A fresh installation of Windows 10 can be useful mainly in three cases: when the PC seems to go slower, when it is infected with a very hard virus or which seems impossible to remove, when you want to clean the PC, in one go, from all applications and programs that are installed . If until a few years ago, reinstalling Windows meant formatting the PC and deleting all the data on the C: disk, today, on Windows 10 PCs, there are faster and smarter solutions, which allow you to clean up your PC from every virus, from every installed program and from every problem in one go, without the need to format the disk, without deleting personal files and without being forced to fix an installation disk or handle with the BIOS.
The best and fastest solution came out recently, in Windows 10, with the anniversary update Windows 10 build 1607 and is called Refresh Windows Tool .
This new Microsoft tool allows you to do a fresh installation of Windows 10 very quickly and start from scratch with a new copy of the operating system that already includes the latest available update and license .
Before using the Refresh Windows Tool it is advisable to explain what its effects are.
Specifically, using the Microsoft tool to clean up the PC, all applications and programs that are not included in the operating system will be removed . Then the pre-installed programs from the PC manufacturer (all bloatware), the drivers and other useful programs that will be re-downloaded and reinstalled (the most popular drivers are still included in Windows 10) will be deleted.
If you have paid programs installed, you also lose the license to use them which will have to be recovered (and which should be saved in a separate backup).
As said, however, no personal file that is saved in the user profile folders (Documents, Images, videos, music, downloads, desktop) will be deleted .
To clean up your PC of all programs and apps, open the Windows 10 Start menu, go to Settings and then to Update and Security -> Recovery .
On the left side, scroll down until you find a link to click that says " Find out how to perform a clean installation of Windows ".
It may be that in the future instead of this link there is a button to start the tool directly, however for now it is necessary to download it from the web page that opens, at this link: //www.microsoft.com/it-it/software -download / windows10startfresh .
From this page you can click the button below " Download the tool now " to start downloading the RefreshWindowsTool.exe file.
UPDATE: With the Windows 10 Creators Update version of April 2017, the Fresh Start has been included in the Windows settings in the section: Settings> Update and Security> Windows Defender> Security Center> Performance and integrity of the device .
Run this file, accept the license conditions and then stop for a moment on the next screen, the one where you choose whether to delete everything or clean up your PC while keeping your personal files.
Then press Start to proceed with the download of the installation files of the latest version of Windows 10 and its reinstallation.
Once the PC is completely cleaned, remember to go to Settings -> Update and security -> Windows Update to complete the installation of updates and download any required drivers.
Depending on your PC, you may also need to visit the computer manufacturer's support website to find the drivers and other necessary software.
This tool is really effective to reinstall Windows from scratch without difficulty and completely automatically and is very similar to the other function, that of resetting the PC.
This refresh differs from resetting Windows 10 for one thing only.
First, when using the Reset PC option, the computer will be reset using the installation files already present on the computer.
If the PC is an OEM device, all the settings and applications that were originally pre-installed will be restored.
Furthermore, since it uses files already stored in the PC, if they were damaged, the reset would fail.
Instead, the Refresh tool downloads new reinstallation files from Microsoft servers.
This tool is ideal for those who are enrolled in the Windows Insider program and want to return to a stable version.
It is also a perfect solution when you buy a new PC to immediately clean it of any bloatware and if for some time you have started to notice a slowdown in performance or errors or other problems.
If you have Windows 7 or Windows 8, to clean up your PC of all programs, I refer you to the guide to format and install Windows from scratch, to have a clean and new PC
