How Do You Recover Files After Factory Reset Windows Computer

Part 1 – Lose Files After Factory Reset Laptop

Laptops are frequently used nowadays in life and work. A laptop is easy to carry around, so it is used even more than a desktop computer. But you have to face the reality that the running speed & responding speed of a laptop decline rapidly. Thus why many people start to think of factory reset.

The factory reset will do a good job in useless file deletion, configuration resetting, and fixing disk errors. However, it may also bring you some troubles if you don’t have a backup of your data (at least the important data).

Under this circumstance, we noticed the importance of data recovery after a factory reset. Therefore, we decided to focus on how to recover files after factory reset in this article; after that, we’ll introduce the ways to restore laptops to factory settings in different Windows operating systems, so people who need to factory reset their laptops but don’t know how to do can refer to them.

A Specific Case of Losing Files After Factory Reset

How to restore data after factory reset. My laptop was stuck on system updates. When my kid restarted my computer, it was mistakenly factory reset by removing everything. I understand it's hard to really clean a mechanical hard drive. Is there any opportunity for me can restore my data?answers.microsoft.com

Part 2 – Can You Recover Files After Factory Reset Laptop

In general, experienced users know that whether they can recover data after restoring the laptop to factory settings depends on how the factory restore was done and what they have done after the reset. Indeed, no one can assure you that he can help you recover data after factory reset for 100%. But, this is a chance; whether you want to recover photos after factory reset laptop or other kinds of files, you need to take measures immediately to maximize the data recovery possibility.

First of all, you should download and install MiniTool Power Data Recovery on your computer.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery FreeClick to Download100%Clean & Safe

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is a secure data recovery service designed for Windows operating systems, including Windows 11/10/8.1/8. It is of great help in recovering diverse types of files from your PC or laptop as long as the lost files are not overwritten. All common computer brands are supported by this file restore tool, such as Lenovo, HP, Dell, ASUS, Samsung, Acer, and more.

In addition to recovering files after factory reset, this hard drive disaster recovery plan also works seamlessly on other data loss situations such as accidental deletion, hard drive file system corruption, virus infection, OS crash, and more.

This software has multiple editions. When the computer can boot normally, you can use the free edition of this software to scan your disk and recover 1 GB of files for free.

Part 3 – How to Recover Files After Factory Reset

Here are the major steps to recover files after factory reset with MiniTool Power Data Recovery.

Step 1. Launch the installed MiniTool file restore tool to enter its home page where 2 independent data recovery modules are displayed: Logical Drives & Devices.

• Logical Drives: Under this tab, all your computer hard drive partitions are displayed, including the lost partitions and unallocated space. You need to select the drive where the files you want to recover should exist and click Scan.
• Devices: Under this module, all disks on the computer are listed. You can move your cursor to the target disk and click Scan to scan the entire disk for lost files.

It may take some time to deeply scan your hard drive for lost/deleted/existing files. To guarantee the scanning effect, it is recommended to wait until the full scan is completed.

Step 2. After scanning, several features included in this tool can help you find the needed files faster.

• Path: This is where all the found files are displayed by default. You can stay at this tab and expand each folder to locate the desired files.
• Type: Under this tab, all found items are classified by file type and file format. You can focus on a specific file type to narrow down the file list.

• Filter: Click the Filter button on the top menu bar, then you will have the option to specify file filtering rules, including file type, file date modified, file size, and file category.
• Search: If you still remember some keywords of the needed files, you can type them in the search box and press Enter to search for certain files.

Moreover, this tool also allows you to preview the files before saving them to enjoy accurate and secure data recovery. You can double-click on a file to preview it.

Step 3. Check the checkboxes next to all the needed files, then click Save. After that, you will be prompted to select a directory to store the recovered files. Just do as it told. However, it is recommended to save all recovered files to an external disk to prevent overwriting the lost files on your computer.

After seeing data recovery after a factory reset, you may read the following content to learn how to restore the laptop to factory settings if you’re interested.

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Part 4 – How Do You Factory Reset a Laptop

Restoring to factory settings is the quickest and easiest way to bring your laptop back to normal, whether the system is running slow or caught a virus.

However, how to restore a laptop to factory settings bothers a lot of people. As far as we know, different computer systems require different ways to complete this task. Here, we mainly take Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10 as examples to show the reset process.

How to Reset Windows 7 Laptop to the Factory Settings

If you are running Windows 7, you have two choices to perform a factory reset.

The first is to reinstall Windows from scratch, which isn’t a factory reset at all unless you have all the original, factory-provided install media available. This method is a good way for users who want to permanently destroy all information saved on their laptops.

Alternatively, you can use a manufacturer-provided recovery tool and factory-provided recovery partition (most major computer manufacturers, like HP and Dell, provide recovery partitions on laptops and tablets instead of installation media.).

Here are common names for recovery software from each major PC manufacturer.

• HP: HP System Recovery or Recovery Manager
• Dell: Dell Factory Image Restore, DataSafe, Dell Backup & Recovery, and a variety of other names
• Acer: Acer eRecovery or Acer Recovery Management
• ASUS: ASUS Recovery Partition or AI Recovery
• Lenovo: Rescue and Recovery, or ThinkVantage Recovery (on ThinkPads)
• Sony: Sony Vaio Recovery Wizard

After that, you can see a list of drives as well as their partitions. Nevertheless, sometimes, the one you are interested in may not be called Recovery. In this situation, you should look at any partition that is 8-16GB in size and check its properties.

Here, we will take HP as well as Dell for example to show the detailed steps to reset Windows 7 laptop to the factory settings without a disc.

HP factory reset.

Step 1: Power off the computer and remove all peripheral devices. Then, boot the computer into Windows 7.

Step 2: Click the “Start” button, and then click “All Programs“.

Step 3: Click “Recovery Manager“, and then click the “Recovery Manager” option once again. The Administrator login prompt or User Access Control dialog box may display. Click “Yes” in the UAC dialog box to continue, or type the administrator password, and then click “OK” to log in as an Administrator. The Recovery Manager main screen opens.

Step 4: Click the “System Recovery” option in the left column. The “Restore Your Computer To Its Original Factory Condition” screen opens.

Step 5: Click the “Yes” radio button, and then click “Next“.

Step 6: The laptop powers down and then reboots. When the computer boots again, the operating system and all default applications are restored to factory defaults.

Dell factory reset.

Step 1: Turn off the laptop and remove any attached devices. After that, power on it.

Step 2: When the Dell logo appears on the screen, press F8 several times to open the Advanced Boot Options menu.

Step 3: Use the Arrow keys to select “Repair Your Computer” and then press “Enter“.

Step 4: On the System Recovery Options menu, select a keyboard layout and click “Next“. Then, users can log in as local users or the Administrator.

Use the drop-down menu to the right of the User name: select the local user or the Administrator account and enter the password for that account. If you have not set up a password on the local user account, leave the password space empty and click “OK“.

Step 5: Depending on the configuration, you may need to select “Dell Factory Tools“, and then click “Dell Factory Image Restore” from the Dell Factory Tools menu. Click “Next” to open the Confirm Data Deletion screen.

Step 6: Select “Yes, Reformat Hard Drive and Restore System Software to Factory Condition“, and then click “Next“.

Step 7: Click “Finish” The computer reboots.

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How to Reset Windows 8 Laptop to the Factory Settings

Windows 8 lets users restore their laptop to factory default settings, regardless of who made it or whether users have an install disc.

Step 1: Swipe in from the right edge of the screen, tap “Settings“, and then tap “PC settings“.

Step 2: Tap “General“. Then, you will see three options including: “Refresh your PC without affecting your files“, “Remove everything and reinstall Windows” and “Advanced startup“.

Step 3: At this time, you can select a suitable one according to your actual needs. After that, you will be given detailed operating prompts. Just do as told.

• The first option reinstalls Windows and keeps personal files, settings, and any apps downloaded from the Windows Store. While this is not a full reset to factory settings, it’s pretty close and may solve performance problems with less inconvenience. Just click the “Get Started” button.
• If you choose the second option “Remove everything and reinstall Windows“, all your data will be lost.
• If you don’t have a recovery partition or installation media, you can create an installation drive as long as you have a valid product key and a USB drive.

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How to Reset Windows 10 Laptop to the Factory Settings

Step 1: Click the “Start > Settings > Update & Security> Recovery” button to see the following window, in which Windows presents you with three major options: “Reset this PC“, “Go back to the previous version of Windows 10” and “Advanced startup“.

“Reset this PC” is the best option for starting fresh. ” Go back to the previous version of Windows 10″ is made for Windows Insiders who want to roll back to a previous version of the OS. And “Advanced startup” lets you boot off a recovery USB drive or disc.

Step 2: Here, to reset Windows 10, you need to click “Get started” under “Reset this PC“.

Step 3: In the following window, you can see two options (“Keep my files” and “Remove everything“). Here, we can click the first option to get the next operating interface.

Step 4: This interface displays a list of conventional programs installed on your computer (ones not installed from the Windows Store). This list will be saved to your desktop when you finish the recovery process. Click “Next“.

Step 5: Click “Reset“. Your PC will reboot automatically and begin the reset process. This might take an hour or more, so if you’re using a laptop, it’s a good idea to plug in the power cord. It may reboot itself several times. Wait for Windows to restart and begin the setup process, then enter your personal information, log in, and begin setting up your refreshed PC.

Top Tips for Factory Reset Laptop

After reading the simple introduction to data recovery after factory reset as well as how to restore your laptop to factory settings, if you still want to reset your Windows to factory settings, the following tips may be useful.

• Back up important data.
• Know clearly the reset options that will work for you the best

Part 5 – Conclusion

Do you want to factory reset your laptop when your OS is running slow or caught a virus? If yes, please back up all needed data in advance. Otherwise, your data will be lost.

If you only realize the importance of backup after the factory reset is done, you just want to restore data after factory reset computer without backup. On this occasion, you should not ask questions like can you recover files after restoring to factory settings; instead, you should try MiniTool Power Data Recovery because it offers excellent performance as well as simple operations.