How to Recover Files After Factory Reset Windows 10/11

Windows 10 Factory Reset Overview

When a Windows 10 PC hangs, freezes, crashes, or gets stuck, users often refresh the computer. However, some unknown problems with the system can lead the users to reset their PC to the factory settings.

Being different from Windows 10 refresh, Windows 10 reset changes your PC and turns it into a totally new machine. This brings your Windows 10 laptop or desktop to the state when it was first turned on. That is to say, if you don't have a system backup before the reset, you'll permanently lose all the files including photos, documents, as well as a large amount of data downloaded from the internet. However, do you still have a chance to recover lost files after Windows 10 reset? (If you are also a Mac user, you may also be interested in how to reset Mac without losing data.)

Can You Recover Data After Factory Reset Windows 10

Can you recover files after factory reset on Windows 10? The answer is YES, but the recovery should be done as soon as Windows 10 is reset to factory settings. Otherwise, the recovery chance will be greatly reduced by data overriding.

EaseUS data recovery software allows Windows 10 users to recover files after Windows 10 reset. It supports the recovery of all kinds of file types, including graphics, audio, document, video, email, and more. Download and give it a shot right away.

How to Recover Files After Factory Reset with Data Recovery Software

EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard is recently optimized in order to offer an all-in-one solution for the latest Windows 10 operating system file recovery, which is very user-friendly. It can restore lost files from various storage devices in complex situations. For example, you can recover data from emptied Recycle Bin, formatted hard drive, RAW drive, lost partition, etc. 

Moreover, it's free if users have no more than 2GB of files to recover. Following is a three-step guide on file recovery after Windows 10 reset by using EaseUS data recovery software.

Step 1. Run EaseUS Data Recovery Wizard on your computer. Choose the drive where you lost files and click "Scan". If your lost files were on an external storage device, connect it to your computer firstly.

Step 2. The software will quickly scan the deleted files immediately, and then automatically perform a deep scan to find more lost files. After the scan is completed, you can use "Filter" to quickly filter specific file types.

Step 3. Click the "Preview" button or double-click on a file for a full preview. Finally, select the desired files, click "Recover" and choose another safe location to save all the files at once.

How to Recover Files After Factory Reset with Windows 10 File History 

File History is a default tool on Windows 10 that can back up your personal files on the Desktop, Documents, Videos, and Downloads folders. It saves and protects your files once every hour by default. Once you enabled File History, you can use it to restore files after a factory reset.

Step 1. Search for file history in the Search box. Click "Restore your files from File history" from the results.

Step 2. On the File History window. You will see all the backup files, including photos, videos, and documents. You can preview the files before recovery. More multiple backup versions can be found by clicking the left and right arrows at the bottom of the window. 

Step 3. Choose the target files you want to recover, and then click the green arrow to restore the files. Click the gear icon near the upper right corner and select "Restore to" to save the restored files to a safe place.

Conclusion

If you don't know how to recover files after factory reset on Windows 10, here are two ways to help you out. You can use EaseUS data recovery software to retrieve files or use Windows File History to restore lost files. To avoid further data loss, we highly suggest that you have a regular backup of your data or keet data recovery software handy.