This is a Guest Post Author Bio: Gary Fildes has 10+ years experience in the IT Industry and is an MCT Technical Trainer and Lead Instructor for Windows 8 Training at Firebrand I personally like to keep my PC very ‘fresh’. Though at the moment it looks quite un-fresh, e.g. too many icons, add-ons, upgrades etc. – so it’s time for a re-install. I’d love to calculate the amount of times I’ve re-installed Windows over the past twenty years, from Windows 3.1 through to Windows 8. As I type I’m installing Windows 8 in Hyper-V, so there’s another one. So how will Refresh and Reset change your life? And what’s the difference between Refresh vs. Reset? Here goes: Refresh:
- Keeps: Your files and personalisation settings, e.g. Desktop background, any purchased Windows Store Apps
- Removes: Anything else downloaded and installed, e.g. Adobe, Java, software installed from CD and USB
- Keeps: Nothing! E.g. “Honey, I accidentally deleted the wedding photos!”
- Removes: Everything! It winds your PC back to day one. Everything is gone (hence a backup is required first)
Keeping it fresh
So your computer is a right mess and you’ve had enough. Below is my lovely Windows 8 PC with some apps installed on the desktop, that I want gone in double-quick time. Step 1. Press Windows Key + C for the magical Charm Bar to appear on the right-hand side. From here, click Settings > Change PC Settings > General, then scroll down to the bottom and you should see Fig.2. Here’s where the magic happens. Notice that Refresh and Reset are two separate options. Don’t click the wrong one (Reset is explained below). Fig.1. Windows 8 Computer After pressing Next, it can take about 15 minutes – so you may want to grab a coffee. Remember all the icons on the desktop in Figure 1? Check it out now:Fig 4. Post Refresh of your PC
Perfect, the desktop background is the same, all the apps have been removed and I even get a document on the desktop informing me what has actually been removed.
I’ve checked my documents folder and my previously created documents are still there.
I feel Refreshed.
Isn’t this a bad choice for those who keep important files?
those who keep inportant files shall use refresh instead of reset, as the article explains.
I can;t imagine if you accidentally delete all files of your boss.