Something on your PC is wrong enough that you have started thinking about wiping it. A page has told you to download a tool, find an 8 GB USB stick and make installation media.
Put the stick down. Most people who reach that page do not need it, and the route they do need is already on their hard drive.
Windows carries its own installer in a hidden partition. Using that one is faster, keeps more, and comes with the drivers your machine needs.
The rest of this page is the cases where that is not true, because they are real.
The short answer, and it takes one click to start
Go to Settings, System, Recovery, then choose Reset PC.
Documented by Microsoft on its recovery options page, and the choice it gives you is the whole decision.
Keep my files means, in Microsoft's own words, that "personal files like documents and pictures should remain intact. However, apps and settings will be removed."
Remove everything does exactly what it says: files, apps and settings all go.
⭐ Read that first option twice. Keep my files does not keep your programs. Every desktop application comes off and you reinstall them by hand afterwards.
Why the installer already on your drive is the better one
For most people this one detail decides it, and almost nothing explains it.
Reported by an adviser on Microsoft's own board in March 2024, answering somebody asking exactly this question: a reset uses a Windows installer already stored in a hidden recovery partition on your drive.
That partition is kept current by Windows Update. And it already carries the drivers your particular computer needs.
So the reset comes back with your Wi-Fi working, your trackpad working and your screen at the right resolution. A clean install from a downloaded ISO does not promise you any of that.
⛔ Installation media made with the Media Creation Tool does not contain OEM customizations or the factory image for your device. On a laptop that is the difference between a working machine and an evening of driver hunting.
Two lighter things to try first
Reset removes every program you have installed. Two options below it do not.
Fix problems using Windows Update. Microsoft lists this for problems installing or applying updates. It reinstalls Windows over the top while keeping your files, apps and settings.
That is the one that fixed an activation watermark for an owner in December 2025, and the same route is worth knowing for anything where Windows itself looks damaged.
System Restore. Microsoft's own description of when to use it is precise: "Your PC isn't working well, and you recently installed an app."
⚠️ System Restore only exists if restore points were being made. Many machines have it switched off, and you will find that out at the moment you need it.
Cloud download or local reinstall
Reset asks you this. Most people pick without knowing what they are choosing.
Local reinstall rebuilds Windows from the files already on your machine. Faster, and no download.
Cloud download fetches a fresh copy from Microsoft. It uses several gigabytes of data and it takes longer.
⭐ Ours, and marked as ours: choose cloud download if the reason you are resetting is that Windows itself is damaged. A local reinstall rebuilds from the same files that may be the problem.
Going back to a previous version, and the clock on it
Only relevant if this started right after a Windows upgrade. It also expires quietly.
Microsoft states the limit plainly: "This option is available within 10 days after upgrading to a new version of Windows."
After ten days the option disappears from the Recovery screen, and the files it needed are deleted to free space.
⚠️ So if a feature update broke something, that is a ten-day decision, not a someday decision. Check the date on the update before you spend a week troubleshooting.
When you genuinely do need installation media
Four situations. Outside them the USB stick is extra work.
Windows will not start at all, so you cannot reach Settings to reset it. A recovery drive or installation media is the only way in.
The recovery partition is damaged or missing. Reset fails with an error about not finding the recovery environment.
The system drive is nearly full. Reset needs working space and it will refuse without it.
You are putting Windows on a new blank drive. There is nothing on it to reset from.
Reported by an adviser on that same March 2024 thread: installation media boots from the firmware and does not depend on the current Windows or the recovery partition at all, which is exactly why it works when those are broken.
Making the media, if that is you
Download the Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's own site, choose Create installation media, and give it a USB drive of 8 GB or more.
⛔ That drive is erased. Not "mostly erased". Everything on it goes, so use one you do not care about.
Microsoft also publishes a straight ISO file, which is what you want if you are making the media on a Mac or a Linux machine, or if the tool refuses to run.
Ours, and marked as ours: make the media on a working computer, not on the sick one. A tool that has to download five gigabytes through a failing machine is one more thing that can go wrong.
Before you press anything at all
Two minutes that people skip and then regret afterwards.
Copy your files off, to something not attached to the machine afterwards. The built-in backup covers less than most people assume, and none of it is a system image.
Write down what you will have to reinstall. Open Settings, Apps, Installed apps and photograph the list. You will not remember all of it.
Find your program keys now, while Windows still runs. Anything you paid for and downloaded once is the thing you will be hunting at eleven at night.
⭐ And know that a reset takes time. Microsoft's own estimate for recovery is "30 minutes to 2 hours, depending on the method". Do not start one twenty minutes before you need the machine.
Status: written 23 August 2026. Microsoft documents Reset with Keep my files as removing apps and settings while leaving personal files, publishes the ten-day limit on going back to a previous version, and estimates recovery at 30 minutes to 2 hours. The recovery partition detail comes from an adviser on its own board and is marked as adviser evidence.
Does Reset this PC delete my programs?
Yes, both options do. Keep my files leaves your documents and pictures alone, but Microsoft states that apps and settings are removed either way. You reinstall your desktop programs by hand afterwards, so list them before you start.
Should I use Reset or a USB installer?
Reset for almost everything. It uses the installer already on your drive, which is kept current by Windows Update and includes the drivers for your specific machine. Use installation media when Windows will not start, the recovery partition is broken, the drive is full, or the drive is new.
What is the difference between cloud download and local reinstall?
Local reinstall rebuilds Windows from files already on the machine, which is faster. Cloud download fetches a fresh copy from Microsoft and uses several gigabytes. Pick cloud download when the reason for resetting is that Windows itself looks damaged.
How long do I have to go back to the previous Windows version?
Ten days. Microsoft states the option is available within 10 days after upgrading to a new version of Windows, after which it disappears and the files it needs are removed. If an upgrade broke something, that is a ten-day decision.
The Short Version
- Try Reset before making a USB stick. The installer is already on your drive.
- That built-in installer carries the drivers for your machine. A downloaded one does not.
- Keep my files still removes every program. Photograph your Installed apps list first.
- Fix problems using Windows Update is lighter than Reset and keeps your apps.
- Going back to a previous version expires after ten days and then deletes its own files.
- Media is genuinely needed when Windows will not start, or the drive is new or full.
- Make the media on a healthy computer, and expect the whole job to take up to two hours.
Where to Next
Open Settings, System, Recovery and read what is actually offered there before you download anything. Four options live on that one screen and most people only know about one of them.
If the reason you are here is an update that will not install, the error code names the fault and a reinstall may be overkill. If it is an old machine you are deciding about, whether it can take Windows 11 is the real question.
And if Reset fails with an error rather than running, tell me the wording below. That message usually names which of the four situations you are actually in.
Isaac Smith is the founder and editor of PC Glance, a website that covers computers, laptops, and technology. He is a tech enthusiast and a computer geek who loves to share his insights and help his readers make smart choices when buying tech gadgets or laptops. He is always curious and updated about the latest tech trends.