Starting with the eighth modification in Windows, it became possible to perform a complete reset of the system to the state in which it was at the time of the initial installation. However, very often, instead of restoring the initial parameters, many users have a problem when returning the PC to its original state, and for no apparent reason. The system itself seems to be working fine, but it is impossible to reset it. What is the reason for this, what actions can be taken to troubleshoot and failures, then we will try to figure it out.
Why is there a problem when returning the PC to its original state?
To begin with, we will briefly dwell on the causes of such a failure. Of course, most experts mention the damage to important files and components responsible for performing such actions by the operating system as the main reason. We are talking about files that are stored in the WinSxS directory located in the main Windows directory. However, if, for example, the laptop operating system was initially preinstalled, and the manufacturer included in the toolbox the ability to completely reset to the initial factory settings, the problem when returning the PC to its original state may be due to the OS being reinstalled or changed to another , replaced the hard drive, etc. These are the most common cases, therefore, when considering methods for eliminating such failures, we will start from them.
What to do if the standard method did not produce a result?
If we are talking about restoring a PC with Windows 8 and above to its initial state, it seems that you don’t need to say that such actions are performed through the options menu, where the security and updates section is selected, in which, using the recovery subsection, you can start the reset process.
After that, a long process is started, which takes quite a while. But very often, after the system performs the necessary actions, instead of confirming the reset, a message is issued about the problem of returning the PC to its original state. Despite this, the reboot is performed as usual, and Windows continues to work, as if nothing had happened.
You can try to correct the situation by checking and restoring important system files and components, for which you will need to run the command console on behalf of the administrator and then execute the combination shown in the picture in it. If violations are found, their correction will usually be done automatically. But here, the user can be trapped in emergency situations when the scan tool will give an error or a message about the impossibility of restoring system objects.
Checking system components at startup from bootable media
In this situation, you can do just as easy by booting from a previously created removable media with the installation distribution (and not all kinds of LiveCD). First, as usual, you will need to select the language and region, and then follow the recovery link, where after a few menu steps you can immediately return the PC to its original state.
If the error reappears, in the same recovery section you will need to switch to using the command line, and then check using the command described above.
Additional command line actions
But we can assume that checking the system components in both cases did not give a result, and the problem with returning the PC to its original state remained unresolved. In this situation, you can advise a slightly different technique, which is to first perform a standard recovery using one of the control points for this.
If this does not help, you will have to run the command line again and try to roll back the system by executing the command shown in the image above.
If this does not help, try using additional boot options, go to troubleshooting, select additional options and use the command line, and then run the following commands (without punctuation at the end):
- cd% windir% \ system32 \ config;
- ren system system.001;
- ren software software.001.
After that, try checking and resetting again.
Recovery from image
If the result is zero again, in the running system, from the Run menu, start the PowerShell console using the command of the same name and restore it by executing the combination below.
In most cases, it is the use of this tool that gives the most effective result, after which the reset is performed without problems.
What to do if it was impossible to return a Windows 10 PC to its original state using the methods listed above
Finally, suppose that not one of the methods of the desired result yields. Here, many users give up, believing that only a complete reinstallation of the system will help. Do not rush to do this. This can be left only as a last resort. The problem - resetting the PC to its original state - can partially be solved by restoring missing or damaged components using DLL Suite class programs.
So, the ninth version of this package allows you to automatically fix possible problems with DLLs, and with executable files of the EXE format, and system objects SYS. In theory, after correcting all the errors found during the scanning process and loading the missing components, the reset can be performed without the occurrence of possible errors and failures.
And only if this last methodology does not take effect, you will have to perform the so-called “clean” installation of the system, even involving the formatting of the system partition. It goes without saying that you first need to back up your personal data or just copy it to a logical drive or removable drive. Alas, you will have to say goodbye to installed applications.