How To Reset Your Computer to Factory Defaults

Your computer is running incredibly slow, you have pop ups coming up, and you are pretty sure you have a virus. You may feel like it’s time just to get rid of that computer and get a new one, but if it is less than a couple of years old, it may have plenty of life left in it, especially if you are mainly using it for internet/email, and watching shows on Amazon or Netflix. Remember when you first bought it, how amazed you were at how fast and responsive it was? Over time as you use your computer it can easily accumulate lots of baggage that slows it down. Resetting it to factory defaults will help you get back that quick computer that you remember.

The primary thing that you need to know is that resetting your computer back to defaults not only gets rid of all of the bad on your computer but also gets rid of the good. All of the programs that you have on there and regularly use as well as all of your data will be gone so you will need to back this up. If you are using an online backup such as ICloud or Carbonite, your data will be fine, but you will still need to reinstall any programs that you want to use.  First, you will want to backup all of your data, be sure you capture everything in your user folder normally c:\users\(your username) and do a quick look on your c: drive for any other folders that you have created.  You will want to make sure that you backup your internet bookmarks. You can find instructions on google by opening a search window and typing backup bookmarks and input your browser name.

 https://www.google.com/search?q=How+to+backup+bookmarks+chrome&oq=How+to+backup+bookmarks+chrome&aqs=chrome..69i57l2j69i60l4.5334j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

You will want to backup your Email files as well, and you can find the instructions to do that on google by opening a search window and typing backup and your email program.  You then will want to make a list of all of the programs that you want to make a list of all of the programs that you want to reinstall and copy the installers to your backup location or get the installation DVD’s or CD’s ready to install.

Once everything is backed up, and you are confident that you have everything saved you are ready to proceed to the next step. Now every computer manufacturer does this differently, so the best advice we can give you is that before you do this, head over to YouTube and search for “How to restore my (insert make and model of computer to factory settings) Here is an example for a Lenovo Z50.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tu5YY3wb4EU

Watch the video carefully, either on another device or make sure you take good notes. Follow the procedures which usually involves restarting the computer and doing a key combination to get to that part of the boot menu.

Once this is complete, you will be prompted to create a new username and password, connect to your WIFI network and walk through a setup wizard that will configure updates and such. You should first install your antivirus software and then start installing your other programs and copying your data over. Then you can reinstall any devices or printers that you will need.

Resetting your computer to factory defaults is allot of work, and there is some risk involved, so you want to double check that you have everything backed up and that you have all of the programs that you need to reinstall. It can get rid of all of the baggage that had accumulated on your computer and help your computer to run like it did when you first purchased it.

As always if you need help doing any of these tasks or just don’t feel comfortable undertaking this venture, you can always call the experts at Hill Country Technical services. Check out our website at www.HCTechnical.com and follow our blog so that you can stay up to date on all our latest tips and tricks.