Resetting a Windows PC isn’t as complicated as it used to be, mostly because Microsoft gives you some flexibility here. You can either reset the PC while keeping your data, or remove everything and start with a clean slate.

Broadly, these are two straightforward choices, but each one works a little differently. They also come with a few extra toggles that change exactly what gets deleted along the way.

“Keep my files” doesn’t keep everything

It’s the safe bet

Let’s start with the safest option. The “Keep my files” option doesn’t touch your personal files, like documents, photos, videos, archives, and other folders. All of that remains unaffected. What it does remove is all your apps and system settings. That means your lock screen preferences, taskbar customization, registry tweaks you made, or anything tweaked with apps like PowerToys — it’s all set to the default. Your apps like Chrome, Steam, Photoshop, 7-Zip, and Roblox are removed too. So, if you were previously facing an issue due to one of your apps, this should take care of it.

So yes, this option is more like a refresh than a complete reinstall. The only thing is that you’ll need to reinstall your apps again. But you can make that bit easy. Instead of installing apps one by one, use a tool like UniGetUI to export the list of apps and programs. After the reset, you can install your apps in one go.

Once you’ve chosen Keep my files, you’ll need to pick how you want to reinstall Windows, whether you want to use the copy that’s already on your PC and download a new one. The download option takes more time, but that’s the one you should choose if you have time. This will take care of any corrupted or missing files that might be causing problems with your system.

After you’ve decided on that, you’ll see a Change settings option that lets you restore preinstalled apps. You can enable this option to reinstall anything your manufacturer included when you first got your PC. This could be antivirus software that came preinstalled or manufacturer tools for updating the drivers and tweaking the performance.

“Remove everything” gives you a clean slate

No exceptions here

This does exactly what you think. It removes everything from your PC, including your apps, settings, and personal files. It gives you a clean slate and is most likely to fix almost every issue. This makes it ideal if you want to start over or if “Keep my files” didn’t fix your problem.

If you’re doing this reset to sell your PC or give it away, there’s one more option you need to pay attention to. After you’ve chosen how Windows should be reinstalled, either using the local copy or downloading a fresh one from the cloud, you’ll need to pick the Clean data option. This makes it almost impossible for even a data recovery tool to restore previous data after the reset, which is exactly what you want if you’re not planning to keep the machine.

Note that the clean data option might take longer, as it will take time to clear everything. But it’s definitely worth it, because you can rest easy knowing that all your personal data is gone for good.

Whatever you choose, keep your BitLocker key handy

The one prep step

No matter what option you choose, note down the BitLocker recovery key before you start anything. Windows uses device encryption by default on PCs shipped with 24H2 or later, so there’s a good chance that your drive is already encrypted. You can confirm this by going to Settings > Privacy & security > Device encryption.

An encryption key is obviously not needed if the drive is unencrypted. But if you see the drive marked as encrypted, you can find the key in the recovery section on Microsoft’s website. Here, sign into the Microsoft account that you’re using on your PC, and you’ll find the recovery key for your laptop. If it’s a work or school account, you’ll need to contact the IT admin for this.

Besides the recovery key, you should also keep your Microsoft account credentials handy. You’ll need them after the reset, unless you’re planning to sell the PC. Signing into your Microsoft account will bring back saved Wi-Fi networks, passwords, personalization settings, and language preferences, so that’s one less thing to worry about for you.

One last note…

This goes without saying, but resetting your PC isn’t something you should do without backing up your data. Even if you’re going with the safer option of resetting without losing data, it’s still a good idea to back up everything for peace of mind. Also, make sure your laptop is connected to the power source and you have an internet connection.