Recover Deleted Files by Windows 10 Remove Everything Option

Windows 10 comes with a resetting option that allows you to restore your PC to factory default configuration. It is very useful when your PC or laptop becomes less responsive after a long time accumulation of files, caches, or fragmentations. Resetting prepares your PC or laptop to start from scratch rather conveniently and quickly.

Windows offers different options when we reset it to factory settings. It is best that we know how each of them works and how they differ from each other, in order to choose the best option that suits our need. There are basically two options when it comes to resetting Windows: you can choose between keeping your files and removing everything.

When you choose to keep your files, the PC will scan your drives and put aside your personal data before the formatting. After a new copy of Windows is installed successfully, the files will be moved back to their original place.

Alternatively, when you reset your PC and remove everything, the PC boots into Windows RE (Windows Recovery Environment). Windows RE will erase and format the Windows partitions before it installs a new copy of Windows.

If I accidentally removed everything when resetting Windows 10,  is it possible to recover the deleted files? 

the Remove Everything Option

Whether or not you can recover data from factory reset depends on your choice on how to remove the files. There are two ways to handle the removal of data in Windows 10: the options are “Just remove my files” and “Remove files and clean the drive” as shown below.

The “Just remove my files” option (the Quick Removal option in Windows 8) is quick but less secure if you plan to donate or recycle your computer. This option is similar to quick format. It just resets the filesystem and cleared the table address. Although inaccessible, the raw data are still there and can be recovered by using professional data recovery tools.

The “clean the drive” option (the Thorough Removal option in Windows 8), on the other hand, writes zero to every sector of the drive, overwriting any existing data visible to the operating system. This process will provide enough security for typical scenarios but as a result will take hours to complete. This is the option for you if you are disposing of highly confidential business and government data. A single pass overwriting will put most consumer level recovery software off. Even with ample funds and forensic tools, only fragments of data can be salvaged.

How to Recover Deleted Files by Windows 10 Remove Everything Option

The data recovery process in this case is similar to recovering formatted hard drives in Windows. The recovery tool recommended here is H Data Recovery Software.

• Free download the H Data Recovery Software and launch it. Select the “Formatted Hard Drive Accidentally” module to recover the removed files from a formatted hard disk.
• H Data will scan for and reconstitute all the deleted files. A list of recoverable files will be listed for your browsing when the scanning is completed. The search bar is very useful when you try to quickly pin down the files you want.
• In this final step, you will be able to select files to have them recovered to your computer. Just keep in mind that you should save the recovered files on another hard drive or partition to avoid potential overwriting.