Reinstall Windows and keep personal files

What you will achieve

Reinstall Windows while keeping your personal files using the built-in reset — avoiding a full clean install and manual data restore from backup.

1) Choose the right reset option

1. Open Settings → System → Recovery (Windows 11) or Settings → Update & Security → Recovery (Windows 10).
2. Click Reset PC under Reset this PC.
3. Select Keep my files — this removes apps and settings but preserves documents, pictures, and desktop items in your user profile.

2) Local reinstall vs cloud download

1. Choose Local reinstall to rebuild from the existing Windows image on disk (faster, less bandwidth).
2. Choose Cloud download if local recovery is corrupt or you want a fresh copy from Microsoft servers.
3. Confirm the summary and start — the PC reboots several times. Keep it plugged into power.

3) After reset completes

1. Reinstall applications and sign back into accounts.
2. Open Settings → Windows Update and install all pending updates. Reboot and repeat until current.
3. Open Device Manager (Win + X) and resolve any yellow warning icons with vendor drivers.

4) When Keep my files is not enough

1. If malware or deep corruption is suspected, use Remove everything instead and restore files from a known-good backup.
2. For a truly clean slate, back up to external storage first, then perform a clean install from USB.

5) What Keep my files actually preserves

1. Files in Desktop, Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos under your profile are kept.
2. Installed apps, Start layout, Wi‑Fi passwords (sometimes), and domain join status are reset or removed.
3. Files on other drives (D:) are untouched — verify paths before reset.

6) Cloud download vs local — choose wisely

1. Cloud download needs 4+ GB bandwidth and stable internet but replaces a corrupted recovery partition.
2. Local reinstall fails if the recovery image on disk is damaged — switch to cloud or USB in that case.

7) BitLocker and reset

1. BitLocker stays enabled through Keep my files reset on most configs — have recovery key available if TPM state changes.
2. Domain-joined PCs may rejoin automatically or need re-enrolment depending on Entra/AD join type.

8) Compare to Fresh start

Older Windows 10 builds offered Fresh start via Windows Security — similar to Keep my files reset. On Windows 11, Reset this PC is the primary path.

1. Fresh start removed OEM bloat but required download — Reset cloud download is the modern equivalent.
2. Neither replaces full disk wipe for selling the PC — use Remove everything or clean install and wipe free space.

Related guides

• UEFI vs legacy BIOS boot explained
• Partition disks during Windows setup