How to Reimage a Windows 10 Computer

To reimage a Windows 10 computer at home, open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, select Get started under Reset this PC, and choose Remove everything for a full wipe or Keep my files to reinstall Windows around your documents. If Windows is too damaged for that, or you suspect malware, reinstall from a USB drive made with Microsoft’s media creation tool instead.

Applies to: Windows 10 Home and Pro (version 22H2). Checked against Microsoft Support on October 6, 2026.

What reimaging means on a Windows 10 PC

Reimaging means replacing the Windows installation on a drive with a fresh copy. The word comes from business IT, where a technician copies a prepared image, a snapshot of Windows with the company’s apps and settings, onto each computer. On a home PC there is usually no such image, so the same result comes from one of the tools built into Windows or supplied by Microsoft.

Method	What it does	Choose it when
Reset this PC	Reinstalls Windows from the PC itself or from a download. You decide whether personal files stay.	Windows still starts, or at least reaches the recovery screen, and you want the simplest route.
Installation media	Reinstalls Windows from a USB drive created on a working PC. A clean install removes everything on the drive.	Reset fails, the PC will not start, or you suspect malware.
Recovery drive	Reinstalls Windows from a USB recovery drive you created earlier on the same PC, including the manufacturer’s customizations.	You made a recovery drive while the PC was healthy.
System Image Recovery	Restores a complete system image backup that you created earlier.	You have a system image saved on an external drive.
Organization image	Your IT department applies the company or school image.	The PC belongs to an employer or school.

Microsoft’s own recovery guidance matches this order: a reset for a PC that has stopped working well over time, and a reinstall from installation media when there is no recovery drive or when malware is suspected.

Before you start

Treat every reimage as if it will erase the drive, even when you pick an option that keeps files.

• Back up your files. Copy documents, photos and anything else you need to an external drive or to cloud storage. Windows Backup can sync your Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Videos and Music folders to OneDrive with a personal Microsoft account, which includes 5 GB of free storage.
• Save your BitLocker recovery key. If the drive is encrypted, Windows may ask for a 48-digit recovery key during recovery. For a personal Microsoft account, sign in at aka.ms/myrecoverykey on another device and match the key ID. Microsoft Support cannot retrieve or recreate a lost key, so find it first. See Microsoft’s page on finding your BitLocker recovery key.
• Link your Windows license to your Microsoft account. Microsoft says Windows normally reactivates automatically after a reinstall, and that the digital license should be linked to your Microsoft account beforehand. A product key stored in the PC’s firmware is applied automatically.
• Collect installers and license keys for the apps you paid for. A reimage removes the apps you installed yourself.
• Plug in the charger and leave it connected. An interrupted reset can fail.
• Allow enough time. Microsoft estimates 30 minutes to 2 hours for recovery, depending on the method.

Reimage Windows 10 with Reset this PC

This is the main method for a home PC, and it needs no USB drive or disc.

1. Select Start, then open Settings.
2. Select Update & Security, then select Recovery in the left-hand menu. The Recovery page opens with a Reset this PC section at the top.
3. Under Reset this PC, select Get started. A window asks you to choose an option.
4. Choose Remove everything to delete all personal files, apps and settings, which is the closest match to a traditional reimage. Choose Keep my files if you only want Windows reinstalled and your personal files left in place.
5. Choose Cloud download to download a fresh copy of Windows from Microsoft, or Local reinstall to rebuild Windows from the files already on the PC.
6. Review the settings screen. With Remove everything, you can turn on drive cleaning so that deleted files are harder to recover; depending on your Windows 10 version this appears as a Clean data setting or as a choice between Just remove my files and Remove files and clean the drive. If the PC has more than one drive, you can also choose whether to remove data from all drives or only the Windows drive.
7. Read the summary of what will be removed, then select Reset. The PC restarts several times and finishes at the Windows setup screens or the sign-in screen.

Microsoft warns that the screen can stay black for a long time during a reset, occasionally more than 15 minutes. Do not hold the power button during that stretch, because restarting the PC manually can make the reset fail. Microsoft documents the options on its Reset your PC page.

Keep my files or Remove everything

Keep my files reinstalls Windows and preserves your personal files, user accounts and a set of important settings, including wireless network profiles, desktop themes and Windows Update settings. It removes the desktop programs and Microsoft Store apps you installed yourself, and it refreshes system folders such as Windows and Program Files. Files on other partitions are left alone. Some programs keep their data in the AppData folder of your user profile; after a Keep my files reset, the old AppData folders are available in C:\Windows.old.

Remove everything removes all user accounts and their contents, all apps and all settings, then reinstalls Windows. On a PC that came with Windows preinstalled, the manufacturer’s preinstalled apps and customizations are restored in both cases. Neither choice formats the Windows partition itself; to wipe it completely, see how to format the C drive in Windows 10.

The drive-cleaning setting is useful before you sell or donate a PC, but it takes longer. Microsoft states that this erasure is aimed at consumers and does not meet government and industry data erasure standards, so a business with compliance requirements needs a dedicated process.

Cloud download or Local reinstall

Cloud download fetches a fresh copy of Windows, so it helps when the files on the PC are corrupted, and it needs a reliable internet connection. Local reinstall uses the files already on the PC, which is faster on a slow connection but may not include the latest updates. Cloud download was added in Windows 10 version 2004, so an older version will not offer it.

Reset a PC that will not start

If Windows cannot reach the desktop, run the same reset from the Windows Recovery Environment (Windows RE), the recovery screen that loads outside of Windows.

1. Open Windows RE. From the sign-in screen, hold Shift while you select Power > Restart. If you cannot get that far, turn the PC on, hold the power button when the Windows logo appears until the PC shuts down, repeat that on the next start, and on the third start select Advanced options. Windows also opens the recovery environment by itself after two consecutive failed attempts to start.
2. Select Troubleshoot.
3. Select Reset this PC.
4. Choose Keep my files or Remove everything, then follow the on-screen instructions as in the main method.

If the drive is encrypted, have your BitLocker recovery key ready, because some recovery tools ask for it. For more ways in, see our guide on how to enter recovery mode in Windows 10.

Reimage with Windows 10 installation media

Use this method when a reset fails, when the recovery environment is missing, or when you want to rule out malware. You need a working PC with an internet connection and a blank USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of space. Everything on the USB drive is deleted.

Create the USB drive

1. On the working PC, open Microsoft’s Download Windows 10 page.
2. Under Create Windows 10 installation media, select Download tool now. The file is named MediaCreationTool.exe, sometimes with a version in the name such as MediaCreationTool_22H2.exe.
3. Run the tool as an administrator and accept the license terms.
4. Choose Create installation media for another PC.
5. Select the language, edition and architecture (64-bit or 32-bit) that match the PC you are reimaging.
6. Choose USB flash drive, select your drive and let the tool finish.

Our guide on how to get a copy of Windows 10 covers the download in more detail.

Reinstall while Windows still starts

1. Connect the USB drive to the PC you want to reimage.
2. Open File Explorer, select the USB drive, and open setup.exe from its root folder. Select Yes when prompted.
3. Select Change what to keep.
4. Choose Keep personal files and apps, Keep personal files only or Keep nothing, then select Next. Keep nothing is the reimage choice.
5. Select Install. The PC restarts several times.

Clean install by starting from the USB drive

Warning: a clean install removes all personal files, apps, customizations and settings on the drive. Microsoft’s current instructions show this procedure with Windows 11 Setup screens, so the wording on a Windows 10 drive can differ slightly.

1. Connect the USB drive and start the PC from it. How you do this depends on the manufacturer; if Windows RE is available, its UEFI Firmware Settings tool opens the firmware screen where the boot order is set.
2. Choose your language and keyboard settings, selecting Next after each.
3. Start the installation. If Setup asks for a product key and you do not have one to hand, select I don’t have a product key and choose the edition of Windows that was on the PC, such as Home or Pro.
4. Accept the license terms.
5. On the screen that asks where to install Windows, delete the partitions on Disk 0 until only unallocated space is left, select that unallocated space, and select Next. Check the disk number first if the PC has more than one drive.
6. Confirm the installation. The PC restarts several times, then walks you through setting up Windows.

Microsoft’s full procedure is on its Reinstall Windows with the installation media page.

Reimage from a recovery drive or a system image

A recovery drive is a USB drive that you create in advance on the same PC. Search for Recovery Drive from Start, keep Back up system files to the recovery drive selected, select Next, pick the USB drive and select Create. It holds the built-in Windows files, the updates installed at the time and the PC manufacturer’s customizations, but not your personal files. To use it, start the PC from the drive, select Recover from a drive, choose Just remove my files or Fully clean the drive, then select Recover. Microsoft recommends recreating the drive once a year, and describes the process on its Recovery Drive page.

A system image is the closest thing a home user has to a business image: a full copy of the Windows drive saved to another disk. If you created one earlier, the recovery environment includes a System Image Recovery tool that restores it. This returns the PC to the exact state it was in when the image was made, including the apps and files of that date, so anything newer is lost unless you back it up separately.

Work, school and manufacturer images

A PC that belongs to an employer or school is usually managed, and the organization has its own image with its software, security settings and enrollment. Do not reset or reinstall it yourself; ask the IT department, because a home-style reinstall can leave the device unable to reach company resources. BitLocker keys for these devices are stored with the work or school account rather than a personal one.

Brand-name PCs may also include the manufacturer’s own recovery tool or a hardware recovery button. Reset this PC already restores the manufacturer’s preinstalled apps and drivers on such PCs, so most owners do not need a separate factory image. If you want the exact factory state, follow the manufacturer’s support instructions for your model.

How to confirm the reimage worked

• Windows finishes at the setup screens (region, keyboard, account) after Remove everything or a clean install, or at your usual sign-in screen after Keep my files.
• Only Windows and the preinstalled apps are present; the programs you added are gone.
• Windows is activated. This normally happens automatically once the PC is online. After a major hardware change such as a new motherboard, you may need the Activation troubleshooter.
• Run Windows Update from Settings > Update & Security to pick up device drivers and updates, then reinstall your apps and copy your files back.

A reimage cannot be undone. There is no setting that brings back removed apps or files, which is why the backup comes first. Windows can roll back a reset that fails partway through, but that only returns the PC to its earlier state.

Troubleshooting

• The reset fails or rolls back. Try again with Cloud download instead of Local reinstall, since the local files may be damaged. If that also fails, reinstall from installation media.
• Cloud download is not offered. The PC is running a Windows 10 version older than 2004. Use Local reinstall or installation media.
• The screen is black for a long time. Wait. Microsoft notes that this can last upwards of 15 minutes during a reset.
• Windows asks for a BitLocker recovery key. Look it up on another device with the Microsoft account used on the PC, or check a printout or USB drive where you saved it. For a work or school device, the key is under that account or with IT.
• Windows will not start and there is no recovery screen. Create installation media on another PC and start from it. The first Setup screens also offer a repair option that opens the recovery tools.
• Windows is not activated afterward. Connect to the internet and sign in with the Microsoft account linked to the license. Make sure you installed the same edition (Home or Pro) the PC had before.
• The problem you were fixing is still there. A fault that survives a clean install points to hardware, such as a failing drive or memory, rather than Windows.

Is Windows 10 still worth reimaging?

Windows 10 reached end of support on October 14, 2025. A Windows 10 PC keeps working, but Microsoft no longer provides free security fixes, feature updates or technical support for it. Microsoft’s consumer Extended Security Updates (ESU) program delivers critical and important security updates to enrolled personal Windows 10 PCs through October 12, 2027; devices managed by an organization are excluded from the consumer program.

If the PC meets the Windows 11 requirements, Windows Update shows an upgrade offer, and moving to Windows 11 is generally a better use of the time than rebuilding Windows 10. If it does not qualify, reimage Windows 10, enroll in ESU and plan for a replacement. Details are on Microsoft’s Windows 10 end of support page.

Frequently asked questions

Does reimaging a computer delete everything?

Remove everything, Keep nothing and a clean install delete personal files, apps and settings. Keep my files keeps personal files but still removes the apps you installed. Without the drive-cleaning option, deleted files may be recoverable with special tools, so turn it on before giving the PC away.

Is reimaging the same as a factory reset?

For a home PC, effectively yes. Both replace Windows with a fresh copy. Strictly speaking, reimaging applies a saved image, as businesses do, while Reset this PC rebuilds Windows from files on the PC or from a download.

Do I need a product key to reimage Windows 10?

Usually not. A PC with a digital license reactivates automatically, and a key stored in the firmware is applied without typing it. Keep a retail product key handy if you bought Windows separately.

How long does it take to reimage Windows 10?

Microsoft’s estimate for recovery is 30 minutes to 2 hours. Cleaning the drive, a slow download or an encrypted drive adds to that.

Will reimaging remove a virus?

Microsoft recommends reinstalling Windows from installation media when you suspect malware. A clean install that deletes the existing partitions replaces everything on the Windows drive. Scan your backup before copying files back so you do not reintroduce the problem.

Can I reimage Windows 10 without a USB drive?

Yes. Reset this PC works from Settings or from the recovery environment with no external media. You only need a USB drive for installation media or a recovery drive.

Will System Restore do the same job?

No. System Restore returns system files, apps and settings to an earlier restore point without removing personal data. It is worth trying first when a problem began right after installing an app or driver, but it does not give you a fresh copy of Windows.

Start with the backup and the BitLocker key, then run Reset this PC; move to installation media only if the reset fails or malware is the reason you are reimaging.