to find "Reset this PC" in the recovery environment and run it from there.
Here's a short video I made about how to reach the Recovery Console that way: ruclips.net/video/g6PllTROKAE/видео.html
If you don't have that option, you can power off (or unplug) the PC 3 times WHILE it is booting up to Windows. That will cause the Windows troubleshooting screen to appear and the "Reset this PC" program should be one of the choices on the menu.
Second, if that doesn't work and you have access to another Windows based computer, you can create a Windows Installation Media USB flash drive and then perform a Clean Install of the Windows operating system. Make sure you have saved a copy of any files you need to keep first. See the following videos for instructions on how to perform a Windows 10/11 clean install: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html After doing that, the PC will be running a fresh copy of Windows. If you're selling or throwing out the PC, you should probably try running the "Reset this PC" program again to secure-erase the "unused" parts of the hard drive.
I hope some of these suggestions are helpful! Let me know what ends up happening. Thanks -- Jason
Dumb question, but if I reset to get a new account, can I redownload my games if I sign into the same Steam account with the same credit card info too? Have my buddies old pc but I am struggling to get games add ons to load in cause I need info of his that he doesn’t have/know. Anything helps
Hi! The "Reset this PC" program will return the computer to a fresh/clean running state, similar to how it would be if you bought a new computer and turned it on for the first time. After the PC has been reset, you could log back into your gaming websites and install of the relevant software & games. Only the games that have been assigned to your account (from the past) will be available.
If your buddy's old Steam account is causing you problems when you try to access your account, maybe try uninstalling the Steam program(s), reboot and then reinstall them. It should ask you to sign into your account at some point during the reinstallation. I'm not a gamer so I don't have the specific information but you might want to try this first before running the "Reset this PC" program. "Reset this PC" does a great job of making everything run like new again but it does cause you a lot of work because you'll need to install all of your programs, applications, printers, data, etc back onto the computer after it has been reset. Maybe try fixing the Steam account issue first before wiping everything out.
I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
The test would be to run a file recovery programme after wiping it. Have you tried that? Great video anyway, thanks. Subscribed.
Yes I have! See video: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.htmlsi=CTPJ6RKzEuNLW95B :)
Thank you for the help Jason. I am sure I could have figured this out other ways but you made it super simple. Liked.
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the video helpful and were able to save some time. Have a great weekend -- Jason :)
I hope i didn't do something wrong. It says the computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. I dont know what to do 😮😢
Hi! It sounds like something on your computer is preventing the "Reset this PC" program from running normally. I have two options you can try. If you PC can still boot to the Windows Desktop screen, try running the 1) CHKDSK 2) DISM and 3) SFC repairs I show in this video: ruclips.net/video/EWvt5OtZ1e4/видео.html That might fix errors in your current Windows operating system and may allow "Reset this PC" run properly afterward. If you can't get your PC to boot up at all, you could perform a Windows 10/11 "Clean Install" to completely reload the Windows operating system. Make sure you have saved any information you want to keep first. Instructions here: For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html
Sorry you're having trouble with it. Sometimes pre-existing problems (failing hard drive, file table in need of repair, corrupt Windows files, etc.) on a PC will cause things like this to happen. I hope this helps! -- Jason
Do I have to make a account after I deleted everything? Like is it necessary. Great video by the way
Hi! Microsoft will try to push you into connecting to a network and joining or creating a Microsoft account. I made another video that shows a few tricks that can bypass the network and Microsoft Account requirement. It works *most* of the time. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks for your comment! -- Jason
Thank you, Jason, what a relief. I can confidently send my laptop back to the outfit I bought it from knowing it is clean. You explained it all very well. Even this klutz made it through pretty easily. Good work.
You're welcome! Thank you for your nice comments. Cheers! -- Jason :)
Hi, I have an old laptop that I want to recycle. How do I do that? If I wipe it will it affect my current laptop information or saved/backed up files/pics?
I also have 2 ancient phones and an old kindle to recycle that I need to wipe. Advice?
Hi! If you run the "Reset this PC" using the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options, it will remove all of your personal data and programs from the laptop. It it will also overwrite the "empty" space on the laptop's hard drive so no one can use a drive recovery utility to recover your old data files. The process does not remove any data from Microsoft OneDrive or from your Microsoft Account, which are both stored on the "cloud". That data will not reappear on the laptop as long as you don't re-enter your Microsoft Account information at the end of the "Reset this PC" process. Just make sure you have a copy of your important data/pictures/etc saved in another location that is not connected to the computer you are about to erase.
Phones and other devices usually have an "Erase" or "Reset" feature somewhere in the device's Settings menu. You can do a Google Search for "How to erase" and then type the name of the device you're trying to erase. Some RUclips videos should appear that give you a walk-through on how to erase the device before you hand it over to someone else. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Hello! I’m not trying to sell my lap top, I’m was just trying to reset it because my computer moved slow and If I tried to play games on it it was laggy. Would doing this help it not be so slow and laggy?
Hi! If you ran the "Reset this PC" program and selected the "Keep my files" option, it would remove all of the programs and apps that are installed and it would reset Windows to a clean-running state. You would then need to reinstall all of your programs again, like Microsoft Office, Chrome, Adobe Acrobat, games, printer drivers, etc. Any problems, bad registry entries or bugs from the past would no longer be present, so it usually makes the PC run better but it does take a lot of work to get the computer reloaded and configured the way it was before. Thanks! -- Jason
Hi, i exchanged my old laptop for a new one i have a doubt actually i did the reset in a hurry and i don’t remember which option of reset i choose i.e keeping files or erase all data. So i remember when the reset was complete the laptop pin was removed the wallpaper everything was removed and cortona asked me to fill the region the administrator details etc.
so by this should i consider that the reset was done fully like all the files were erased?
Please reply
Hi! From what you described, it sounds like the "Remove everything" option was used. I'm not sure if you completed the Windows Setup program and made it to the desktop screen, but if you did and don't see any of your old files or folders, the PC should be good to sell or discard. Click on the Yellow folder at the bottom of your screen and then look at the contents of the Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Downloads folders and then click on "This PC" followed by C:. If any of your old files DO show up, you can run the "Reset this PC" program again and use the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options. When it finishes resetting the computer, do NOT join your WiFi network or enter an E-mail address when prompted or some of your old data files might flow back into the PC through your Microsoft OneDrive account. I hope this helps! -- Jason
what about windows 7?i still use this on my 20 year old hp laptop. never liked windows 10 and i'd still be using windows xp if i could.
Hi! That's an OLD laptop! I'm glad it is still working. Windows 7 does not have a built in "Secure Erase" program like Windows 8-Windows 11. Being that old, I'm sure you're not going to try to sell the computer to someone else, except to a museum --LOL! If you want to make the data on your old laptop's hard drive unrecoverable, I can think of a few options.
1) Remove the laptop's hard drive and smash it up with a hammer. Beating up old hardware is usually a very therapeutic process. :) 2) Take your laptop to a certified electronics recycling center that guarantees that they secure erase all drives from all equipment that they receive. I often drop off my customers' old laptop and desktop computers to one of these centers and they don't even charge for the service. See: a1assets.com/ They said that if the drives/chips can't be secure erased, they drop it into a metal shredder and turn it into dust! 3) Upgrade the laptop to Windows 10 and then perform the "Reset this PC" procedure with the "Remove Everything" and "Clean data: YES" options. See my Windows 10 Clean Install video at: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html 4) If you're feeling techy, watch some videos on how to create a bootable USB flash drive for the DBAN (Darik's Boot and Nuke) program and use it to secure erase the drive. Search RUclips for instructions on that one. 5) Download an image of "Hiren's Boot CD" and make a bootable DVD or flash drive for it. Then use the utilities in Hiren's to secure erase the drive. Sorry for all of the techy mumbo-jumbo.
Those are some of the options that come to mind. One more thing -- If you end up on Windows 10 or Windows 11, you can download and install "OpenShell" to make the Windows Start Menu look and feel like Windows 7/XP. You can also change a few other settings to make the Windows desktop look and feel like the good old days. I go over those changes in this video: ruclips.net/video/cQEw4mLvIsA/видео.html Good luck and have a great day! --Jason
I don’t have the option for I don’t have internet, it tries to make me pick one of my wifi’s, what do I do? I don’t have an Ethernet plugged in either. Just leave it as is and let the person buying my computer do the setup then?
Hi! Yes, some people just turn off the PC when it gets to the point where it asks to join a network and/or enter a Microsoft account. The next person can continue the installation from there the next time it boots up.
If you instead want to finish the Windows Setup process, get to the Desktop screen and check the PC out before turning it over to the new owner, try the "BYPASSNRO" trick I mention in this video: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Once you issue the command, the computer should reboot and then allow you to continue the installation without requiring an Internet Connection or a Microsoft Account.
I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
Thank you. I am hoping at the finish that my husband's computer will be wide clean of all my real estate documents and not mine lol. Your site was great because for technologically challenged person it was easy to follow. I am now waiting for the device to download and restart so hopefully all goes well. Thank you.
Hi! I'm glad you found the video helpful. If you are selling or discarding the computer and don't want any of your information going with it, the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options ensure that everything will be secure-erased by the time it is finished. Just make sure that you DO NOT enter your Microsoft Account info at the last part of the Windows Setup process after it reboots. That way it won't start downloading all of your documents and pictures from your Microsoft OneDrive account. Give the program plenty of time to finish. If the PC has a mechanical hard drive, it is not uncommon for it to take 2-10 hours (or more) to completely erase the drive. Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell I went for secure erase and was able to transform my Dad's second-hand laptop to a fast, smooth and nice PC; that I would turn on every now and then and feel proud of myself for having done it
I tried cleaning my own PC in Jan 2k23, and reinstall windows using pendrive and was very disappointed with the results, months later, you made this marvelous tutorial and glad that I came across it
I wish every tutorial ever, in every niche, was this much accurate and truthful
Thank you from Pakistan (subbed already ;) )
@@iqratahir4688 Thank you so much for your kind words! I'm glad that the video was helpful for you, and thanks for subscribing. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
Will this get rid of the Windows key to purchased to activate windows? I’d like to keep windows activated on the computer, please response & thank you
Hi! Running "Reset this PC" will not invalidate your Windows product key. The PC will continue using the same product key it was using before. Thanks-- Jason :)
after following your tutorial my PC fails to finish resetting process instead it gives me these words." There wsa problem resetting your PC.no changes were made" how to fix this problem
Hi! Try following the steps in this article: support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/-there-was-a-problem-when-resetting-your-pc-no-changes-were-made-error-after-attempting-to-reset-this-pc-365f1c42-6928-63ed-dd84-bb264cdad5a8
The DISM command repairs any invalid/faulty or missing operating system files. It should only take 1-15 minutes to complete once the command is issued. Try running the command like the article describes and then reboot and try using Reset This PC again.
If that doesn't help, you can try starting the "Reset this PC" program from the Recovery Console instead of from within Windows. I recently made a video for someone else about it here: ruclips.net/video/g6PllTROKAE/видео.html Basically hold down the shift key while you click Restart. You''ll find a button for "Reset this PC" in the menu that appears when it boots up. Hopefully one of those two ideas will work! -- Jason
Was that really you? I'm sorry, there in EVERYTHING and I'm so so thankful 🙏 for your advice, I'm going to share and watch and like the heck out of your channel! You're truly a blessing and very kind which is very rare in this world. Thank you again and God bless you!
Yes, it is really me -- LOL! I hope you have some backups from before the time the hacker problems first started. The bad guys are really smart and their programs and connections can be hard to get rid of. In a simple case, you might have accidentally run an encryption virus executable that began the process. From my experience, once the encryption virus program is finished encrypting all of the data it can reach, the virus sometimes deletes itself so it can not be reverse engineered by someone later. Performing a virus scan and then restoring your files from a backup (if you have one) is a great option at that point. Please don't pay the bad guys because there are no guarantees that you will get your data back after you pay them. Other times, the hackers remain actively in the system(s) and work diligently to counteract everything you try to do to cleanup the problem. If you plug in a backup drive to restore files, they might start encrypting the backup drive as soon as it is connected. It's very nerve racking when that happens. Again, keep the network OFFLINE so the hackers can't continue to cause problems. You can run the "Reset this PC" using the "Remove everything" and "Local Reinstall" option to clear out a PC if none of the data on it is required (or if everything of value already got encrypted). I wish you best of luck with everything you're dealing with. Take care -- Jason
@JasonBagnell Thank you. You are very informative and helpful. God bless.(like this,ie.. I didn't write this message! Unreal. Anyhow, thank you for all your help
"The computer restarted encountered an unexpected error, Windows installation cannot proceed".
I am receiving this message after the installation. Please assist what to do?
Hi! Does the PC still boot up to the Windows desktop? If so, click on the start button and try holding the SHIFT key while clicking on "Restart". The PC should boot into the Windows Recovery Console and you'll find the "Reset this PC" program in there. Try running it that way to see if it makes a difference.
If the PC will not boot to the Windows Desktop, you might need to perform a Windows 10/11 Clean Install to get everything up and running again. I made two videos about how to do that here (but you'll need access to a USB flash drive and another working PC to create the Installation Media flash drive): For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html
Feel free to send me any other questions you might have. Thanks -- Jason
I’ve just tried this and it’s saying I don’t have windows instillation/recovery media installed,
But I don’t know what that is?
Hi! There might be another way for your PC to run the "Reset this PC" program. Try holding down the shift key while clicking "Restart" in the Windows Start Menu. The PC should boot to a "Choose an option" screen. Click on "Troubleshoot" and you should see an icon for "Reset this PC" in there. Hopefully that will work for your situation. Cheers -- Jason
Thanks Mate, easy to follow instructions :)
Glad it helped! :) Have a great weekend -- Jason
Im trying to sell my dell laptop windows 10 ,i want to make sure if i do the factory reset it wont delete my files on my other devices? Please help, i need to sell my dell laptop..respond ASAP! Thankyou,,
Hi! The "Reset this PC" will not remove any of the files from your other PCs or devices. It only removes them from the computer you run the program on. It will not send any "delete" commands through any cloud sync services like Microsoft OneDrive or DropBox. For your case, you should backup all of your data files first and then use the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options to make sure that your data on PC is not recoverable by the new owner. Thanks -- Jason
@@JasonBagnellI just did the factory reset ! I followed along with this video,But I just Want to make sure All My photos etc are off my laptop before I sell it,It Looks like its all off but Id like to make sure before I sell it?ThankYou,,
lol soon as I was bout to leave u said that😂😂😂nd I said “facts ima hit the like button”💪🏾💯
Thank you so much! I'm glad you found the video helpful. Cheers -- Jason :)
thank u sir ❤
You're welcome! Have a great day -- Jason :)
Thank you. Your information was clear and precise .
You're welcome! I'm glad you found the video useful. Have a great day -- Jason :)
Im supposed to bring this to the post office in 10 minutes I had no idea this would take so damn long wtf
Yes, it does take quite a while, especially if the computer has a mechanical hard drive and not a SSD. Sorry to hear that you are in a time crunch.
@@JasonBagnell It went quick I got it in time thank you 👍
You waited until 10 minutes before you need to drop off?
@@JM-rp9qf Ya the person wanted 1 day shipping and told me a half hour before my local post office was closing but I ended up swapping the SSD with one the same size
Mines not saying it will reinstall windows
Edit: never mind I just forgot to connect the Ethernet cord
Great! I'm glad you got everything sorted out. Have a awesome day! I'll be dodging the hurricane in Central Florida. -- Jason :)
I want to sell my pc but want my windows license. My PC was pre-built so can I remove my window key? and add it to my new pc?
Hi! I know that you can't use the same license on multiple computers except if it is a volume license. I searched on Google and found an article on Microsoft.com about "Reactivating Windows after a hardware change". I think you'll find the information you're looking for there: support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/reactivating-windows-after-a-hardware-change-2c0e962a-f04c-145b-6ead-fb3fc72b6665#ID0EBD=Windows_10 You can select "Windows 11" or "Windows 10" at the top. Have a great day! -- Jason
I should’ve watched this video before any others now I have to reset again 🤦♂️
I hope my video helps get you to the finish line. Let me know how it goes. If you get into a "fight" where the Windows Setup program tries to force you to Create/Join a Microsoft account, check out my other video on that topic: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Thanks! -- Jason
After the process it says. A problem appeared when the computer was reseted. No changes has been made. What should I do?
Hi! If your PC is able to boot up to the Windows desktop, try running the Reset Procedure again and choose the opposite answer to the "How would you like to reinstall Windows?" question. Some people say that they are able to get it to work after doing that. Also, you can try this: Click the Start menu and then click on the Restart option **While holding down the shift key**. The PC should boot into a diagnostic/troubleshooting menu. You will get a choice of "Restart" or "Advanced Options". Click on "Advanced Options". Click on "Troubleshoot" on the next screen. "Reset this PC" should appear on the next screen. You can use that to reset the computer without Windows actively running in the background. Hopefully some of those suggestion will help. Let me know how it goes!! -- Jason
Google must ne listening to what I'm saying. I'm in the middle of erasing 4 extremely old laptop before I recycle them and this video pops up in youtube. That's handy but scary too. Great video and helps me a lot
That's happened to me too! Like when you've talked with a friend or family member about some obscure topic that you've never searched for and then it starts coming up later on the Internet everywhere you look. I turned off all of the relevant "Background App Refresh" settings on my iPhone to keep the apps from spying on me when the apps are not open. It makes you wonder.. I'm glad you found the video helpful! Have a great weekend -- Jason
Thanks Jason 👍
Saves me taking out the drive, mounting it in a caddy and formatting it there.
Yes, I'm glad Microsoft gave us an easy way to secure erase our data from the PC. Make sure you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: Yes" options so all of your personal data will be removed during the process. Thanks! -- Jason
Amazing video! Thank you so much :D
Thank YOU, I really appreciate your comment! :) Cheers -- Jason
Hello Jason I am selling my pc and was wondering if I reset this pc will it also delete my Microsoft account because maybe later on I want to buy another one all I will need to do is sign in to my Microsoft?
Hi Jose, when you run the "Reset this PC" program, it will disconnect the computer from your Microsoft account but it does not delete the Microsoft Account and all of your files from the Microsoft servers. Because you're selling your PC, you should: 1. Make a backup copy of your files (They will remain in OneDrive under your account on the Microsoft Servers but it never hurts to have an emergency copy just-in-case). 2. Run "Reset this PC" and choose the "Remove everything" and "Clean data: Yes" options. That will remove your data files and your Microsoft Account from the PC and it will perform a secure-erase on the drive to keep someone from running a data recovery program to get your old files back. 3) At the end of the Reset this PC program, it will ask you to join a network and enter your Microsoft account. Do NOT enter your account information because you don't want your OneDrive files and Microsoft Account getting reloaded onto the computer. Some people just turn off the PC and turn it over the the new owner at that point. Other people like to finish the Windows Setup program to make sure that none of the files remain. I mentioned some tricks on how to bypass joining a network and how to skip connecting it to a Microsoft account in the video but you can watch another video I created with more ways to skip connecting to a Microsoft Account. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html Hopefully this is the information you're looking for. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
It says "cloud storage" I don't have that connection. Didn't work.
Hi! Have you tried again using the "Local Reinstall" option? That will not require Internet access and should not take as much time as the Cloud Download option. Thanks -- Jason
Thanks for the info,does this work for a copy of windows 10 that was already installed when i bought it (pre-installed with new pc)
@@PlazmaKore7019 Absolutely! It will work great!
@@JasonBagnell great going to try it later transferring my pc to my daughter ,bought me a new one today
Can you help me figure out what "user" my laptop is? We are being hacked and I need to delete them.. please help 🙏 I just don't want to delete myself bc they have created so many Auth.users." please and I would L Really appreciate any help. Complete Network take over ddos attack and sql malware injections. Any advice would be highly appreciated! Thank you so much and thank you for your teaching. God bless you! "Bill and Jenn Johnson @ RUclips.
Wow, I feel for you in that situation. I've helped a few people when they are dealing with that same issue. Make sure to disconnect the Internet so the hackers won't be able to continue causing new problems. If you are currently logged in as the user you want to locate, open the command prompt window by clicking the Start Button, type CMD.EXE and press enter. Inside the command prompt window, enter the following command and press enter: CD %USERPROFILE% That will change the current directory to where the current user's profile data is being stored. If you want Windows display the current username, enter the following command: ECHO %USERNAME% The username can be different from the directory name if the user account has been "renamed" previously. I hope this little tid-bit of knowledge helps you while trying to weed-out the hackers and restore your data. Best wishes -- Jason Bagnell
Mine didn’t have don’t have Internet, so I had to connect to Wi-Fi, but I unchecked automatically connect
I made a video that shows some of the "tricks" I use to bypass the Windows Setup network requirement. The Shift-F10 trick followed by entering the BYPASSNRO command seems to work most of the time. Here's a link to the video: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html
I had a issue with my pc its mainly for gaming i changed some setting from watching a guy on youtube and it messed up my pc saying it doesnt have the file when i try to run my games will this help me if i reset my pc back to factory or will i still have those mistakes i made on the pc ?? Need help lol
Hi! Running the "Reset this PC" program will reset Windows, all of it's settings and the Windows Registry back to the default settings. If you made the changes inside Windows, the Reset process should take care of reverting them. If you made changes inside your PC's BIOS/UEFI, you'll need to boot into the BIOS and then load either the Optimal Defaults or System Default settings to get things back to where it was before you made the changes. I hope this helps! -- Jason
will this clear my other hard drive that doesnt have the operating system on it as well? I want to clear everything.
Hi Timayy! I made another video that shows how to use the "Reset this PC" to erase ALL hard drives that are installed in the PC. See: ruclips.net/video/7ceHpGlhp9E/видео.html Thanks -- Jason
Hey, if I have a Microsoft account logged in, can I reset the windows and still have access to it and office without logging in again?
Hi! The "Reset this PC" feature reinstalls a fresh copy of Windows and it removes all applications, including Microsoft Office. You'll also need to log back into your Microsoft Account once the process is complete, if you want to have the new Windows installation reconnected to it. That being said, the answer to your question would be "no". I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
NOPE- I'm not selling mine.. I'm making it a decicates SECURTY SYSTEM control unit-- or something similar.. BUT- if I DO - I can without any problems--as I keep ALL my personal stuff on a separate hard drive- and sign in to it every use-- it's never "autobooted".. and nothing on the drive left in it but the OS, which I don't care about..
Followed this procedure. Not sure if there's been an update but I did not have an option to proceed without internet or logging in without the use of a Microsoft account
Here's a reply I posted recently about this. You might find it helpful: "Yes, Microsoft is starting to tighten down the ability to bypass joining a network and connecting to a Microsoft Account. I don't run into this road block too often but I have seen it before. Microsoft Surface tablets often won't allow me to bypass the requirements. I made another video where I show two tricks for bypassing the network/account requirement: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html One method is the OOBE/BYPASSNRO command. The other trick involves using "No@ThankYou.com" for the E-mail address. We'll see how long those last for." Thanks for you comment! -- Jason :)
I bought a second-hand laptop. I am in the process of resetting it. How does the reset affect viruses or malware the laptop might have? I don't want my external hard drive infected by viruses/malware. Thank you.
Hi! Don’t connect your external hard drive until the process is complete. When the “Reset this PC” program is finished, no viruses or malware will remain on the computer. Hopefully you used the “remove everything” option when running it. The computer will operate like-new when everything is done. Enjoy! - Jason 😀
@@JasonBagnell Thank you for that fast reply and the video! It worked perfectly. Haven't connected the external hard drive yet.
Stupid windows takes ages they should be banned from entering the market
I've noticed that too. When Intel & AMD release new, faster, more powerful processors, Microsoft continues writing inefficient programs that gobble up all of the extra processing power. Their apps seem to be getting slower and more bloated as time goes by. Lord help people with older 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation CPUs. Intuit is also guilty of that too. I just upgraded to an Intel i9-14900K CPU and QuickBooks Pro is *Still Slow* on my new monster machine!!! Cheers -- Jason!
I want to sell my pc but where do i keep all my games and personal files, on another device?
Hi! Windows 10 and Windows 11 unfortunately have a bulit-in transfer wizard that copies everything from your old PC to your new PC. I wish that Microsoft could offer us a program similar to the one the Apple/Mac PCs have. There are some 3rd party programs that can be purchased to perform that task, like LapLink's PC Mover Professional, but most people end up copying all of their files to a Flash Drive or External Hard drive, and sometimes all of their data files are already being stored in Microsoft's OneDrive (cloud storage) under the user's Microsoft Account. Most of the files you'll want to back up are in the C:\Users\USERNAME folder.
Once the new PC is up and running, they move all of the files that they backed up, to the new PC from there. You'll need to manually reinstall all of your programs, games, etc from the original download file or DVD. I have also had luck using a free bare-metal backup and recovery program called "Veeam Agent for Windows" to perform a full backup, create a bootable recovery DVD for the PC and then perform a bare-metal restore to the new machine. That process is a little complicated but I have seen it work successfully 2 or 3 times and all of the user's programs and settings were in-tact on the new computer when it finished. Remember that once you run the "Reset this PC" program on your old computer, all of the applications/programs and possibly all of the user data files (if you selected the "Remove everything option") will get erased.
I hope this provides a little insight on the issue and I hope that Microsoft will give us a better option sometime in the future.
Have a great day! -- Jason :)
so if i want to make sure everything has been erased and its asking me to sign in to Microsoft... what should i do??
Hi! If you don't have a option to continue without Internet, you can enter "no@thankyou.com" as your Microsoft E-mail address and just enter a random/bogus password. An error will be displayed and then the Windows Setup program will continue forward using a "local account" instead of a "Microsoft Account". Try that and see if it works. I made another video that shows some of my tricks for bypassing the Microsoft Account requirement. See: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html I hope you find this helpful! Have a great day -- Jason :)
Do I need internet access to do this ? I'm just doing this to wipe everything to get rid of this
Hi! After the "Reset this PC" process is complete, it will boot back up and ask for you to connect to a WiFi/LAN network and it will want you to create or join a Microsoft Account. At that point, many people just power off the PC and then turn it over to the next owner (or just discard the PC) so that person can continue forward. As long as you selected the "Remove everything and "Clean data: Yes" options, the drive has already been erased at that point.
If you want to boot to the Windows Desktop screen to see exactly how things came out, you can use one of the tricks from another video I made that show you how to get Windows Setup to bypass the Network/Account requirement. See:
ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html I hope this helps! -- Jason :)
This happend and I'm crying I lost everything
This video is about how to wipe (erase) your PC before selling it or discarding it. What exactly happened? Did you choose the "Remove Everything" option? If so, the process is designed to do just that. If you selected the "Keep my files" option, your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos, etc should still be available after the Reset process is complete.
I want to know if this keeps all the drivers installed cause I think this is the most tedious part, if not this is not helping me cause its the same as a windows fresh install.
Hi! I did some research on your question and found this reoccurring statement on several of the articles: "All the manufacturer installed software and drivers that came with the PC will be reinstalled." If you have custom/unusual hardware or if you have added a piece of hardware that does not have it's drivers pre-loaded in the Microsoft Online Driver Library, you might need to manually reinstall the drivers for those devices. The Windows Driver Library has become quite extensive and Windows Updates will usually do a good job of automatically downloading the drivers that are required for your system. Sometimes might be 1 or 2 device drivers that need to be downloaded and installed. -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell Thank you for your reply, I will try your method
Preparing to reset
Status: Downloading-30%
But 30% not change for 2 hour
Hi! Give it a LONG time to finish before assuming that the process is stuck. If the PC has a large mechanical drive (not a SSD), it will take quite a while for the Secure Erase process to complete. I used a lot of fast forwarding in my video. Let it run all day and overnight if necessary. Maybe other people can "chime in" and tell us how long their PC took to complete the process? Thanks! -- Jason
Thaank you help me❤️🔥❤️🔥
🙏
Your comment had praying hands. Did everything end up working out OK when you tried it? Cheers -- Jason :)
Very helpful, except I was unable to get to Windows without logging into Microsoft
Newer releases of Microsoft Windows are making it more difficult to complete the Windows Setup process without joining a network or entering you personal Microsoft Account information. Some people simply power OFF the computer when it reaches the point where it asks you to join a network and enter a valid Microsoft Account. The secure erase has already been performed, so they hand it over to the new owner and let the new owner finish the Windows Setup process. I have another video that shows a few "tricks" that might work to bypass the requirements: ruclips.net/video/UdyP_bHSUlE/видео.html The easiest thing to try is entering "No@Thankyou.com" when you are asked for the E-Mail address. Enter a random password and then continue forward. Hopefully the account will error out and the installation will move forward, bypassing the Microsoft Account requirement. Another trick involves entering a command into the Command Prompt window during the Setup process. See the video for more detail. Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell OMG I wish I had watched that other video before commenting. Thank you for this! Note: Shift-F10 didn't do anything, but the login trick worked great. Thank you!
Yea!! I so glad it worked for you :) Cheers! -- Jason
question, if a hacker has a “back door” to my pc somewhere on my pc or windows would this be the best way to deal with that?
The "Reset this PC" program should take care of any viruses, malware and backdoors that might be present on your system. You'll end up with a completely fresh installation of Windows when it is finished running. It is possible that a virus/backdoor might have stored it's files on a partition other than the Primary Windows partition. If you want to make 10000% sure that the virus is no longer present, you can follow one of these two videos that show how to delete all of the data partitions on the hard drive and then perform a Windows 10/11 installation from scratch. For Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html For Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html ** Make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before deleting the partitions because everything on the drive will be cleared out during the Clean Install process ** Have a great day! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnellthanks for getting back to me about this because i thought the back door could be stored on my external 5tb hard drive and the problem with this is i have at least 3tb of that space taken up so im doubting i can plug it back up again. it has sll my youtube videos on there which is sad
If I have spyware on my PC that I can’t remove so I reset my PC, should I make it reset/clear my drivers too or is that something I shouldn’t worry about?
Hi! Running the "Reset this PC" program should leave the PC in a perfectly clean/fresh/spyware-free state when it's finished, including the hardware device drivers. Give it a try and hopefully everything will be squeaky clean and virus/spyware free.
If you still have problems after the reset, you can perform a Windows 10/11 "Clean Install". I made videos that show how to completely remove all partitions from your computer's hard drive and then it shows how to install a fresh copy of Windows 10/11 from a USB flash drive. Make sure you have backed up everything you want to keep before following the procedures these videos. Windows 10: ruclips.net/video/bP03Y-l9NOM/видео.html Windows 11: ruclips.net/video/ZMKl9wBJYD0/видео.html
Let me know how it turns out. Cheers! -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell Thank you, I’ll give it a shot later.
@@JasonBagnell did this and the malware seems to be gone, your a legend. Thank you!
Sir, how to enter that page whenever you forgot your password?
Hi! On the Windows login screen, you can try clicking on the power button in the bottom right corner. A little menu with Restart, Shut Down, Sleep, etc. should appear. Hold one of the SHIFT keys on your keyboard and click on RESTART while holding SHIFT down. That should boot the PC into the Windows Recovery Console and you'll be able to find the "Reset this PC" in there. It's possible that it might still ask you for an Administrator password before it lets you reset the PC. Hopefully you'll be able to get the program running this way. Thanks -- Jason
Hi Jason , justed subbed. I had my old tower sitting collecting dust😂 so your video has prompted me😅 thank you so much.Brian D.🇬🇧🍺
You're welcome Brian! -- I'm glad you found the video helpful. Have a great day -- Jason :)
Any thoughts on how to do this if it asks for a password that you don't know. I'm dealing with one company that bought another including all their computers and I haven't been able to get a list of passwords from the old company's IT dept. Let me know. Thanks
Well, because it doesn't seem like you're concerned with securely erasing the computers and you just want to get them cleared out and running a stock Windows 10/11 operating system, I recommend that you do the following: Create a bootable USB flash drive that contains the latest Windows 10 / 11 installation files. That flash drive can then be used to reload a fresh copy of Windows onto the hard drive. If the PC has an 8th generation Intel CPU or newer, the Windows 11 "Create Windows 11 Installation Media" link is: www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 For Windows 10, the Windows 10 "Create Windows 10 Installation media" link is here: www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 The product keys for these operating systems are stored Digitally at Microsoft so you should not be required to enter them.
Click the "Download Now" button and follow the instructions to load the Windows installation media onto an 8GB+ flash drive. Next, boot each PC from the flash drive (For Dell, tap F12 after turning on the PC, etc). and follow the instructions to install a fresh copy of Windows onto the drive. When you reach the point where it asks "Where do you want to install Windows?", individually click each partition and click "Delete". Once all of the previous partitions are gone you will be starting with a completely blank C: drive.
Nejlepší je mít flešku s bootovatelnejma nástrojema, přemazat celej disk nástrojem co náhodně zapíše data celym rozsahu disku (sebere to jeden životní cyklus SSD ale co) a pak nainstalovat windows z flešky. A to jsem BFU, předpokládam že VY jako IT profesionál tyhle věci znáte.
Těmhle Windows neprůhlednejm postupům nevěřim od tý doby, co Microsoft zabraly indové.
Hi! I made another video where I tested using the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: YES" options on a mechanical hard drive that held over 400GB of my personal data. Once the procedure was complete, I tried using a few programs (Recuva, Disk Drill, a hexadecimal editor) to see if data could be recovered from the drive after Windows finished securely erasing it. The programs were unable to recovery any of my previous files after "deep scans" were performed. See: ruclips.net/video/j5dO3iG1_S0/видео.html
Most people are not I.T. technicians like you and I, so they need a simple and effective way to clear their data before discarding an old computer. Microsoft's "Reset this PC" seems to be effective for that purpose.
Thanks for your comment! Cheers -- Jason
@@JasonBagnell Super!
Ale jak jsem napsal, nejsem IT technik, jen se rád učím nové věci a hlavně nevěřím indům 😃
Do you have to go through and set up the Microsoft if your selling your pc or can you just turn the pc off and then give it to the person your selling it to
Yes, you'll want to make sure that you used the "Remove everything" and "Clean Data: Yes" options and later in the process when it asks for you to join a network and enter a Microsoft Account, many people just turn off the PC at that point and turn it over to the new buyer. That way the new owner finishes the Windows setup process with their information. Have a great day! -- Jason :)
once the preparing reset is over, my pc restarts but the screen. is black but my pc is running
Make sure you don't have any flash drives or USB hard drives connected to the computer and then turn the PC off and back on. It might be trying to boot from a device other than the hard drive. Also, if your PC has a large mechanical hard drive and you selected the "Clean data: Yes" option, it will take a LONG TIME for the process to complete. Let me know if you have any additional questions. -- Jason