How to Factory Reset Windows 7 [Follow Detailed Guides]

"I just bought a used Windows 7 computer from a yard sale. It has a bunch of stuff on it, which I don't need or would use. How to delete everything on Windows 7 to start from scratch? Or how can I wipe the computer and restore it to a factory-fresh state?"  

When you buy a second-hand computer with data, decide to sell/give your computer to others, or your computer is full of trashes and becomes slow, you may want to delete everything off the computer on Windows 7/8/10.

To wipe a computer in Windows 7 or Windows 10, you can restore to factory settings, which allows you to keep the system but erase all personal data. If you'd like to delete everything on Windows 7 without CD, including the Windows system and data, you can make it in the way below.

How to Wipe a Computer Windows 7 Without CD, Including Windows System & Personal Data

How to delete everything on Windows 7 without CD, including the Windows operating system and personal files? Although Windows doesn't provide a feature for wiping data, you can erase all Windows laptop and PC data with a third-party tool, like EaseUS Partition Master.

EaseUS Partition Master is a comprehensive program that deletes all the data from a Windows OS computer with its "Wipe Data" function. You can wipe your system drives and other partitions with a WinPE bootable USB, letting your computer leave nothing behind and never recoverable.

Download this data wiping tool and learn how to delete everything on Windows 7 with a step-by-step guide.

1. Create a WinPE Bootable Disk

Step 1. To create a bootable disk of EaseUS Partition Master, you should prepare a storage media, like a USB drive, flash drive or a CD/DVD disc. Then, correctly connect the drive to your computer.

Step 2. Launch EaseUS Partition Master, and find the "Bootable Media" feature on the left. Click on it.

Step 3. You can choose the USB or CD/DVD when the drive is available. However, if you do not have a storage device at hand, you can also save the ISO file to a local drive, and later burn it to a storage media. Once made the option, click the "Create" button to begin.

• Check the Warning message and click "Yes".

Step 4. When the process finishes, you'll see a pop up window, asking if you want to restart computer from the bootable USB.

• Reboot Now: it means you want to restart the current PC and enter EaseUS Bootable Media to manage your disk partitions without OS.
• Done: it means you don't want to restart the current PC but to use the bootable USB on a new PC.

Note: To use the bootable disk on a new PC, you need to resart the target computer and press F2/F8/Del key to enter BIOS, and set the USB bootable disk as the first boot disk.

Wait patitiently and your computer will automatically boot up from the USB bootable media and enter EaseUS WinPE desktop.

2. Wipe Windows 7 Computer to Delete Everything

After successfully creating the bootable disk, you can boot the computer, press Del to enter DOIS, and set "USB Boot Device" as the first boot device. Then, you can use EaseUS Partition Master to erase your computer, including the system and data drives.

We've set two options for you to wipe data. Choose the one you need.

Option 1.  Wipe Partition

• Right-click the partition you want to erase data from, and choose "Wipe".
• In the new window, set the time for which you want to wipe your partition, then click "OK".
• Click the "Execute 1 Task(s)" button in the lower right corner, check the changes, then click "Apply".

Option 2. Wipe Disk

• Select the HDD/SSD. And right-click to choose "Wipe Disk".
• Set the number of times to wipe data. (You can set to 10 at most.) Then Click "OK".
• Click "Execute 1 Task(s)" and then click "Apply".

Reinstall Windows 7 or Windows 10 for Reuse

After completely wiping your Windows 7 computer, you can reinstall the system for reuse.

To install Windows 7: Download Windows 7 Disc Images (ISO Files) and follow the instructs to complete the task.

To install Windows 10: Download the media creation tool from Microsoft and finish the clean installation.

EaseUS Todo Backup enables users to create and restore system image to a different computer to migrate OS without reinstalling. Check details if you are interested.

How to Delete Everything on Windows 7 by Restoring to Factory Settings

If you want to keep the clean Windows system on your computer as when you bought it, but need to wipe user accounts, personal files, customized settings, programs, and data to make it unrecoverable for privacy reasons, you can do it by restoring to factory settings.

The ways to factory reset vary on different systems, read the following content, and learn how to delete everything on Windows 7 or Windows 10 with or without installation CD/DVD.

How to Restore Windows 7 to Factory Settings

To delete everything on Windows 7 and reset your computer to the factory state, you have to use an original Windows 7 installation media or recovery disk. If you don't have the disc, you will need to contact the computer manufacturer to order a new restore disc or skip to see how to delete everything on windows 7 without a CD.

Restore Windows 7 with Installation CD/DVD 

Step 1. Insert the Windows 7 installation CD in the CD-ROM drive and restart the computer.

Step 2. Press F8 repeatedly to open the Advanced Boot Options menu. At the Advanced Boot Options screen, choose "Repair Your Computer" and press Enter. This opens the System Recovery Options menu.

Step 3. Choose System Restore or Startup Repair (if this is available).

Step 4. Follow the on-screen instructions to continue with any operation.

Restore Windows 7 to factory settings without CD

If no install CD or DVD is available, you can boot into Safe Mode and run System Restore with Command Prompt.

Step 1. Turn on the computer. Press and hold the F8 key.

Step 2. Choose "Safe Mode with Command Prompt" at the Advanced Boot Options screen and press Enter.

Step 3. Log in as Administrator.

Step 4. When the Command Prompt appears, type rstrui.exe and press Enter.

Step 5. Follow the wizard instructions to finish System Restore on Windows 7.

How to Reset Windows 8/8.1 to Factory Settings to Delete Everything

Windows 8 can be restored to factory settings by either performing a "refresh" of your PC (without removing your files) or by performing a "reset" (this deletes personal files from your computer).

Step 1. Go to "Settings". Click "Change PC settings" > "General" > "Remove everything and reinstall Windows" > "Get started". If your operating system is "Windows 8.1", click "Update and recovery" > "Remove everything and reinstall Windows".

Step 2. Click "Next". Note: All your personal files, settings, and apps will be removed.

Step 3. Select the drives from which you want to remove files. Here, you can select your system drive.

Step 4. Choose "Just remove my files" or "Fully clean the drive". Click "Reset" to reset your PC.

How to Reset Windows 10 to Factory Settings to Delete Everything

Resetting Windows 10 can delete everything on your Windows 10, including personal data.

Step 1. Go to "Settings". Select "Update & security" > "Recovery" in the left pane > "Get started" under "Reset this PC".

Step 2. Click "Keep my files" or "Remove everything". Here, to restore a clean Windows, choose "Remove everything".

Step 3. Select "Just remove my files" or "Remove files and clean the drive". Cleaning the drive takes a lot longer. If you are giving the computer away, choose the latter one; while keeping the computer, choose the first one.

Step 4. Click "Next" > "Reset" > Continue when prompted. Windows will then restart and take several minutes to reset.

To Sum Up

To delete everything on Windows 7 or Windows 8/10, you have two ways to do it:

Way 1. Use EaseUS Partition Master Bootable USB to wipe the whole disk without CD, including the Windows and personal files. With this program, you can simply wipe your computer entirely with a few clicks.

Way 2. Restore Windows 7 to factory settings to its original configuration as it first was when it was purchased. This solution is a bit more complicated. Restoring factory settings often doesn't erase your data thoroughly; you still have to use a data wiping tool to delete everything on Windows 7/8/10.