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There are plenty of good reasons to wipe your computer and put it back to its factory default settings, including selling it and protecting your private information and simply clearing out the clutter. With Windows 7 and before, doing this would require a fresh install or using the manufacturer-provided disc image. With Windows 8 things are a lot easier, as we show you.
STEP 1 START THE RESTORE UTILITY
Go to the Start Screen and type ‘Remove’ to bring up the search box. In the results that appear, you’ll see an option called ‘Remove everything and reinstall Windows’. Click this to start the clean-up utility.
STEP 2 SELECT YOUR REFRESH OPTION
The Windows 8 app that starts gives you two cleaning options. The first is a refresh, which will leave your personal files alone, but clear out your applications and settings; the second option removes everything and gives you a clean installation of Windows. This is the choice to make if you’re getting rid of your PC, so select this option
STEP 3 FIX THE ‘SOME FILES ARE MISSING’ ERROR
If you upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1, you may find that you get an error message telling you that ‘Some files are missing’. It tells you to insert your Windows installation disc, which you mostly likely don’t have. Fortunately, there’s a way round this problem.
First, follow our steps to download the Windows 8 or 8.1 installation media as an ISO file. Next, mount the ISO file by right-clicking it and selecting Mount. Now, re-run the Remove everything utility and you’ll no longer get the error message. If this doesn’t work, reboot your computer, mount the ISO file that you downloaded and then run the Remove everything tool
STEP 4 CHOOSE DRIVES TO WIPE
You’ll get a message telling you that all of your files and applications will be removed and that your PC’s settings will be restored to their defaults. Click Next to continue. If you’ve got more than one drive in your computer you’ll be asked if you want to clean Only the drive where Windows is installed or All drives. Select the one that applies to you. If you’ve only got the one drive, you’ll get straight to the next option.
STEP 5 CHOOSE WIPE OPTIONS
You’ve now got the option to ‘Just remove my files’, which deletes your files but not securely; or to ‘Clean the drive fully’, which performs a full secure wipe. The latter option takes longer, but is the right choice if you’re going to be selling your computer or throwing it away, as it stops anyone from recovering your private date.
STEP 6 RESET YOUR PC
This is your last chance before your computer is wiped. Windows will tell you what you’re going to do; if you’re sure you’re ready, click Reset and your computer will reboot and reset itself back to factory defaults, ready for you to start from scratch or pass on to another person.
