By default, the Windows 10 factory reset wipes everything on your drives, but doesn’t fully clean them. That means that the old data on them can still be retrieved with the help of specialized data recovery applications. If you’re resetting Windows 10 so that you can start fresh, you can leave everything as is and continue with the reset process.
This might seem like a trivial and easy feature, and is, however there are at least 5 different Wipe or Reset options available, and that number is growing. Depending on the use-case you might want to use a different command.
What happens when you reset Windows 10?
Resetting Windows only affects the physical drive containing your Windows installation. If your system drive contains links to data on those drives, they will be removed and any software installed on those drives may cease to function even if directly launched from them as their dependencies may no longer exist unless they are portable apps.
This is a feature named Reset this PC included in Windows 10 Recovery options. If you reset Windows 10, your computer will start fresh with a new installation, but also let you choose to whether keep your files or remove them, providing two resetting options Keep my files and Remove everything.
Yes, it will. But it will also reinstall your Windows automatically. Actually, no matter which reset option you have chosen, resetting Windows will remove the original OS and install a fresh copy of Windows for you. How long does it take to remove files and clean the drive?
One more inquiry we ran across in our research was “What does “remove everything” to reset Windows 10 mean?”.
As mentioned before, “Remove files and clean the drive” is one of the options available when you choose “Remove everything” to reset Windows 10. It is different from the “Just remove my files” option. If you choose “Just remove my files” option, Windows reset will delete everything saved on the drive/drives by performing a quick format.
How to completely erase data on Windows 10?
For users who want to reset Windows 10, the “Just remove my files” is enough in most cases. But there are still some situations where you are recommended to completely erase your data and fully clean the drive. You might need to choose “Remove files and clean the drive” in following cases:.
This of course begs the question “How to completely erase data from hard drive in Windows 10?”
Choose Remove everything. Click Change settings, enable both Data erasure and Data drives, and click Next. (For Windows 1809 and earlier versions, choose All drives and Remove files and clean the drive respectively in the following screens.) Click Reset button and wait for your Windows 10 to finish resetting.
Can I Wipe my System Drive when reinstalling Windows 10?
While Windows is restoring itself to factory default settings—in other words, reinstalling Windows— you can have it wipe your system drive. You should use this option to protect your private data when you’re selling your PC or giving it to someone else. To do this on Windows 10, head to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.