There are four ways to reinstall Windows 10, and they range from “keeps everything, takes 20 minutes” to “wipes the drive completely.” Most people pick the wrong one — either nuking a machine that only needed a repair, or doing a light repair on a machine that needed a wipe.

Start by working out which one you need.

Which method do you need?

Your situationUse this
Windows is glitchy but boots; want to keep appsRepair install
Want a fresh Windows but keep personal filesReset — Keep my files
Selling or giving away the PCReset — Remove everything
Windows won’t boot at allClean install from USB
Suspected malware or deep corruptionClean install from USB

Cloud download vs local reinstall: the actual difference

When you reset Windows, it asks how to get the files. This is the choice that confuses everyone.

Local reinstall rebuilds Windows from the recovery files already on your drive. No download needed. Fast, usually 20–45 minutes. But if those recovery files are themselves damaged, the reset fails or reproduces the same problem.

Cloud download fetches a fresh copy from Microsoft’s servers. Needs about 4 GB of download and a stable connection. Slower, but the files are guaranteed clean, and you get the current build rather than whatever version shipped with the machine.

Which to pick:

  • Cloud download if the local reinstall already failed, if you suspect corruption or malware, if the PC came with a very old build, or if you simply have decent internet
  • Local reinstall if your connection is slow or metered, or you’re on a laptop away from wifi

One thing worth knowing: cloud download does not preserve manufacturer customisations. On an OEM laptop that means Dell, HP or Lenovo’s bundled drivers and utilities are gone. Some of that is bloatware you’re glad to lose; some of it is the driver for your fingerprint reader. Note your model number before you start.

Method 1: Repair install (keeps everything)

This is the most useful option and the least known. It reinstalls Windows over itself, replacing every system file, while keeping your apps, settings and files. It fixes a huge range of problems without the pain of setting the machine up again.

  1. Go to Microsoft’s Windows 10 download page
  2. Download the Media Creation Tool
  3. Run it, choose Create installation media, select ISO file, save it
  4. When it’s done, right-click the ISO → Mount
  5. Open the mounted drive and run setup.exe
  6. Choose to download updates if offered
  7. At Ready to install, confirm it says Keep personal files and apps
  8. Click Install and wait

Takes about an hour. If step 7 doesn’t offer “keep apps,” the ISO version is older than your installed version, download a current one.

Faster alternative on newer builds: Settings → Update & Security → Recovery → under Fix problems using Windows Update, click Reinstall now. Same idea, no ISO required.

Method 2: Reset this PC

Built into Windows, no USB needed.

  1. Settings → Update & Security → Recovery
  2. Under Reset this PC, click Get started
  3. Choose: – Keep my files — removes apps and settings, keeps documents, photos, downloads – Remove everything — wipes it all
  4. Choose Cloud download or Local reinstall (see above)
  5. Under Change settings, decide: – Clean data?, only matters if you’re passing the PC on. It overwrites the drive, adding hours – Delete files from all drives? — say No unless you truly want every partition wiped
  6. Click Reset

Keep my files does still remove all your installed programs. Make a list before you start, you’ll forget half of them.

Method 3: Clean install from USB

The complete option, and the only one available when Windows won’t boot.

Back up first. This erases the drive.

Make the USB:

  1. Get an 8 GB or larger USB drive (it will be wiped)
  2. Download and run the Media Creation Tool on any working PC
  3. Choose Create installation media, select USB flash drive
  4. Wait for it to finish

Install:

  1. Plug the USB into the target PC
  2. Power on and tap the boot-menu key, usually F12, F11, Esc or F2
  3. Choose the USB drive
  4. Select language, click Install now
  5. At the product key screen, click I don’t have a product key — Windows reactivates from your digital licence
  6. Choose your edition (match what you had — Home or Pro)
  7. Accept the licence, then choose Custom: Install Windows only
  8. Delete the partitions on the target drive, usually several small ones plus a large one
  9. Select the resulting Unallocated Space and click Next

Windows installs and restarts a few times. Unplug the USB when it first restarts so it doesn’t boot the installer again.

Method 4: Fresh Start / Reset without bloatware

If you have an OEM laptop and want Windows without the manufacturer’s software, use a clean install from a Microsoft-made USB (Method 3). It installs plain Windows with none of the bundled extras.

The trade-off is drivers. Before you wipe, go to your manufacturer’s support site, look up your model, and download the chipset, network and graphics drivers to a USB stick. Getting the network driver after you’ve wiped the machine and have no internet is a problem people run into constantly.

After any reinstall

  1. Check activation — Settings → Update & Security → Activation. It should activate automatically within a few minutes if it was activated before
  2. Windows Update — run it repeatedly until nothing new appears
  3. Drivers — Device Manager, look for yellow warning icons. Install chipset and graphics drivers from the vendor
  4. Reinstall your programs — from your list
  5. Restore your files — from your backup

Will I lose my Windows licence?

No, in almost every case. Since Windows 10, activation is tied to your hardware and stored with Microsoft as a digital licence. Reinstall on the same machine and it reactivates by itself.

Two exceptions worth knowing:

  • Replacing the motherboard breaks the hardware match. Link your licence to a Microsoft account beforehand (Settings → Activation → Add an account), then use the Troubleshoot activation option afterwards to move it
  • Retail vs OEM: a retail key can move to a new PC, an OEM key cannot

Common questions

Does Reset this PC remove viruses? Usually, but not always. “Keep my files” leaves your personal files untouched, and infected files there survive. “Remove everything” with a cloud download is far more reliable. For anything serious, a clean install from USB is the only method that’s genuinely thorough.

How long does it take? Repair install: about an hour. Reset with local reinstall: 20–45 minutes. Reset with cloud download: add your download time. Clean install: 20–30 minutes on an SSD, plus driver and update time afterwards.

Do I need my product key? No. Click I don’t have a product key during setup. Your digital licence handles it.

Can I still get Windows 10 in 2026? Yes. The Media Creation Tool and ISO downloads are still available. But Windows 10 lost support on 14 October 2025, no more security patches. Reinstalling it puts you back on an unpatched OS, so if the hardware supports Windows 11, install that instead.

Reset failed with “There was a problem resetting your PC.” The local recovery files are damaged. Retry with Cloud download. If that fails too, use a USB clean install.

Does reinstalling improve performance? It removes accumulated startup programs and background services, so a machine that’s slowed down over years does feel quicker. If the machine is slow because it’s running from a mechanical hard drive, a reinstall changes nothing, that needs an SSD.

Try a repair install before a reset. It fixes most Windows problems, takes about an hour, and leaves your apps and settings alone. A reset should be what you do when the repair install doesn’t work, not the first thing you reach for.