How to Uninstall Windows 11 and Back to Windows 10 (3 Ways)

1. Click Settings. There’s a gear icon in the Start menu, or you can find it in Windows search.

How to Factory Reset a Windows 10 or 11 PC

If your PC is feeling cluttered, you’re having technical issues or you’re preparing to sell your computer, it may be time to factory reset Windows 10 or 11. That way, you can bring your PC back to the way it came when you took it out of the box.

This is a bit less powerful than the nuclear option: deleting the Windows partitions entirely and reinstalling from scratch. Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 have easy, built-in reset utilities that make a change to factory settings quite simple.

Factory resetting Windows 10 and 11 PCs involves very similar steps. In fact, the biggest differences have to do with the operating systems’ differences in the Start menu and settings app. We have instructions for both versions of Windows below. Here’s how to factory reset a Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC:

How to Factory Reset Windows 11

1. Click Settings. If you have it pinned in the Start menu, find it there. If not, you can find it by searching in Windows.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Scroll down to “Recovery” in the System menu. Settings defaults to the System menu in Windows 11, so just scroll and click.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Click “Reset PC” next to the “Reset this PC option.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. Choose whether to keep your files or remove everything. The former option will keep the files but remove programs and any changes to settings. The latter gets rid of everything, but note that a very determined person with file recovery software might be able to restore your files.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

5. Pick how to reinstall Windows 11. You can choose to download Windows from the internet, or to use a recovery copy that’s already on your device.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

6. Approve the settings and click “Next.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

7. Click “Reset” one last time to confirm.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The PC will begin to reset. It will go to a screen that reads “Preparing to reset” along with the progress. The PC will reset multiple times and show a screen that reads “Resetting this PC” along with its progress percentage.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

When the process finishes, Windows 11 will reinstall and your PC will start from the setup screen. You will have to pick some preferences and then log in with your Microsoft account (or use our trick for installing Windows 11 without a Microsoft account). Once that’s done, you’ll be back on the desktop and ready to use your PC again.

How to Factory Reset Windows 10

1. Click Settings. There’s a gear icon in the Start menu, or you can find it in Windows search.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

2. Click “Update & Security.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

3. Select “Recovery” from the left side panel.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

4. Click “Get Started” under the “Reset this PC” heading.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

5. Choose whether to keep your files or remove everything. The former option will keep the files but remove programs and any changes to settings.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

6. Pick how to reinstall Windows 11. You can choose to download Windows from the internet, or to use a recovery copy that’s already on your device.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

7. Approve the settings and click “Next.”

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

8. Click “Reset” one last time to confirm.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

The PC will begin to reset. It will go to a screen that reads “Preparing to reset” along with the progress. The PC will reset multiple times and show a screen that reads “Resetting this PC” along with its progress percentage.

(Image credit: Tom’s Hardware)

When the process finishes, Windows 10 will reinstall and Cortana will greet you (you may want to turn the sound down). You will have to pick some preferences and then create a Windows 10 profile or log in with your Microsoft account. Once that’s done, you’ll be back on the desktop.

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Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom’s Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom’s Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Twitter: @FreedmanAE

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4 Comments Comment from the forums
Johnpombrio

A lot of laptop manufacturers create a “recovery” partition in the Windows install. If you do not wipe all the drive’s partitions, the files are kept and loaded back onto any “fresh” install of Windows. So the bloatware can come back even if you do a “factory” install. This is also a catch-22 scenario as if there are special drivers needed, they would also be inside that partition. Sooo, clone the hard drive before wiping it. Visit the manufacturer’s site for drivers and store them on the cloned drive or make sure that there is a driver CD available. Go into the install from a USB drive and erase all of the partitions and let Windows create a new set. THEN you are ready to install Windows again.

Would be nice if Microsoft created a kind of log of applications responsible for registry and files that are not part of the personal files, and let the user clean it. And also drivers that are unused for more than a year for example.

the laptops i have, came with mechanical drives, i just replaced them with an SSD about 10 mins after turning them on ( just looking at what was installed ), and installed windows off the USB install that i grabbed off of microsofts site. once i installed every thing, and the drivers, i cleared off the mechanical drives, and used them for something else 🙂

I seen enough resets go too far and remove windows. Its normally easier to clean install since you will need to reinstall all your programs again. Fresh start blows away all the cobwebs

How to Uninstall Windows 11 and Back to Windows 10 (3 Ways)

You’ll learn how to uninstall Windows 11 easily with 3 useful methods. You can use method 1 when you are within 10 days validity and use another two methods to uninstall Windows after 10 days.

By Clytze / Last update December 6, 2022

Why Uninstall Windows 11?

As soon as the beta version of Windows 11 was released, many users upgraded and installed it. But recently some users want to uninstall Windows 11 and go back to the Windows 10 version. There are several common reasons below.

• Windows 11 is still in early beta, so it will inevitably have bugs, missing features and compatibility issues.
• Some users don’t like the new interface.
• The beta version of the new system lacks stability, and some users want to download and install the official version after it is released.
• Some users just want to experience the new system for a short time. They are more used to using the old system version.

How to Uninstall Windows 11 Easily

So, how to go back to Windows 10 from Windows 11? Next, I will introduce 3 useful methods for you. You can choose them according to your own needs. If you want to uninstall Windows 11 within 10 days, you can choose method 1. As for how to uninstall Windows 11 after 10 days, method 2 or method 3 are available.

• Method 1. Uninstall Windows 11 by Roll Back
• Method 2. Uninstall Windows 11 by Clean Install Windows 10
• Method 3. Uninstall Windows 11 by Restoring Windows 10 System Backup

Method 1. Uninstall Windows 11 by Roll Back

The easiest way to uninstall Windows 11 and go back to Windows 10 is to roll back, but it requires you to be within 10 days of installing Windows 11.

Whenever you update your system, there will be a Windows.old file in your files. This contains your previous version of Windows. And Windows will delete older versions within 10 days after the upgrade. That’s why you can only roll back to a previous version within 10 days. And you can follow the tutorial below to uninstall Windows 11 and go back to your Windows 10 version.

Step 1. Navigate to Start > Settings > System > Recovery.

Step 2. Under Recovery options, you will see the Previous version of Windows and click Go back.

Step 3. Select a reason and click Next.

Step 4. Select No, thanks when asked to check for updates.

Step 5. Read what you need to know, and click Next.

Step 6. When warned you need to remember your password from Windows 10, click Next.

Step 7. Select Go back to earlier build.

Method 2. Uninstall Windows 11 by Clean Install Windows 10

If you have installed Windows 11 for more than ten days, you cannot use the first method to go back to Windows 10. You could choose the second method – clean install windows 10. How to uninstall Windows 11 and install Windows 10? You need to create the installation media for Windows 10 first and then install Windows 10 on your computer. You can follow the graphic tutorial below.

Create Windows 10 Installation Media

Step 2. Select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD, or ISO file) for another PC. Then click Next.

Step 3. Set Language, Windows Edition, and Architecture, then click Next.

Step 4. Choose USB flash drive and click Next.

Step 5. Choose the removable drive from the list, and click Next. Then it will download Windows 10 to the USB drive and make it bootable.

Step 6. When the downloading process has been done, you can click Finish to exit.

Install Windows 10 on Your Computer

Step 1. Insert USB drive into your computer. And restart the computer, pressing F2 or F12 to enter the BIOS. Then, select the USB drive as the first boot drive. Finally, press F10 or Enter to exit and reboot the computer.

Step 2. Set the language to install, time and currency format, and keyboard or input method. Then click Next.

Step 3 . Click Install Now.

Step 4. Input your product key or leave it blank.

Step 5. Select Custom: Install Windows only (advanced).

Step 6. Click Delete to delete all partitions on the hard drive which you want to install Windows 11 until the hard drive shows only as Unallocated Space. Then it will install Windows 10 automatically.

Method 3. Uninstall Windows 11 by Restoring Windows 10 System Backup

If you have installed Windows 11 for more than ten days and you don’t want to reinstall Windows 10, there is a simpler method you can choose. You can choose to create a system image on another Windows 10 computer and then use this system backup to restore to your current computer. This method is easier than the previous two ways and you don’t have to reinstall the system as well as the applications.

You need a professional backup and restore software to help you, such as AOMEI Backupper Professional, which supports four different backup solutions, namely System Backup, Disk Backup, Partition Backup and File Backup so you can restore Windows 10 with backup image easily. The Universal Restore feature of the software allows you to restore system backup to another computer with different hardware. This feature also has the advantages below.

• Instant recovery of a crashed system on different hardware.
• Migrate system to a computer with dissimilar hardware installed.
• Install your system between real and virtual machines.
• Install your system directly after replacing your motherboard, CPU and other hardware.

Before you start restoring Windows 10 system backup, you should make sure you have done the preparation work.

• Download and install AOMEI Backupper Professional on another computer that has already installed Windows10.
• Create a system image using this software.

Now, you can follow the steps below to uninstall Windows 11 by restoring Windows 10 system backup.

Step 1. Download and install AOMEI Backupper Professional on your current computer that you want to uninstall Windows 11. Insert the disk containing Windows 10 system image and launch the software, then click Restore > Select Task.

Secure Download

Step 2. Select the Windows 10 backup image and click Next.

Step 3. Choose to restore the entire image and check Restore system to other location. Then click Next.

Step 4. Select the destination for your Windows 10 system backup.

Step 5. If your computer hardware is different from the previous one, this software will recognize and automatically select the Universal Restore function. You just click Start Restore.

Summary

This article shows you 3 easy ways to uninstall Windows 11. If you are within 10 days validity, you can choose to do a rollback to Windows 10. Please remember to backup your important files and data before rolling back.

If you can’t uninstall Windows 11 using the first method, you can choose to clean install Windows 10 or use the reliable backup and restore software AOMEI Backupper Professional to help you. Its Universal Restore function will restore your system image to another computer with different hardware so that you can uninstall Windows 11 without reinstalling Windows 10.

If you are a Windows Server user, please try AOMEI Backupper Server. And you can download the software to explore more features!