The easiest way to do this is by using Rufus, a free USB burning tool. Launch Rufus, click Select, choose the ISO and then click Start. Enter select disk where is the disk number, likely 0. Select the drive you want to erase and click Continue.
The bad news is that the End User Licensing Agreement that you clicked–and probably never read–when installing a program may prevent you from doing so. If you want to play it safe, read the EULA of the apps you want to leave on the PC. To help you sell your old PC, we’ve put together a list of the four steps you need to take to make sure that your PC is ready for a second life of service. Aside from some embarrassing photos or search histories, there are several reasons why it is important to wipe a laptop’s drive before selling it. For example, the internet browser often saves a slew of sensitive data that can easily be accessed unless the laptop is wiped.
When you click through from our site to a retailer and buy a product or service, we may earn affiliate commissions. This helps support our work, but does not affect what we cover or how, and it does not affect the price you pay. Neither ZDNET nor the author are compensated for these independent reviews. Indeed, we follow strict guidelines that ensure our editorial content is never influenced by advertisers. Plan to go without the computer for 15 minutes to an hour while the reset process completes. You can cancel the reset while Windows downloads and prepares files for install, but you can’t cancel the reset after that point. You can leave the device unattended while it resets.
My Dell had an Intel Core i3 2.0-GHz processor. Read more about Sell my laptop near me here. Before you get rid of that old laptop, backup all your files. Capture, retouch, edit, and submit professional-quality product photos using the Product Photo Studio. Caroline Ellison says FTX’s Bankman-Fried led her to “lie and steal” In emotional testimony, Sam Bankman-Fried’s former girlfriend blamed the FTX co-founder for justifying illegal activity. 1H ago Olympics legend Mary Lou Retton “continues to fight” for her life A fundraiser started by Mary Lou Retton’s daughter to pay for medical expenses has raised more than $284,000.
Backup solutions that create an image of your entire PC defeat the point of a factory reset because they’ll restore everything that was on your laptop before the reset. Choose whether to keep your files or remove everything. The former option will keep the files but remove programs and any changes to settings. The latter gets rid of everything, but note that a very determined person with file recovery software might be able to restore your files. While you’re shopping around you may see a 256 GB storage solution and think that is enough for your needs. 512 GB or 1 TB could save you some heartache down the line and future proof your purchase.
How Much Is My Laptop Worth? How to Price the Old PC?
Continue to answer questions about how to reset your laptop. You might be given a choice of whether to download Windows from the cloud or install it locally. The cloud download will be more up to date, but requires up to 4 GB of storage space on your laptop. The easiest way to factory reset your HP laptop is using the Settings app in Windows, though for this to work, your computer must be able to boot and run normally. If your laptop isn’t working well enough to use Settings, try the next section. That’s because a factory reset will revert your laptop back to the state it was in when you took it out of the box for the first time . You can choose whether you want the reset to wipe out all personal files or only to reset Windows itself.
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The price will vary per device, demand, and condition. 6- Finally, click the Reset button to begin the process. Your computer will now reboot to complete the reset process. 4- Next, click on “Remove everything” to ensure all of your files, apps, and settings will be deleted.
These days you can reset any laptop, including HP models, using the standard reset procedure in Windows 10. See our overview guide on how to reset any Windows 10 computer for more information. You can factory reset an HP laptop using Windows Settings to revert the laptop to its original state. You can factory reset your HP laptop in two different ways to return it to its original condition. Sometimes, when you format a drive, you wipe out the file header and File Allocation Table pointer record information.
If your PC is feeling cluttered, you’re having technical issues or you’re preparing to sell your computer, it may be time to factory reset Windows 10 or 11. That way, you can bring your PC back to the way it came when you took it out of the box. With all this in mind, it’s also worth considering how battery-intensive the apps you want to use will be. Most laptops on the market will be able to get through a day of casual use without too much worry, though smaller-size laptops will likely leave you with less to work with day to day. If you’re concerned about futureproofing your laptop, shoot for higher specs than you currently require, but don’t push the boat out too far, as technology is always evolving.
There are plenty of things to think about to ensure you’re getting a machine that will support you long-term. Select “Just remove my files” if you plan to give the computer to someone you trust because that process is much faster.