Reinstall Windows without losing your data

In Windows 11, the first two options are in Settings > System > Recovery. The third one uses a USB installation drive. Microsoft recommends starting with the least disruptive option and moving to the next one only if needed.

Windows 10 support ended on October 14, 2025. If you have to reinstall anyway, it is a good time to consider moving to Windows 11: see our guide to the end of Windows 10 support.

Fix problems using Windows Update reinstalls the version of Windows already on your PC and repairs system files, without touching your apps, files or settings. Keep the PC plugged in and connected to the internet throughout.

1. Open Settings > System > Recovery.
2. Under Fix problems using Windows Update, select Reinstall now.
3. Choose whether the PC may restart automatically 15 minutes after the installation, then select OK.
4. Windows Update downloads and installs a repair version of the last update that was installed. Restart the PC afterwards if you did not choose the automatic restart.

This option requires Windows 11 version 22H2 or later with the February 2024 optional update or a newer one. It may be missing on a PC managed by a company or a school.

Reset this PC reinstalls Windows from the device itself. In Windows 11, open Settings > System > Recovery and select Reset PC; in Windows 10, open Settings > Update & Security > Recovery, then select Get started under Reset this PC. Then choose Keep my files or Remove everything, followed by Cloud download (a fresh copy of Windows is downloaded) or Local reinstall (the files already on the PC are used, which is faster on a slow connection).

During a reset, the screen may stay black for more than 15 minutes and the PC may restart on its own. Do not restart it yourself: the reset could fail.

A clean install is done from a USB drive of at least 8 GB, created with the tool available at microsoft.com/software-download. Microsoft recommends it when you suspect malware or when nothing else works. It erases everything on the drive you install to.

Keep my files preserves your documents, photos and other personal data, but removes apps and settings. Microsoft commits to your personal files, not to app data, and browser and Outlook data is stored alongside the settings, in the hidden AppData folder of your profile (Chrome, Edge or Firefox bookmarks, extensions and profiles; Outlook signatures, AutoComplete and mail profiles). Nothing guarantees it is still usable after the reset. With older Outlook versions, the PST files themselves may sit in AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook.

• Microsoft itself warns that some recovery options can result in data loss and advises backing up your important files before you start.
• An interrupted reset can fail, and without your BitLocker key, Microsoft states that the only way out is to reset the device and remove all your files.
• If you end up doing a clean install, nothing is kept on the drive.

Sync or export your browser passwords before reinstalling. Chrome, Edge and Brave passwords are encrypted for the original Windows account: copying the browser files is not enough to get them back. For Firefox, turn on Firefox Sync.

If the drive is encrypted with BitLocker, its recovery key (a 48-digit number) is required for most options started from the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), and sometimes during a reset. Microsoft Support cannot retrieve or recreate it, so locate it before you begin. It may be:

• in your Microsoft account, viewable from another device at aka.ms/myrecoverykey;
• in your work or school account if the PC was joined to an organization, at aka.ms/aadrecoverykey or through the IT department;
• on a printout made when BitLocker was turned on;
• on a USB flash drive where it was saved.

Use the opportunity to prepare the rest:

1. List your software (Settings > Apps > Installed apps, or Apps & features on Windows 10) and find the license keys or accounts they are tied to.
2. Sync or export your browser passwords.
3. Get an external drive or USB stick large enough for your profile.
4. If you use a personal Microsoft account, you can also turn on Windows Backup (Settings > Accounts > Windows Backup): it saves your folders to OneDrive, your app list and some settings, but not app settings.

UserNest backs up your profile to a folder, then restores it once Windows has been reinstalled. Pick an external drive or a USB stick rather than the Windows drive: a clean install erases the whole drive.

1. Before reinstalling, open the app: the Consumer edition installed from the Microsoft Store (see Download), or the portable executable of the Pro edition run from a USB stick.
2. Select the external drive as the destination and click Analyze to estimate the backup size.
3. Tick the items to keep: user folders, browsers (Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox), classic Outlook (PST, profiles, signatures, AutoComplete), Thunderbird, Sticky Notes, printers, wallpaper, Remote Desktop connections and extra folders.
4. Click Back up. Affected applications that are still open are closed once you confirm. Check that the report says Done, then unplug the drive.
5. Reinstall Windows with the option you chose.
6. Once Windows is reinstalled, sign in, install the app again, plug in the drive, go to the Restore tab and select the user@PC folder.
7. Read the final report and, if it says Completed with errors, the detailed log.

The restore puts PST files back in the same relative location in the profile, imports the Outlook profile again with its data file paths updated, reconnects network printers and sets the default printer back. Restoring an extra folder never deletes files already on the PC.

The app does not reinstall your software and does not transfer its licenses, Chrome, Edge and Brave passwords, or Wi-Fi networks. Editions are described on the Pricing page.

After a reset or a clean install, Windows starts again without your software. If you had turned on Windows Backup, sign in with the same Microsoft account during setup: Windows offers to restore the backup. Microsoft Store apps can be reinstalled from their pins; for the others, you are sent to the download website. Then go through the following points:

• Updates and drivers: run Windows Update until no update is pending; the PC manufacturer's website provides any missing drivers.
• Apps: reinstall your software from the Microsoft Store or the publisher's website, then reactivate the licenses.
• Browsers: sign back in to your account to get your synced passwords, or import your export file and then delete it.
• Outlook: open it and check your folders, signatures and AutoComplete.
• Printers: print a test page and check the default printer.
• Backup: keep it on the external drive for a few weeks before deleting it.