And here’s another scenario. You’re jumping ship to a brand-new computer and have no further need for your old machine. Maybe you hope to sell it or perhaps you aim to give it away or donate it. But before you give it the heave-ho, you need to erase all traces of yourself and your data. Also: The PC is getting weird again – and that’s exactly what we need One way to address either scenario is by setting your PC back to factory conditions, so it’s a clean state. This type of move will often resolve mysterious and seemingly unsolvable technical snafus. And if you don’t plan to keep the PC, a reset can remove all your personal files, settings, and applications. Before you perform a reset, you need to know the consequences. You can choose whether or not to preserve your personal files. But the reset will remove all installed applications and customized settings.  Also: CES 2023 tech you can actually buy right now If your goal is to get rid of your PC, that’s great. But if you’re striving to fix a technical issue and plan to continue using the computer, you’ll need reinstall all your applications and reconfigure whatever settings you previously tweaked.  Now, let’s go through the setup process in Windows 10. 

How to factory-reset your Windows 10 PC