Download back to you clean version

If you intend to give it away or sell it after the reset, choose the second option, which will take much longer to complete. After choosing an option, click on the Reset button and that's it. The computer will restart and after somewhere between 10 minutes to half an hour, or maybe longer depending on the speed of the machine, you will have yourself a computer with Windows 10 freshly installed. Note that resetting your machine in this way means you'll lose the option to roll back to the previous Windows.

If your computer still runs Windows 7 or 8, you want to avoid upgrading using Windows Update. Instead make yourself a Windows 10 installation disc. I prefer using a USB flash drive thumb drive since it works with all computers, including those without an optical drive.

You'll need a drive that's 3GB or larger. Here are the steps. Step 1: Go to Microsoft's Windows 10 download page and click on Download tool now to get the latest media creation tool. Read more about these specifications here. If you choose to make the installation media for both and bit Windows, you will need a thumb drive that has at least 6GB of storage space. If you intend to install Windows 10 on the current computer, you can check the Use the recommended options for this computer box.

Again: Back up your computer before upgrading your operating system! It also feels a bit laggy. A clean install helps eliminate some of these bugs. A clean install typically means wiping your documents, apps, and settings from your PC and starting fresh. If you own a valid Windows 10 or Windows 11 license, this is all free. You can always reset your PC — Windows 10 or Windows 11 — at any time to make things tidy.

Just make sure that you have everything backed up. Declining the License Terms will exit the tool. Choose what you want to keep. If you want to keep your personal files, choose the Keep personal files only option. Warning: Regardless of your selection at this step, this tool will perform a clean installation of Windows. All apps that came with or were manually installed on your PC will be removed, including paid apps.

Apps that come standard with Windows 10 Mail and Edge for example will be preserved. Additionally, some of your customized settings including your manufacturer's default customization Power and Sleep settings for example will be changed to Windows default settings, which may impact your hardware performance. More information The tool installs Windows using the capabilities and requirements of the media creation tool.

After the clean install, Windows Defender will help keep your PC secure. Learn more. However, you need to make sure not to get rid of the old installation files, which get listed as Temporary files in Storage settings. Once the reversal process is completed, you will have rolled back to your old build of Windows If you failed, read on below. However, what if you realize you are not a fan of Windows 11 on the 11th day after installation?

Well, you need to reinstall Windows 10, i. However, you first need to back up all data. After backing up your data, follow the steps below to reinstall and start on a clean slate with Windows You can also click the plus buttons to see a detailed guide by Microsoft. After you are done, Windows 10 will be installed on your computer. You can now create a user account for yourself and update your preferences using Windows Settings.

Finally, use the backup to restore all your previous files and data. Windows 11 has many exciting features that tempt us to try it out right away.