Factory restore question

Hi raybro,

There are two ways to restore Windows 8 to factory settings. They are “Refresh” and “Reset”.

Refresh: The Refresh option is primarily a repair method. It is a great method of returning your PC to a known good state while preserving your files and a great deal of your configuration. With the Refresh your PC option, user accounts, data files, and some settings are preserved on your PC without the need to create a backup, or to make choices about what to keep or remove.

Reset: This is similar to a PC restore. This option, also called Reset your PC is useful when a PC is changing hands, or when you want to get a completely fresh start on a PC, with no previous files or configuration retained.

To Refresh Windows 8 please follow the below mentioned steps:

1. Open the General section of PC Settings by the key combination WIN KEY + C to open charms bar and click PC Settings.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the Get started button under Refresh your PC without affecting your files.
   
   
   
   
3. Click the Next button at the Refresh your PC step of the wizard.
   
   
   
   
4. You may be prompted to insert installation or recovery media if there is not a recovery image preconfigured on your PC.
   
   
   
   
5. Click the Refresh button at the Ready to refresh your PC step.
   
   
   
   
6. At this point, the PC is restarted, and the refresh actions are completed.
   
   

To Reset the Windows 8 to factory settings please follow the below mentioned steps:

(Note: Reset option will delete the data from the computer)

1. Open the General section of PC settings by the key combination WIN Key + C to open Charms bar and click PC settings.
   
   
   
   
2. Click the Get started button under Remove Everything and reinstall windows and start over.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Click the Next button at the Reset your PC and start over step of the wizard.
   
   
   
   
4. As in the Reset steps, you may be prompted to insert Windows 8 installation or recovery media if there is not a recovery image preconfigured on your PC.
   
   
5. If you have multiple drives on your PC, the next step gives you a choice of how you want files removed. You can remove files from the Windows drive only, or from all drives.
   
   
   
   
6. Next you will be asked if you want to fully clean your drive. You can choose to just remove my files or a more complete removal with the Fully clean the drive option. Neither option provides a guarantee that the data will be unrecoverable, but the fully clean option will make it significantly more difficult.
   
   
   
   
7. To proceed, click the Reset button at the Ready to reset your PC step, shown below.
   
   
   
   
8. At this point the PC is restarted into a full-screen progress screen.
   
   
   
   
9. The next step on a PC where the Pro Pack or Media Pack was installed is shown below. In these scenarios you will need to enter your Product Key. Notice that there is a Skip button here. This would enable you to complete the Reset without entering your key. That can be useful if you are selling a PC and want to retain a retail Windows 8 license that you installed on it.
   
   
   
   
10. The final step is the License Terms. Click Accept in this step to complete the reset.
    
    

Please post the results.