Reset windows 7 system to factory settings. How to factory reset a laptop. If all else fails

Factory settings are the basis on the computer, they are installed immediately at the beginning of the first work at the computer and are optimal for Windows 7. Any changes made by the user during use, knock these same "Factory settings". Therefore, in Windows 7, there are ways to return to the default settings, they do this mainly if the user began to inconvenience his own changes.

The whole situation is complicated by the design of the seventh Windows, it does not provide a quick and easy way to reset user settings. Therefore, in order to throw them off, you need to have some knowledge in this area.

Important! Remember, it is not worth doing if there are no strong difficulties, the reset does both the benefit and the negative towards the operation of the system. Some files may disappear.

Transition methods

The following methods are mainly distinguished:

1. Using a boot disk.
2. Through troubleshooting computer problems.
3. Applying the last working configuration.

The first method requires a disk from which Windows was installed, but if an outdated pirated version was installed, this method may not work.

Video - How to Factory Reset Windows 7

The first way

This decision should be taken if the computer either practically stopped working at all, or major problems are noticed in its work.

First, find the disk, or another storage medium from which Windows was installed, insert it into your computer and wait until it boots. After loading the information, the "System Restore" button will appear on the screen.

After clicking on the button, a window is displayed in which the system recovery tools are provided.

Detailed description for each option

After choosing one of the first three options, the process of moving Windows to optimal factory settings will go.

Second way

The second way is pretty quick and easy. After turning on the computer, press the F8 key repeatedly. After a window with additional boot options appears, this method differs in that it will help those who do not have a bootable disk.

The window has appeared, now follow the instructions:

1. Click on "Computer troubleshooting".
2. The System Recovery Options window will open.
3. There we take the necessary measures, which are similarly described above.

However, these methods may not work on some computers, someone may not have a bootable disk, and sometimes they do not at all after pressing F8 the button "Troubleshoot computer problems", let's move on to the third method.

Method three

Usually this method is used as a last resort, but it is important if nothing helps at all.

And so let's move on to the step-by-step instructions:

You can also customize and create. To create it, you need to go to start, find a program called "System", then in the window that opens, go to the system protection tab, and select the creation of a restore point and come up with a name for the point.

All of the methods presented in the article may not be suitable for any models of laptops and computers, the most popular and simple ones are indicated, which are suitable for the main number of PCs and laptops.

Many have heard about the simple ability built into Windows 10 to make a soft reset of the operating system settings, after which the user gets almost the same effect on exit as after reinstalling. But something similar happened before, in previous versions! But not everyone knew about this "trick" ...

In this post, I want to talk about how you can simply reset Windows 7 to factory settings without reinstalling it. The only condition is that for work we need an installation disc or with a "Seven". Well, then everything is simple.

First, you need to boot using the installation media to start the Windows setup wizard. Click on the "Install now" button and go to the stage of choosing the type of installation. Here you need to choose not "Full installation", as is usually done, but "Update".
Thus, you start the procedure Inplace Upgrade... It involves updating the operating system existing on the computer.

Next, you need to go through the steps that will be offered, after which the OS will be restored to its original state (such as it was after the initial installation). But the best part is that this process will allow you to reset Windows 7 to factory settings and save the files and programs installed on the system at the same time!

Comment: Before you start the update process, I would recommend make a backup files stored on the system disk, as well as prepared fresh versions of drivers in advance - they may well come in handy!
Note that the above reset Windows 7 and restoring its factory parameters will work only if it starts normally. Otherwise, you will fail and you will simply waste your time.

Automatically resetting Windows to a "like from the store" (Factory Reset) is a good alternative to installing an operating system from scratch. In many cases, this makes life easier for the user, since it eliminates the need to reinstall it by hand. And it's a pity that this feature is not available on every device, but only on those where the system is installed by the manufacturer. This is almost 90% of all laptops, all-in-ones and branded assemblies of desktop computers.

When is it useful to reset Windows 7 to factory settings:

• if you decide to sell a computer - the condition of the hard disk, as soon as it is out of the store, will only "benefit" the buyer;
• at enterprises - in the case of transferring a computer for use to another employee;
• if the operating system has suffered from a serious failure, which cannot be fixed by anything other than a complete reinstallation;
• after long use and repeated installation and reinstallation of programs, the system began to work slowly - due to littering of the registry and system catalogs;
• Windows 7 stopped loading after installing a new driver - resetting to factory settings will restore knowingly working drivers that were originally installed.
• Windows 7 crashed for unknown reasons - the reset function will help solve the problem if the problem is not related to the failure of the hard drive.

Hidden recovery partition: where is it?

Why isn't the factory reset function available to everyone? The fact is that on computers where it is, the hard drive is marked up in a special way: it has a hidden recovery partition (which is also called a service partition) where a copy of Windows 7 with all drivers and proprietary software is stored. This section is created by the PC manufacturer and is allocated about 15-20 GB of disk space (that's where free space is wasted!). It does not appear in Explorer, but is visible through the Disk Management snap-in. Let's see if you have this section.

• Open Control Panel \u003e\u003e Administrative Tools applet \u003e\u003e Computer Management.

Or, in the context menu of the "Computer" folder, click "Manage".

• On the right side of the window, in the list of administration settings, there is the "Disk Management" item. Click it.

Among other volumes, we see the same hidden section under the name Samsung_REC (shown on the example of a laptop of this brand). It does not have a letter and is not available to the user from under a running system. To look into it (but we do not advise you to do this unnecessarily), you need to boot the computer from external media based on Windows or another OS, go to Disk Management and assign a letter to it. Then he, like the others, will be visible in the conductor.

If such a partition is present on your system disk, you have the opportunity to reset Windows 7 to its original state. If not, then no.

How to reset the system

Some manufacturers equip their equipment with proprietary utilities that allow you to start the reset process directly from under running Windows. But it won't do any good for those who won't boot. Therefore, almost every laptop, all-in-one or branded desktop is equipped with a rollback tool that can be launched from the recovery environment or by pressing a certain key at the start.

Here is a list of some of them for the most common brands:

ASUS - F9
Acer - Alt + F10 (but first you need to go into the BIOS and activate the D2D Recovery (Disk-to-Disk Recovery) option in it)
Dell Inspiron - Ctrl + F11
Dell XPS - F8
Lenovo ThinkPad - F11
Lenovo IdeaPad - dedicated "OneKey Rescue"
Fujitsu Siemens - F8
Toshiba - F8 or 0
Sony VAIO - F10 or "ASSIST" key
Packard Bell - F10
HP Pavilion - F11
LG - F11
Rover - Alt (hold)
Samsung - F4.

Training

Important! Before you reset Windows 7, transfer all the data that is important to you that is stored on your hard drive to another drive. And not only from the system partition, but from all of them. On some devices, for example, the Toshiba brand, the procedure for restoring to factory settings is accompanied by a repartition of the disk, deleting information in all partitions. To restore it after that will be oh how difficult, if not impossible.

Also, make sure that the laptop battery is not drained, otherwise a sudden power outage can do a lot of trouble. Connect the stationary computer and monoblock at this time to an uninterruptible power supply.

Hotkey rollback

Pressing the above key starts the recovery wizard. In some cases (be careful, not in all!), You will be prompted to back up your data. Before skipping this point, make sure you have it already created.

The wizard's instructions have been translated into Russian, so there shouldn't be any difficulties with using it. Just do not forget that the restoration process that has begun cannot be canceled and you will definitely have to bring it to the end. On average, it takes 10-15 minutes.

After completing the procedure, you will see the Windows 7 initial setup screen. Further - creating the first account, activating, etc., is done in the same way as after a normal system installation.

Rollback using Windows utility

Consider running the recovery utility on a Packard Bell laptop, where it is built right into the Windows shell.

• Open Control Panel and run the Backup and Restore applet.

• Click “Restore System Settings or Computer”.

• Click “Advanced Recovery Methods”.

• Select “Return the computer to the factory state”.

Rollback from the recovery environment

Another way to reset Windows is to run the Rollback Wizard from the Recovery Environment (Windows RE). To get into it, press F8 after starting the PC and select "Computer troubleshooting" from the menu that opens.

After loading the RE environment, select the interface language,

user account (password may be required),

Over time, Windows 7 may crash, as the system is gradually clogged with various garbage, damaged by various viruses and other factors. For this reason, prudent developers have created a way to restore and restore system parameters to factory settings. Today we will talk about how to do this.

Method 1. Control panel

The first way is to let you perform a factory reset using the control panel. Before doing this, we recommend that you prepare a system backup in advance in case of unforeseen situations.

1. Discover "Start" and go to control panel.

2. In chapter "System and safety" open up "Archiving computer data".

3. In the window that opens, click on the inscription "Restore system settings or computer".

4. Then go to section "Advanced recovery methods".

5. In the window that appears, we are interested in the second block, which is called "Reinstall Windows"

In some cases, the second inscription may change its appearance. If you met an inscription "Reinstall Windows", then you first need to insert the installation disc with the operating system into the drive.
6. After clicking on the second item, the computer will restart, followed by a system reset to factory settings. After the process completes, all previously installed files will be removed.

Method 2. Recovery point

In the second case, system recovery will only affect the system settings, and all information on the computer will remain intact. It is worth noting that this method is relevant only if you created a restore point immediately after purchasing the device.

1. Go to the menu "Start" and open "All programs".

2. Left click on the folder "Standard".

3. Go to "Service".

4. Find the button "System Restore".

5. In the window that appears, click "Further"

6. Check the box to the left of the label Show other restore points... Then determine the restore point you need based on the date it was saved and select it.

7. In the window that opens, click the button "Done".

You can make such points yourself or adjust the frequency of autosaves.

Before creating a restore point manually, it is best to close running programs. We go to the "Control Panel" and select the item "System". Next, go to the "System Protection" menu, in the window that opens, select "Create a restore point" and specify its name. After the end of the procedure, a system message will be displayed - "Recovery point created successfully."

To start the recovery procedure, go to the "Start" menu, click on the "Control Panel", go to the "Recovery - Start System Restore" item. In the window that opens, you can select the last point or view all available ones. By clicking "Search for affected programs", you will see the entire list of applications that will be changed. It is usually sufficient to select a point 3-4 days before the occurrence of faults and failures. After selecting a restore point and confirming it, the computer will restart.

In the same menu, you can restore using a pre-made image. It is pre-saved on a dvd-medium, USB flash drive or external hard drive. Today, parameters are most often restored from an image via a usb connection - it is quick and convenient.

For inexperienced users, it is better to leave all the proposed settings by default, after several transitions we confirm the reset process by clicking the Finish button. It is worth noting that if you created a backup with errors or the media with the image was damaged, then the system startup may be interrupted. In this case, it is better to install the new environment on the computer with the hard drive formatted first.

This option is considered the simplest, it allows you to quickly return the system to a working state. First you need to go to Safe Mode. To do this, during Windows startup, you need to press the F8 key and select "Last Known Good Configuration". After that, the system will restore the previous working settings and system files, then the download will start again.
In different laptop models, entering Safe Mode for further system reset or recovery is carried out using the system utilities. Below are the combinations to run some of them:

ASUS - F9;
Dell XPS - F8;
Lenovo ThinkPad - F11;
Lenovo IdeaPad - dedicated OneKey Rescue key
Toshiba - F8 or 0;
Sony VAIO - F10 or ASSIST key;
HP Pavilion - F11;
LG - F11;
Rover - Alt (hold);
Samsung - F4.

On recent PCs with UEFI, you will need to change the default values \u200b\u200bwhen you select an OS to enter Safe Mode. More detailed information can be found in the technical documentation.

Last Known Good Configuration can be used to roll back the latest drivers that you might not have installed correctly. Or get back working system files that have been affected by malware. This method of reverting to the previous configuration will help with minor bugs and freezes that appeared with the latest changes in the system. With more serious breakdowns, it may be useless and you will need to try other methods to get the files back.

Using the system boot disk

If Windows is severely disrupted or if viruses are severely affected, a boot disk may be required. With it, you can reset the system or roll it back to a working state and the desired settings. In safe mode, select the item "Computer troubleshooting", then insert the disc into the dvd drive and in the window that opens, click on the "System Restore" button.

The program offers us a choice of several ways to set the default parameters:

Startup Repair - finding major problems that prevent Windows from starting;
System Restore - search for a restore point with working settings to reset;
System image recovery - using a previously made backup;
Windows Memory Diagnostics - check system memory;
Command line - working with files through a text line.

Image recovery

The recovery process is the same as with the built-in application. But working with the disk, you exclude the possibility of harmful effects on the work of viruses and other third-party software.

Hard reset to factory settings
If the above recovery methods do not work, you can try to perform a full reset to factory settings. For this, some laptop and PC models have a hidden system partition with a copy of Windows in a basic state.

Manufacturers offer users special utilities that will make the reset process simple and straightforward. The principle of operation of such programs is similar and even inexperienced users can understand them. You can start the utility using a special key or through safe mode during computer boot. If such a utility is provided by the developer, then its name will be displayed at the end of the list of recovery parameters.

In the window that opens, we need to select the first item - "Restore to the state at the time of purchase." After finishing the work, the computer will be rebooted, it will be rolled back to factory settings (you will need to select the default language again and create an account).

It is worth noting that all files that were previously on the hard drive will be deleted irrevocably. Therefore, we recommend that you save everything you need to a USB flash drive or other medium in advance.

You can achieve the desired result through the command line. To do this, in the corresponding tool, we indicate: "man Restore-Computer –Detailed". And confirm by pressing "Enter".

All the advantages of each method were indicated above. You can choose any one for your convenience. We hope our article helped you.

It may be necessary to restore the factory settings of a laptop in many situations, the most common of which are any interfering Windows crashes, "clogging" of the system with unnecessary programs and components, as a result of which the laptop slows down, the same method can solve a lot of other problems or prepare a laptop to sale - relatively quickly and easily.

In this article, we will take a closer look at how to restore factory settings on a laptop, how it usually happens and when it may not work. Separate detailed instructions for Dell laptops:, for Lenovo laptops:.

In order to restore the factory settings of Asus laptops, computers of this brand have a convenient, fast and simple recovery utility. Here is a step-by-step instruction on how to use it:

1. Disable Boot Booster in BIOS - this feature speeds up computer boot and is enabled by default in Asus laptops. To do this, turn on your laptop and immediately after starting the boot press F2, as a result of which you will have to get into the BIOS settings, where this function is disabled. Use the arrows to navigate to the Boot tab, select Boot Booster, press Enter and select Disabled. Go to the last tab, select “Save changes and exit”. The laptop will automatically restart. Turn it off after that.
2. In order to restore your Asus laptop to factory settings, turn it on and press the F9 key, you should see a boot screen.
3. The recovery program will prepare the files necessary for the operation, after which a request will appear whether you really want to perform it. All your data will be deleted.
4. After that, the process of restoring and reinstalling Windows occurs automatically, without user intervention.
5. During the recovery process, the computer will restart several times.

HP laptop factory settings

To restore factory settings on an HP laptop, turn it off and disconnect all flash drives from it, remove memory cards, etc.

1. Turn on the laptop and press the F11 key until the HP Laptop Recovery Manager - Recovery Manager appears. (You can also run this utility in Windows by finding it in the list of installed programs).
2. Select "System Recovery"
3. You will be prompted to save the required data, you can do it.
4. After that, the process of restoring factory settings will go automatically, the computer may restart several times.

Upon completion of the recovery program, you will receive an HP laptop with Windows installed, all drivers and branded HP software.

Acer laptop factory settings

To restore factory settings on Acer notebooks, shut down the computer. Then turn it back on by holding Alt and pressing the F10 key about once every half a second. The system will ask for a password. If you've never done a factory restore on this laptop before, the default password is 000000 (six zeros). Select Factory reset from the menu that appears.

Alternatively, you can perform a factory reset on your Acer laptop and from the Windows operating system - search for the eRecovery Management utility in the Acer software and use the Recovery tab in the utility.

Samsung laptop factory settings

To reset your Samsung laptop to factory settings, run the Samsung Recovery Solution utility in Windows, or if it has been removed or Windows does not boot, press the F4 key when you turn on the computer to start the Samsung Laptop Factory Reset utility. Then follow these steps:

1. Select "Restore"
2. Select "Complete Restore"
3. Select a Computer Initial Status restore point
4. When asked to restart the computer, answer "Yes", after restarting, follow all the instructions of the system.

After the laptop is completely restored to the factory state and you enter Windows, another reboot is required to activate all the settings made by the recovery program.

Resetting your Toshiba laptop to factory settings

To run the factory restore utility on Toshiba laptops, turn off the computer, then:

• Press and hold the 0 (zero) button on the keyboard (not on the number pad on the right)
• Turn on your laptop
• Release the 0 key when the computer starts beeping.

After that, the program will start to restore the laptop to factory settings, follow its instructions.