How to Recover Files After Factory Reset on Windows 10/11

Factory reset will erase all third-party applications and files stored on the computer. At the same time, it will reinstall the operating system and remove all junk files. After the factory reset, your computer will look like a new one as you first turn it on. However, it is not a piece of good news if you lose all the important files. Can you recover files after factory reset on Windows 10? Please keep reading to learn more.

Can files be recovered after Windows 10 factory reset?

We usually perform a factory reset to troubleshoot the problem, however, It not only clears the problem but also deletes all the files stored on the computer. Can files be recovered after Windows 10 factory reset? Fortunately, the answer is Yes!

I guess you may have chosen to remove everything option so all your programs and files are gone after the reset. Well, Windows allows users to choose whether to delete personal data. However, if it is to solve a complex system problem, it is generally recommended to delete everything, which means you will lose all your personal files. But don’t worry too much, it does not mean that there is no chance to recover files after factory reset on Windows 10. Depending on the situation, there are two ways to recover data.

● If you have backed up your files to USB or external drive with File History, then you simply connect the drive to computer and find deleted files from the backup folder.
● If there is no available backup, then you can use one Windows data recovery tool to scan the computer and find the deleted files. The deleted files are marked as free space, waiting to be overwritten by new data. As long as the deleted files are not overwritten, then the data recovery software will be able to find them.

Attention: please stop using your computer and perform data recovery as soon as possible. The deleted files will be permanently erased from your computer if these files are overwritten. If the files are overwritten, then no recovery software in the world can retrieve them.

How to recover files after factory reset Windows 10

Here in this part, you will learn the detailed steps to get back data after factory reset on Windows 10. Go to Option 2 if you have not backed up your personal files in advance.

Option 1. Recover files after factory reset Windows 10 from backup

File History is one handy tool for folders and files backup. It will try to save your files once every hour by default. If you have enabled File History beforehand, then you can try to restore data after factory reset on Windows 10 from the backup files.

• Connect the USB drive or external drive that contains the backup files.
• Go to search box and type file history > Choose Restore your files with File History.
• Then it will show you all the backup files > You can check the folders to find the files you need > When you find the files you need, just select them and click the Recover button to put them back to your computer.

Option 2. Recover files after factory reset Windows 10 - use data recovery tool

If there is no available backup, you can rely on Windows 10 data recovery tool to scan the drive and find all deleted and lost files. You cannot see the deleted files but data recovery tool can find them.MyRecover is recommended here. It is an ideal tool for those who don't know much about Windows.

Outstanding features of ADR for Windows

● Supports Data Recovery in Various Situations. System crashes, accidental deletion, virus attacks, disk formatting, etc.
● Supports Any Kind of Disk-based Storage Media. SSD, HDD, USB flash drive, external hard drive, SD card, etc.
● Recover Any Types of Files in Original Format. Documents, texts, pictures, videos, audios, emails, compressed files, etc.
● Highly-Compatible. Supports NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, ReFS in Windows 11/10/8/7. (Compatible with 64-bit and 32-bit OS.)
● High-Speed. With an advanced scan engine and robust data recovery algorithm, ADR for Windows can find and recover deleted or lost data at a very high speed.

All you have to do is click the scan button and the software will automatically find all lost files. Just click the download to get ADR for Windows and follow the steps to recover your important data.

How to get back data after factory reset on Windows 10

• Launch the tool > Hover the mouse over the drive and click Scan to scan.

• The tool will search your computer to find all deleted and lost files. If you remember the name of the deleted files or folder, you can type some keywords in the search box to quickly find them.

• Choose the files you want to recover > Select a place to save them. (You can recover any files during the scanning process.)

Final words

That’s all about how to recover files after factory reset Windows 10. As long as the files are not overwritten with new data, then it is possible to recover them. So you’d better perform data recovery as soon as possible.

PS: In order to quickly recover lost data last time - hope it will never happen, remember to turn on File History to backup important files! You can also take advantage of AOMEI Backupper to backup your files, system, disks, and partitions daily/weekly/monthly. It offers more features than File History.