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Drawing on nearly half a decade at Which?, Natalie helps readers cut through the noise with practical guidance on trending products, pest control, cleaning advice and money-saving tips during the sales.
If you're getting rid of an old Windows 10 computer, it's important to completely wipe your data. Otherwise your personal files, passwords and photos could fall into the wrong hands. That's where factory reset comes in.
You might also need to do a factory reset if you want to to reset, restore or reinstall Windows to fix bugs, or to get a speed boost if your PC has been dragging its feet.
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Make sure you back up any important files first.
Remove everything wipes your PC with a fresh installation of Windows 10.
You'll see an extra option called 'Remove files and clean the drive'. This performs additional data-wiping, rather like using data-shredding software such as Eraser. This is the option to go for if you're getting rid of your PC.
If you were using this option to, say, speed up your PC and wanted to restore your files and apps afterwards, you'd have to copy your files back over from a hard drive or the cloud. Plus reinstall your apps and programs again.
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A factory reset isn't a guarantee that all the data on your computer will be wiped. But Windows 10 gives you a built-in data-shredding option as you're performing the factory reset.
If you're using an older version of Windows, the data – including your photos and documents – could still be hidden in a format that someone could retrieve if they were using data-recovery software.
In this case, using data-shredding software on a Windows 7 or 8 PC is a smart way to ensure your personal files are gone for good. Perform this process before factory resetting the operating system. It's a pain to do it afterwards, because you have to set up a whole new laptop, simply to wipe it.
Only use this method as a last resort for dealing with operating system errors or frequent crashes. However, as Windows 10 will lose security support for good in October 2026, you might want to consider getting a new computer instead: see our pick of the best laptops and the best all-in-one computers.
The Keep my files process leaves your personal files intact but replaces your system files. It uninstalls your apps and programs, so you’ll need to reinstall them manually once the process is complete.
Choosing this option means you'll need to have the product codes ready to re-enter when you reinstall them. This is particularly important for paid-for software such as Microsoft Office or your antivirus software.
Don't put your data at risk - make sure you protect your PC with Which? recommended best antivirus, which includes the best free software.
It sounds obvious, but make sure all the files on your computer are backed up before you wipe it. You can either do an automated backup, or manually drag and drop the files you want. Find out the three easy ways to back up important files on your PC.
You can back up to an external hard drive - we reveal the best hard external drives. Alternatively, back up to cloud storage.
You can make automated file backups by clicking Start > Settings > Update & Security > Backup.
Be aware that this could take up a lot of space, so make sure you have enough room on whatever you're using for your backup.
Once you're done with your files, don't forget your programs. Be sure that you have the licence keys for any paid-for software that you run. These might be available in the About section of the program's menu or purchase confirmation email you originally used. If it's old software, it could be with the installation disc.
You'll need these licence keys when you reinstall paid-for software on to a new computer.
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