Being able to find all of your apps from one place is convenient, and being able to discover new apps you’d have never throught about using is even better. Additionally, you can’t disable the Recommended area if it’s something you know you’re not going to use. Even if you clear it and turn the feature “off,” a big empty space that cannot be collapsed or hidden will remain.
Choose this option if you’re doing a Reset This PC to fix a computer problem you’re having and you plan on using the computer normally after it’s over. Next up, assuming you chose to Remove everything, is an important, but somewhat confusing, choice on how to continue with the Reset This PC process. Instead of Windows starting up as usual, you’ll see this Preparing screen. This option only shows up on some computers and isn’t reflected in the screenshot example above.
To learn more about why it’s impossible to bring all lost files back, check our comprehensive guide onwhat data recovery is and how data recovery software works. The image above is based on the Remove everything option and using the cloud as our source. Since our example PC has multiple drives, we have an additional Delete files from all drives setting. Note that you can toggle off reinstallation, but if you’re having serious issues related to Windows 10 components, a fresh copy might be ideal. A factory reset also referred to as a hard reset or a master reset, is a software restore for a computer or other device to its original state. The process erases all data and files stored in your device to get it back to its original state and manufacturer’s settings.
Type in DisableAntiSpyware and press the Enter key. This method works for those running Windows 10 Pro, Enterprise, or Education. I must add that I do not advise trying to uninstall Windows Defender, as uninstalling/deleting Windows Defender in Windows is known to cause other irritants later on since it is well-integrated with the OS. Change the startup type of the Windows Defender Service from Automatic to Disabled.
Then, enter in your newly created password in both boxes. Make sure it’s a combination of letters, numbers and characters. A good rule of thumb with all passwords is to make them complex enough to stay secure from threats, but also memorable enough for you to log in with ease. This method requires you to have access to the alternate email account or phone number you provided when signing up the Microsoft account. If you don’t have access to those anymore, Microsoft will be unable to verify your identity. In that case, you can convert Windows 10 Microsoft account to a local account from a boot media, so you can log back into Windows 10 without losing files.
In many ways its a more streamlined and intelligent Windows, especially if you use a touchscreen or multiple displays, and I think the visual redesign is a good one. If this conversion fails for some reason, the easiest option may be to do a clean reinstall of Windows 10 or 11 with Secure Boot enabled. When you format the drive and install Windows from a bootable USB stick, it will use GPT instead of MBR. If your computer won’t boot after you enable Secure Boot, don’t worry—you just need to go through a couple of additional steps. Failure to boot is most likely because your hard drive or SSD is set up with an MBR partition table rather than the newer GPT format that Secure Boot and UEFI both require. Enabling your processor’s built-in firmware TPM is easy, but finding the setting to do it sometimes isn’t.
System Restore may also be available via Safe Mode without a need for the original Windows Vista installation CD. Over the last several years, Mark has been tasked as a writer, an editor, and a manager, interacting with published content from all angles. He is intimately familiar with the editorial process from the inception of an article idea, through the iterative process, past publishing, and down the road into performance analysis.
I’m Leo Notenboom and I’ve been playing with computers since I took a required programming class in 1976. I spent over 18 years as a software engineer at Microsoft, and “retired” in 2001. In 2003 as a place to help you find answers and become more confident using all this amazing technology at our fingertips. A reset will take some time, and your PC will reboot several times as part of the process. Windows 10 includes the ability to reinstall (or “reset”) Windows to its just-installed condition. If you remember your username and password of the local administrator account you can login as that with Computername\username and your password and leave the domain/reset it from there I think.