If Windows 10 is behaving oddly or not functioning as it should, you can reimage Windows 10 directly from the Settings app. Here’s how.
It’s not always but there will be times when Windows 10 is so slow or uncooperative that it might take forever to even perform simple tasks like browsing and emailing. There may be any number of reasons like corrupted system files, necessary settings, registry edits, policy changes, messed up Windows updates, etc..
When Windows 10 becomes a mess for whatever reason, you can easily fix it by reimaging. When you reimage Windows 10, you are essentially resetting the system to its default factory settings. This means that Windows will restore all its files and remove all additional installed software, updates, settings, registry edits, and policy change. Once you are done reimaging, the system will be fresh, new, and fast.
In this quick and simple guide, let me show the steps to reimage Windows 10 directly from the Settings app.
Important note: Before proceeding with the steps below, save your work and back up all personal files in the C drive. Reimage will remove all installed applications and takes fa fair bit of time to complete the whole procedure.
Steps to Fully Reimage Windows 10
These are the steps you should follow to fully reimage Windows 10.
- Open the Settings with “Windows Key + I” keyboard shortcut.
- Go to the “Update & Security” page.
- Select “Recovery” on the left panel.
- On the right page, click on the “Get started” button under the “Reset this PC” section.
- Now, click on the “Keep my files” button. This option will fully reset Windows without actually deleting your personal files in the user directories like downloads, documents, pictures, etc., in the C drive.
- Windows will now tell you what it is going to do. Click on the “Reset” button.
- As soon as you click the button, Windows will start the reimaging process.
As I said before, resetting or reimaging will take some time to complete. Just sit back and wait. Your Windows PC will restart multiple times. You don’t have to interfere with anything. It does everything for you.
Once the reimaging is done, you will be taken to the familiar login screen. Login with your account details and you are done. Helpfully, Windows has gives you a neat HTML document with a list of all the programs it automatically uninstalled during the reimaging process. Just double-click on the file to see all the uninstalled updates. Do keep in mind that the list might not be complete as Windows might not list some applications under certain circumstances.
That is all. I hope that helps. If you are stuck or need some help, comment below and I will try to help as much as possible.