AOMEI Backupper
Safely Perform Dell Factory Reset in Windows 10/8/7 | 2 Ways
Perform Dell factory reset in Windows 10 before selling to protect your privacy, 2 ways provided in this article to reset Dell laptop to factory settings easily.
by Ivy Updated on October 13, 2023
Have problems while Dell factory resetting?
“Today, I had some troubles in factory resetting my Dell Inspiron 15 laptop. I turn on the power button, and then press F8 key, it did not get the boot menu up to factory reset. What should I do to restore dell to factory settings? Any help would be appreciated, thanks.”
– Dell Community
How to factory reset Dell laptop in Windows 10
To repair or restore your Windows operating system to its factory settings, it’s highly recommended to backup files if needed. Because the factory reset will delete everything you installed and stored after the purchase, including your documents, pictures, videos and other files. Or, you could leave it alone.
Fortunately, there are 2 solutions for you to factory reset Dell Inspiron 15 and other laptops, refer to following words:
Solution 1: Dell Factory Reset with built-in tool
👉 Factory reset Dell laptop within Windows 10
If your Dell laptop boot normally, follow the steps to reset your Dell computers:
1. Click Search box at the desktop, and input reset.
2. Choose Reset this PC (System Settings) in the results.
3. At the Reset this PC section, select Get Started.
4. Select the Keep my files or Remove everything option according to your demands.
5. Click Reset to start Dell factory reset in Windows 10.
👉 Factory reset Dell laptop Windows 10 from boot
If your Dell PC got some troubles and could not boot into Windows 10/8/8.1, you have to boot Dell laptop to Windows Recovery Environment (Win RE):
1. Start the computer, it will boot into WinRE mode automatically when Windows 10 can’t boot normally. Or press F8/F12 continuously while computer starting until the Advanced Boot Options menu appears.
2. Click Troubleshoot in WinRE mode.
3. Select Reset this PC.
4. Then follow the on-screen instructions to factory reset Dell laptop without password (if you set up password for your Dell PC) in Windows 10/8.1/8.
Sometimes. You may find there is no dell factory image restore option to perform factory reset for Dell computers, don’t worry, it’s been solved.
Solution 2: Restore Dell Computer to default settings with powerful software
Apart from the above solution, you could create an initial backup with AOMEI OneKey Recovery right after you purchase your computer, and then restore Dell laptop, desktop or other computers to default settings when necessary. AOMEI OneKey Recovery is a professional software for Windows PCs and Servers.
- It supports backing up all types of laptops and computers.
- You are allowed to create a custom recovery partition to save the system backup image.
- You can perform onekey system recovery with the "F11" (default) or "A" key during computer startup.
Let’s say you have used this software to create onekey system backup immediately after the purchase and nothing is added. Then you could restore system to factory settings on your Dell laptop using the following steps:
1. Press the F11 or A key to enter into AOMEI Recovery environment during system startup.
2. Once the Windows PE recovery environment begins, AOMEI OneKey Recovery will automatically appear. Click Yes to confirm that you want to restore the system.
3. Choose a way to restore, and click Next. There are two ways: Restore system by using the image file in AOMEI OneKey Recovery Partition; Restore system by selecting a system image file. (here take the first way for example.)
4. Click Start Restore to perform Dell factory reset in Windows 7/8/10.
No Dell factory image: create system backup now
If you have never used AOMEI OneKey Recovery, it’s highly recommended try now to create an AOMEI factory recovery partition in case you have to restore your Dell computers to the previous state:
1. Run AOMEI OneKey Recovery. Click OneKey System Backup on home console.
2. Select a method to backup system: Backup system to AOMEI OneKey Recovery Partition (Recommended) or Backup system to other location, and then click Next.
3. Choose a partition to store the AOMEI Recovery Partition that will be created afterwards, and press Start Backup button to backup Windows 10/8/7 and other settings to that partition.
4. By the way, you could set up the shortcut (F11 or A key) to enter AOMEI recovery environment by clicking Setting icon at the upper right corner.
Tips:
◎ AOMEI OneKey Recovery also applied to other brand of computers, like Lenovo, Asus, Acer, Toshiba, HP, Sony, etc.
◎ Some brands have the OneKey Recovery setting, like Lenovo, HP, etc. You could factory reset according to the specific steps from the official websites.
After you backed up, you could restore Dell computers to factory settings if required someday.
A Hard Reset Fix Most of the Problems
If your Dell PC does not work properly, like not power on or boot into Windows operating system, try a hard reset first, it will fix many problems usually:
1. Turn off your Dell laptop. Remove the AC adapter or power cord and take out the battery.
2. Disconnect all the external devices like USB drive, printer cables or CD/DVD, etc.
3. Press the power button for about 15-20 seconds to drain residual power.
4. Connect the AC adapter or power cord and the battery, and then see if your Dell PC is boot into operating system.
To be honest, please backup on a regular basis to protect the data in case of unexpected things. If you want to backup entire hard drive, backup individual file, real time sync files, etc. Just try AOMEI Backupper.
100%
Clean & Secure
