How push-button reset features work

Restoring the operating system and customizations

This section discusses the mechanisms Push-button reset uses to restore software on the PC.

Restoring Windows

Push-button reset restores WindowsВ 10 by constructing a new copy of the OS using runtime system files located in the Windows Component Store (C:\Windows\WinSxS). This allows recovery to be possible even without a separate recovery image containing a backup copy of all system files.

In addition, Push-button reset restores Windows to an updated state rather than to the factory-preinstalled state. All updates installed on the PC (such as WindowsВ 10, version 1809) will be restored. Due to this improvement it is not required nor recommended to mark updates as permanent by using the DISM /Cleanup-Image command with the /ResetBase option.

This approach provides a balance between user experience in terms of the number of updates which need to be reinstalled and the features’ effectiveness in addressing update problems. It also allows Windows to remove older system files which are no longer needed for runtime use or for recovery, freeing up disk space.

Restoring language packs

Language packs that are installed and used by at least one user account are restored. This includes languages installed by users.

Seven days after the Out-of-Box Experience (OOBE), any language packs that haven’t yet been used are removed. Using Push-button reset features after that will not restore the removed language packs.

On PCs running single-language editions of Windows, such as WindowsВ 10 Home, users cannot download or install additional language packs, and they cannot use push-button reset features to switch languages if the preinstalled language packs have been removed.

Restoring drivers

Drivers are restored in a similar fashion as the OS. Instead of restoring them from a recovery image, existing drivers are preserved across recovery. Starting with Windows 10, version 1709, the latest drivers are restored as part of Push-button Reset.

Prior to Windows 10, version 1709, As with system files, drivers are restored to the state they were in when the most recent release or major update is installed. For example:

• If the customer performs recovery after booting up a new PC preinstalled with Windows 10, drivers that are present during OOBE will be restored, even if newer drivers have been installed since.
• If the customer performs recovery after upgrading from WindowsВ 10 to WindowsВ 10, version 1511, the drivers that are present during the upgrade will be restored, even if newer drivers have been installed since.

Device applets which are installed outside of the driver INF package are not restored as part of this process. They are restored to factory version and state in the same way as other customizations such as Windows desktop applications. (See Restoring other customizations for more information.) If the device applet must always stay in sync (version wise) with the driver, it is recommended that both the driver and the device applet be installed via the same INF package.

Restoring previously installed Windows apps

Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, preinstalled Windows apps that have been updated after their initial installation get restored to their updated state. Prior to Windows 10, version 1809, preinstalled Windows apps get restored to their factory version and state. Instead of restoring them from a recovery image, a copy of the Windows apps is automatically backed up when they are provisioned during image customization and manufacturing, and the backups are restored when Push-button reset features are used.

Restoring other customizations

To restore Windows desktop applications and settings, you can use provisioning packages created using the ScanState utility, and either push-button reset extensibility points or Auto-apply folders (Windows 10, version 1809 and later).

Keep my files

The Keep my files feature preserves a number of system and user settings that are required to keep the system running while minimizing the need for users to reconfigure their PCs.

Preserved settings can be broadly categorized into one of the following categories:

• Are required for users to log on to their PCs after running the Keep my files feature.
• Affect how users access their documents and personal files.
• Are difficult for most users to recreate.
• Affect system security or user privacy.
• Personalize the PC.

Settings

The preserved settings are summarized as follows:

• User accounts (local, domain, Microsoft account), and group memberships
• Domain settings
• Windows Update settings
• Library settings
• Lock screen background
• Desktop themes
• International settings
• Wireless network profiles
• Settings configured in Windows Welcome
• User controlled privacy settings (such as location, camera, microphone)

The privacy setting to store my activity history on this device will be enabled by default.

User data

Because user data can be stored in many locations, the Keep my files feature preserves most folders and files that are not part of a standard Windows installation. The Keep my files feature refreshes the following system locations and does not preserve the contents.

• \Windows
• \Program Files
• \Program Files(x86)
• \ProgramData
• \Users\ \AppData (in each user profile)

NoteВ В Some applications store user data in the \AppData folder in user profiles. The \AppData folders are available in C:\Windows.old after using the Keep my files feature.

The Keep my files feature bypasses the following locations and preserves the contents:

• File History versioning data
• All files and folders on non-OS partitions

Windows Applications

The Keep my files feature handles application types differently in order to ensure that the PC can be restored to a reliable state.

Applications are handled as follows:

• User-acquired Windows apps from the Microsoft Store are not preserved. Users will need to reinstall them from the Microsoft Store. This is a change from Windows 8/8.1.
• Starting with Windows 10, version 1809, preinstalled Windows apps that have been updated since initial installation will be restored to an updated state. Prior to Windows 10, version 1809, preinstalled Windows apps are restored to their factory version and state. Updates to these apps will be downloaded and reapplied automatically when internet connectivity is available.
• User-acquired Windows desktop applications are not preserved. Users will need to reinstall them manually.
• Preinstalled Windows desktop applications captured in the customizations provisioning package will be restored to their factory condition, even if users have previously uninstalled them.

The Keep my files feature does not preserve user-installed Windows desktop applications by default, and locations that are commonly used for storing application settings (\AppData and \ProgramData) are deleted. Manufacturers can leverage Auto-apply folders or the push-button reset extensibility points to save and later restore specific application settings and data, if necessary.

Remove everything

When users use the Remove everything feature, they will be presented with options that affect the way that their data is removed from the PC.

If the PC has more than one user-accessible hard drive volumes, users can choose to remove data from all volumes or only the Windows volume.

The Windows volume is never formatted, as the files needed to rebuild the OS are on it. Instead, user data files are deleted individually.

If user chooses to remove data from all volumes, the data volumes are formatted.

Users can choose to simply delete their files or to also perform data erasure on the drive(s) so that recovery of the data by someone else is much more difficult.

Manufacturers must configure custom utility partitions as follows to ensure these partitions are not affected by the reset process.

• For UEFI-based PCs, utility partitions on GUID Partition Table (GPT) disks should have the GPT_ATTRIBUTE_PLATFORM_REQUIRED attribute set. See PARTITION_INFORMATION_GPT structure for more information on GPT partition attributes.
• For BIOS-based PCs, utility partitions on Master Boot Record (MBR) disks must be of a type other than 0x7, 0x0c, 0x0b, 0x0e, 0x06, and 0x42.

The time it takes to perform data erasure depends on drive speed, partition size, and whether the drive is encrypted using Windows BitLocker Drive Encryption. The data erasure functionality is targeted at consumers and does not meet government and industry data erasure standards.

If Compact OS is enabled on the OS before the reset, Compact OS will remain enabled after the PC has been reset.

Compact OS

Compact OS is a collection of technologies which allow Windows 10 to be deployed on PCs with storage capacity as low as 16 gigabytes (GB). The following two technologies in particular work in conjunction with the Push-button reset changes to reduce Windows’ disk footprint:

• Per-file compression When applying a reference image file (WIM) to a PC, the files written to the disk can be compressed individually using the XPRESS Huffman codec. This is the same codec used by the WIMBoot technology in Windows 8.1. When Push-button reset features rebuilds the OS, the runtime system files remain compressed.
• Single-instancing of installed customizations After the installed customizations (e.g. Windows desktop applications) have been captured (using ScanState) into a reference device data image stored inside a provisioning package, the two copies of the customizations can be singled-instanced to reduce disk footprint impact. This is accomplished by converting the installed customizations (e.g. C:\Program Files\Foo\Foo.exe) into file pointers linked to the contents of the reference device data image.

The following diagram illustrates the high-level content layout of PCs with Compact OS enabled:

Both technologies are optional and can be configured during deployment.

How to use System Restore on Windows 10

Source: Windows Central

On Windows 10, System Restore is a feature designed to create a snapshot of the device’s current working state as a «restore point» when system changes are detected. If a critical problem occurs after installing a system update, device driver, application, or after modifying system settings incorrectly using the Registry or another tool, you can use one of the available restore points to revert the computer to an earlier point in time to resolve the problem without losing your files.

Although this is a handy recovery tool, for some odd reason, System Restore comes disabled by default, which means that you must enable it before Windows 10 can create restore points automatically or you manually.

In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to set up System Restore as well as the steps to recover from problems that may be affecting the normal operation of your computer.

How to enable System Restore on Windows 10

On Windows 10, the System Restore feature is not turned on by default, and you must enable it manually using Control Panel.

To enable System Restore, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Create a restore point and click the top result to open the System Properties page.
3. Under the «Protection Settings» section, select the main «System» drive

Click the Configure button.

Source: Windows Central

Select the Turn on system protection option.

Source: Windows Central

Quick tip: Windows 10 can automatically manage the space, but under the «Disk Space Usage» section, you can also use the slider to specify the storage amount to reserve for the recovery feature. You will also find a Delete button, which you can use to remove all restore points, which can come in handy to free up space or when you want to start over with the feature.

Click the Apply button.

Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, Windows 10 will automatically create a restore point when applying a new update or when specific system changes are made.

System Restore is not a feature you can enable globally. If you have additional drives you want to protect with System Restore, you must repeat the steps on every storage device. However, remember that this feature is available to undo settings changes. It is not a backup solution replacement.

How to create a System Restore point on Windows 10

If enabled, System Restore will create a checkpoint when it detects system changes automatically. However, if you modify the system configuration, you always want to create a restore point manually.

To create a restore point on Windows 10 manually, use these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Create a restore point, and click the top result to open the System Properties page.

Under the «Protection Settings» section, click the Create button.

Source: Windows Central

Type a descriptive name for the restore point — for example, before modifying the Registry settings.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Create button.

Click the Close button.

Click the OK button.

Click the Close button.

After you complete the steps, you’ll have a way to undo changes in the event that something goes wrong while installing a new device driver, app, or after modifying the Registry.

How to recover using System Restore on Windows 10

When something happens after modifying system settings on Windows 10, you can undo the changes by applying a previous restore point. You can complete this task from the desktop or the advanced startup settings if the system does not boot.

Undo system changes from desktop

If you still have access to the desktop, you can revert changes with System Restore using these steps:

1. Open Start.
2. Search for Create a restore point, and click the top result to open the System Properties page.

Click the System Restore button.

Source: Windows Central

Quick note: If the option is grayed out, then it means that the system does not have any restore point available.

Click the Next button.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Finish button.

Source: Windows Central

Once you complete the steps, System Restore will return the device to the previous good working state.

Undo system changes from Advanced startup

If the computer does not boot to access the desktop, you can use Advanced startup settings to use the System Restore feature to undo system changes.

Access Advanced startup

To access the Advanced startup environment to use System Restore, use these steps:

Power on the device.

As soon as the Windows logo appears on your screen, press the power button to interrupt the boot sequence.

Source: Windows Central

Repeat steps No. 1 and 2 two more times. (Or until the device boots into the recovery experience.)

After you complete the steps, you can use the steps outlined below to revert system changes with System Restore.

Alternatively, if you cannot access the recovery environment with the above steps, you can start your device with a Windows 10 installation media, and while in the «Windows Setup» experience, click the Next button, click the Repair your computer button from the bottom-left corner, and then use the steps below.

Undo changes with System Restore

To use System Restore from the Advanced startup environment, use these steps:

Click the Advanced options button.

Source: Windows Central

Click on Troubleshoot.

Source: Windows Central

Click on Advanced options.

Source: Windows Central

Click on System Restore.

Source: Windows Central

Confirm the account passowrd.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Next button.

Source: Windows Central

Click the Finish button.

Source: Windows Central

Once you complete the steps, the changes causing the problem will be removed with the previous snapshot bringing the device back to a good-known working state.

We are focusing this guide on Windows 10, but since this is a legacy feature, you can also refer to these instructions if you are using Windows 8.1 or Windows 7.

Although System Restore is a convenient feature to quickly recover from configuration problems, it is not a feature meant to replace a backup solution or an option to reset the computer to the factory default settings.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

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