What is the difference between Windows Reset and System Restore in Windows?

Are you tired of facing different problems on your computer?Maybe malware damaged your PC, or Windows may just slow down over time and seem to be its own problem.

Thankfully, there are two Windows built-in tools that can help in this situation. Windows Reset and System Restore.But what are the specific differences between these two tools and how do they solve common Windows problems?Let's find out.

What is the difference between System Restore and Windows Reset?

From repairing broken drivers on Windows to resolving malware infections, System Restore and Windows Reset can easily fix all major Windows problems.However, these two tools have different ways to solve the problem.

System Restore operates by undoing any changes and restoring the system to its last working state.The purpose of this tool is to fix the problem by "sending" your PC back to a point in time when the error didn't exist.This is a great way to repair file corruption or repair damage caused by malware because it restores all your files to their pre-corruption state.

Windows reset, on the other hand, clears all customizations and moves everything back to the default configuration.This is a great way to be absolutely sure you're working with a clean slate again.This is usually the "nuclear option" when nothing can be resolved.

What is System Restore and when should I use it?

System Restore is an essential Windows recovery tool that can roll back your PC to a previous state.If something goes wrong with your computer, System Restore can bring it back to when everything was normal.

To better understand this feature, you can think of System Restore as a "time travel" button that restores important files and system settings to the state they were in when you created the restore point.

A restore point is a backup image of your computer at a specific date and time.System Restore creates weekly restore points containing critical system files and the Windows registry.If something goes wrong installing an update, or if there is any form of data corruption, System Restore repairs the environment and restores the changes saved in the restore point.

How to Enable System Restore

On many computers, System Restore is only enabled for the primary drive, not the other drives.On other computers, System Restore was not turned on for any drives.

If you don't want to lose your data, you must enable System Restore at least for your main drive.But you can also enable it on other drives.

To enable System Restore for the primary drive, open the Start menu, type in "create restore point", and press Enter.Select the main system drive and click Configure.Click to open the system protection options, adjust the disk space usage slider (indicates the amount of disk space you want to allocate to system protection) according to your needs, and then click OK.

How to create a restore point

As mentioned earlier, Windows automatically creates restore points every week.However, you can also create them manually at any time.

To create a restore point, open the Start menu, type "create restore point", and press Enter.Click the Create button, describe the restore point, and click Create.

How to use System Restore

Now that you've enabled System Restore and created a restore point, it's time to see how to restore to the earliest restore point if your PC is having trouble.

1. Open the System Properties tab again.

2. Click the "System Restore" button.

3. Click the "Next" button on the welcome page.

4. The following page will display the different restore points.Select the restore point you want, click Next, and then Done.

5. Click "Yes" to the prompt that appears to confirm your choice.

The computer will now restart and begin the recovery process.Once done, check if it solves the problem you are facing.

One of the best things about System Restore is that it automatically creates a restore point before starting the restore process.So you can always revert the changes by following the steps above and choosing a new restore point.

What is a Windows reset and when should I use it?

Windows Reset is another built-in tool that can quickly restore Windows to its factory settings.It is the preferred option when the culprit is Windows related and all other fixes fail to fix the problem.

Whether you're facing high disk usage, or your computer is becoming much slower than before,Windows Resetare your saviours.It's essentially a silver bullet for all kinds of frustrating problems.

So, when should you do a Windows reset?Performing a Windows reset will remove all installed applications and, in some cases, your data.Therefore, always use a Windows reset as a last resort to fix the problem.

How to perform a Windows reset

As mentioned earlier, resetting Windows will configure all settings to default, and in some cases, it may also wipe out all personal data.So make sure to backup your data before going through the reset process.

1. Open the "Start" menu, type "Reset this PC" and press Enter.

2. Click Reset PC.

3. In the next window, you will have two options to choose from: keep my files or delete all files.

4. The Keep my files option will clear everything from the system, excluding your files such as documents and music.On the other hand, the delete everything option will wipe everything from the system, including your files and apps.Choose any of these options as per your convenience.

5. You must now choose how you want to reinstall Windows.There are two ways.Cloud download or local reinstall.

6. A local reinstall will reinstall Windows using the files on your current system.While it saves you downloading Windows from the internet, it can also fail if the Windows installation gets corrupted.Cloud Download, on the other hand, will download a fresh copy of Windows from Microsoft's official website.Again, choose any of these options according to your convenience.

7. Next, follow the on-screen instructions to finish resetting the computer.

Deciding between System Restore and Windows Reset

A Windows reset will definitely fix your problem, but in order to do so, it will erase all installed apps and customizations.If you can't stand losing app data, this can really suck.Therefore, when trying to fix an issue, you must first try to restore Windows before entering the reset process.