How to Reimage a Computer

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Easily install a fresh version of Windows or macOS on your desktop or laptop

Written by Jack Lloyd

Last Updated: March 19, 2024 Tested

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On Windows 10

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On a Mac

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Q&A

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Tips

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Warnings

This wikiHow guide teaches you how to remove and reinstall the operating system on a Windows or Mac computer. Before reimaging your computer, you should back up your data to an external hard drive.

What is the best way to reimage a computer?

On Windows 10, go to Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Get Started > Remove everything > Remove files and clean the drive.
On a Mac, restart in Recovery Mode, go to Disk Utility, select your hard drive, and then click "Erase."

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

On Windows 10

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Click the gear icon in the lower-left side of the Start window.
This icon is near the bottom of the Settings window.

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It's on the left side of the window.
You'll find this option below the "Reset this PC" heading near the top of the page.
It's at the top of the pop-up window.
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Click Remove files and clean the drive. This option will completely erase your computer's hard drive and then reinstall Windows 10 on it.
- You may see a warning about not being able to roll back to a previous version of Windows here. If so, click Next before continuing.
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Click Reset when prompted. Your computer will begin resetting itself.
- The reset process can take several hours to complete, so just make sure that the computer is plugged into a reliable power source to ensure that it doesn't shut down.
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Click Continue when prompted. Once your computer finishes resetting, you'll see this at the top of the page. Clicking it will take you to the setup page.
- You'll select a language, connect to a Wi-Fi network, and perform other setup tasks to complete the Windows 10 reinstallation.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

On a Mac

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Click the Apple menu, select Restart…, and then click Restart. Your Mac will begin to restart.
Immediately after clicking Restart, press and hold the ⌘ Command key and the R key simultaneously until greeted by the "Utilities" window.
It's the grey hard drive icon in the main window.
On the left side of the window, click the hard drive on which your Mac's operating system is installed.
It's a tab at the top of the window. A pop-up window will appear.
You'll find this on the right side of the page. Doing so prompts a drop-down menu.
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Select a format. Click the "Format" drop-down menu, then choose a format. The default format will typically be Mac OS Extended (Journaled), which is fine to keep. [Image:Reimage a Computer Step 21.jpg|center]]
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Click Erase. This is in the bottom-right corner of the window.
- The erasing process will take some time, so just make sure that your Mac is plugged in and charging to prevent it from accidentally dying.
Doing so completes the erasing process.
Click Disk Utility, and then click Quit Disk Utility. Doing so returns you to the main Recovery window.
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Select Reinstall macOS, then click Continue. MacOS will begin reinstalling itself on your hard drive.
- Once MacOS has been reinstalled, you can proceed with setting up your Mac (e.g., choosing a language and connecting to Wi-Fi).

Community Q&A

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Question

Can you do this without an installation disk?

Community Answer

Many computers let you reset to factory settings without a disk but a computer cannot be re-imaged without an OS image burned to a media device.

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Question

Is this not simply a description of how to reload Windows, as opposed to re-imaging? I thought this would describe how to load an imaged version (created by a program like Macrium) of your computer onto a new HDD. Is that information available somewhere?

Community Answer

Not using the original program that created the image will most likely not work for restoring an operating system and programs. Acronis is a pretty good backup program. There are various programs for "mounting" images. Cloning a drive is the best protection method.

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Tips

You can restore your files and programs from your data backup, but make sure that you don't restore a corrupted program in the process.

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Warnings

You will need to reinstall any special programs that you had on your computer after the reimaging process has completed.

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