Question Complete restart of the system, hidden data included?

[ashdejan]

I was wondering, what's the best way of going about resetting everything, and i mean EVERYTHING, during a system reinstall? Specifically the things that get saved that aren't really an option to change, such as the registry and random data information that keeps popping up from my previous system? I have some issues where things i clearly did not install or setup on a new system, but had on the previous one are still there, and i don't want them, i pretty much want the end result to be factory defaults, with maybe the bios up to the update i put in last. What can i do, how do i achieve this and what's the best way of going about it ?

 

[jay32267]

I think the best way is doing a clean Windows install.
Your BIOS will not change.

 

[britechguy]

Well, if yours is a commercial system most of them now come with a recovery option that will put the device right back in to its "out of the box state." If that's what you're looking for (and that would include any "bloatware" that came with the system) and that option exists for you then I'd use that.

Otherwise, doing a completely clean Windows 10 reinstall as suggested by jay32267 is the way to go. Here are my instructions for doing this:
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Important Reminder 1:

If your computer has ever had a valid, licensed copy of Windows 10 installed, even if that's been later replaced by, say, Linux, you can still do a completely clean install of Windows 10 without having to acquire a new license. Windows 10 licenses are stored electronically on Microsoft servers, and are linked to your computer's motherboard. The installer will locate that existing license if you are reinstalling Windows 10.

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Important Reminder 2:

It should go without saying, but, if you have a functioning, even poorly functioning, system that you're hoping to wipe clean to get a fresh start you should definitely do a full system image backup and a separate user data backup before following the instructions for doing a completely clean reinstallation. It also makes sense to use a utility such as Belarc Advisor to create an inventory of the software you have installed and the license keys for same so that you have a handy list when it comes time to put them on your brand new Windows 10 installation.

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You can use the Windows 10 Media Creation Tool either to create bootable USB media directly, or if you want to have a copy of the ISO file, to download that and use a separate utility to create the bootable USB media. Either way will work.



These instructions are current as of July 2, 2019. They have changed little during the life of Windows 10.



Doing a completely clean (re)installation of Windows 10 using the Media Creation Tool (MCT):



A) To create a bootable USB drive using the MCT itself:

- MS-Word Format: Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Create a Bootable USB Drive



- PDF Format: Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Create a Bootable USB Drive





B) To download the Windows 10 ISO file and use Rufus to create the bootable USB

- MS-Word Format: Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File



- PDF Format: Completely Clean Win10 (Re)install Using MCT to Download Win10 ISO File