Refresh, Restart, Recycle, Reinstall

Confused by whether to refresh, reset or reinstall? Windows 10 has multiple options, and they’re changing all the time

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If you’ve gone to the trouble of creating new installation media for any version of Windows 10 past the Creators Update, you’ll probably feel a bit silly when you discover that Microsoft tucked a ‘fresh start’ option into its later Win 10 editions.

Using it takes any Windows 10 installation back to the basics of a Windows install, even removing any preinstalled software your manufacturer might have included, and stripping away all your drivers – and it doesn’t require any special media. It’s basically a clean install without you having to directly perform the actions of reinstallation. You’ll find it in a corner of Windows Defender Security Centre, aka Windows Security – select Device performance and & health, then Additional info, before clicking Get started to begin. Again, make sure you’re backed up, as this is only slightly less destructive than formatting your hard drive. Handily, the fresh start procedure leaves a little note of all the things you’ve destroyed on your desktop, just so you can kick yourself later.