Complete Wipe/Reinstallation of Windows 10 Pro 20H2?

Question

We have been asked to repurpose a laptop computer that has Windows 10 Pro 20H2 as the operating system. The new user of the computer has asked for a complete wipe of the laptop, followed by a fresh reinstallation of Windows 10 (at that point, only the OS is on the machine). We will then transfer over some data files that have been backed up to an external USB drive. We will also need to reinstall certain programs that were on the laptop previously (such as Norton, Microsoft Office).

The initial part of the process is completely blanking out the contents on the disk drive that were used by the previous staff member. Was this type of wipe/reinstall process easily available in a prior version of Windows 10 but not in the current version? If so, is there still a relatively easy way to accomplish what we are trying to do (a complete refresh consisting only of Windows 10 Pro)?

Thanks very much for any assistance you can offer.

Answer 1

@John Nork
Hi,
Windows 10 has a built-in method for wiping your PC and restoring it to an ‘as new’ state. You can choose to preserve just your personal files or to erase everything, depending on what you need.

Go to Start > Settings > Update & security > Recovery, click Get started and select the appropriate option. Then follow the on-screen instructions to restore Windows 10 to a factory fresh state.

For your reference:
How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC

Hope above information can help you.

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Answer 2

The Built in Process that was listed above is probably the most simple method.
I've had that fail (rarely), and then had to boot from a flash drive and reinstall using Windows 10 Media.

You can grab the media here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Answer 3

Thanks to both of you for your helpful replies. I have a follow-up question to ask, if you don't mind. Apparently Microsoft how has a tool (Fresh Start Tool, refreshwindowstool.exe). Since this tool apparently blanks the system disk then downloads and installs a fresh copy of Windows 10. This seems to be the easiest way to accomplish this change. Have you had any problems with the tool? It sounds like it deletes the old Windows 10 system, then reinstalls the latest version of Windows 10.

A concern I do have involves the Dell and Intel driver files that were on the machine originally. What is the best way to download needed drivers? Should I just go through the Device Manager and see what is awry or can a more automated process be used (such as the Dell online utilities).

Thanks again for your assistance.

Answer 4

As far as the drivers go, once you have the OS installed, you can go to support.dell.com and let it search your system for needed drives. I've done it many times, and it's pretty much hassle free.

Answer 5

Thanks for your suggestion. I will head over to support.dell.com and search for drivers.