How to reset a windows program to its default settings

If you have used your computer for a long time, you will probably encounter a situation where your programs are not working as they should be due to wrong or corrupted settings. Obviously, for most Windows users, the first thought that comes to mind is to uninstall and reinstall the program so that the program will hopefully reset itself to its default settings. For some applications this trick works, but for others it either doesn’t work or you need to explicitly delete the saved preferences or settings while uninstalling.

There are actually ways to reset programs to their default settings without having to uninstall and reinstall. Here is how you can reset Windows programs to their default settings.

Using Built-in Options Programs

Usually, programs provide their own options to reset the application configuration to the default settings. For instance, in the Chrome browser you can reset all the settings by navigating to “Menu -> Settings” and then clicking on the “Reset Settings” button.

Just like Chrome, other programs such Firefox, Photoshop, and Thunderbird, will have their own options to reset the settings to their default configurations. Each program is different, yet you will probably find it in the options.

If you can’t find the option or if there is no option to reset the configuration, follow the instructions below.

Delete the Relevant AppData Folder

Note: before going any further, make sure that you have a good backup of your system so that you can revert to the original settings if something bad happens.

In Windows almost all the applications, unless they are really old, store their settings and other files in the AppData folder. By deleting the target application’s folder in the AppData directory, you can reset a program to its default configuration.

To access the AppData folder, simply press the keyboard shortcut “Win + R,” type “ C:\Users\ \AppData ” and press the Enter button. Don’t forget to replace with your actual username.

The above action will open the AppData folder. Here you will find two folders: “Local” and “Roaming.” Most programs save their settings in the Roaming folder so that they are locked onto the user and can roam with the user (helpful in workstation environments). Open the Roaming folder, find the folder associated with your application and delete it.

The Local folder in the AppData directory hosts files that are user-specific and should not or can not roam (due to their size, like the cache files) with the user. Obviously, some applications might use the Local folder to save the settings. So, if deleting the target program folder in the Roaming directory didn’t work, go ahead and delete the folder that is related to your program in the Local folder.

Finally, if you are using a rearly old program that doesn’t follow these conventions, it might be storing its settings in the ProgramData folder located in the root of the C drive. Enter “ C:\ProgramData ” into the Run dialog box and press the Enter button to open the folder.

In the “ProgramData” folder go ahead and delete the relevant application folder to reset the settings. One thing to keep in mind while using the ProgramData folder is that it is also used to store any and all data or settings that are applicable to all the users on your system. Think of it like an AppData folder for all the users on your system.

Do comment below sharing your thoughts and experiences about using the above method to quickly reset application settings in Windows.

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Chris Hoffman is Editor-in-Chief of How-To Geek. He’s written about technology for over a decade and was a PCWorld columnist for two years. Chris has written for The New York Times and Reader’s Digest, been interviewed as a technology expert on TV stations like Miami’s NBC 6, and had his work covered by news outlets like the BBC. Since 2011, Chris has written over 2,000 articles that have been read nearly one billion times—and that’s just here at How-To Geek. Read more.

If a program isn’t working right, just reinstalling it won’t necessarily fix it. You may need to reset the program to its default settings, and some programs don’t offer an easy way to do this.

You can erase any program’s settings from your computer if you just know where they are. We’ll show you the most common places programs store their settings and demonstrate how to track down any program’s settings.

The Easy Way

You’ll ideally be able to reset a program’s settings by uninstalling it and checking the “Delete preferences” or “Delete settings” box in the uninstaller. This option is usually unchecked by default. Reinstall the program after uninstalling it.

Not every program has this option in its uninstaller. if the program doesn’t have this option, you’ll have to hunt down its settings elsewhere.

Use a Reset Option

Some programs have a built-in Reset option. For example, Firefox can reset itself to its default settings so you don’t have to mess with your Firefox profiles folders. Access this option in Firefox by clicking the menu button, clicking the question-mark-shaped Help button, selecting Troubleshooting Information, and clicking Reset Firefox. Chrome, Internet Explorer, and some other programs have similar options.

Locate and Delete the Program’s Settings

Before you delete anything by hand, be extra careful. If you delete the wrong folder or registry key, you could erase a different program’s settings or cause problems with your system configuration. Here’s where most programs store their settings:

Your user account’s AppData folder: You can access this folder by plugging C:\Users\NAME\AppData into File Explorer or Windows Explorer’s address bar and pressing Enter. This folder is hidden by default. Most applications should store their settings in AppData\Roaming, but many store settings in the AppData\Local folder.

The Windows registry: You can open the Registry Editor by pressing Windows Key + R, typing regedit in the Run dialog, and pressing Enter. You’ll generally find a program’s settings under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. Delete a program’s settings by locating its key (folder), right-clicking it, and deleting it.

Be very careful when doing this — delete the wrong registry key and your Windows system may become seriously damaged. For example, if you’re trying to wipe out Mumble’s settings, feel free to delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Mumble key. But don’t delete the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft key or you could cause very serious problems.

The ProgramData folder: This folder is located at C:\ProgramData — plug C:\ProgramData into your file manager’s address bar and press Enter to access it. Delete the folders for a program and it should wipe its settings. Windows forces old programs to store their settings here if they try to write them to their Program Files folders. Modern Windows programs shouldn’t store their settings under their folder in Program Files.

Applications may store their settings elsewhere, too. For example, many games store their settings and saved games in folders under your Documents folder. A handful of applications store their settings in your main user folder at C:\Users\NAME.

Some programs may store settings in several different places — for example, in both the AppData\Roaming folder and in the registry.

Inspect the Program With Process Monitor

Run Process Monitor, and then open the application you want to reset. Process Monitor will log exactly what files and registry keys the program examines — this will tell you where it’s storing its settings. You can then use Process Monitor to see exactly what files and settings the program is using. Click the Filter menu and select Filter. Create an “Image Path” folder and select the program’s path in the drop-down box.

You’ll see only the events associated with that particular program. Scroll through the list and look for where the program stores its settings. Here, we can see WinDirStat reads its settings from the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Seifert\WinDirStat registry key.

Close the program, delete the appropriate registry keys and files, and it should be reset to its default settings. You may also have to reinstall the program after doing this — it depends on the program. Some programs can recover from having their registry keys wiped out and will happily start with the default settings, while some programs will complain because they need the installer to create their registry keys for them.

Reinstalling Windows or refreshing your PC will also erase all settings for your installed applications, but that’s a more extreme option!

When a Windows program doesn’t behave, many of us uninstall and reinstall the application—which doesn’t always work. The How-To Geek explains the different ways of erasing Windows program settings.

We’ve recommend Revo Uninstaller before , and that’s your best and safest bet for removing preferences and settings. If that still doesn’t fix your problem, you might have to go into the registry and delete some information manually:

You can open the Registry Editor by pressing Windows Key + R, typing regedit in the Run dialog, and pressing Enter. You’ll generally find a program’s settings under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software or HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software. Delete a program’s settings by locating its key (folder), right-clicking it, and deleting it.

Be very careful when doing this—delete the wrong registry key and your Windows system may become seriously damaged

We always recommend backing up your computer before you change any settings or delete information. Check out the full post below for more details.

There’s No Excuse for Not Backing Up Your Computer. Do It Now.

At least once a month, some friend or family member asks me how to recover data from a failed hard…

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How to reset Windows security options and system settings if there are errors on permissions and access to files and folders

There are several reasons why you may want to reset Windows without having to format your computer and reinstall everything from scratch. After using Windows for some time it could in fact happen that, after the installation of many programs, after running more or less reliable optimization tools, after suffering some virus or malware then removed or after changing some internet settings on the computer, something no longer works as it should.
Although I always encourage you to look for solutions for every error and to use the system restore utility first of all, it may be that there are problems with some application not working, with too slow loading or with security permissions that prevent certain operations.

UPDATE: Windows 10 reset is all automatic as well as Windows 8 reset.
In Windows 10moreover, it is also possible to do the solo reset Windows 10 Settings to initial values as seen in another article.

Also note that branded laptops and desktop PCs always have a utility for restore your computer to factory settings.

This article applies to Windows 7 only
They are normal Windows 7 pc instead there is no way to return to the initial settings while keeping all programs and system customizations; as seen, when there are serious problems, it can restore or reinstall Windows without losing personal data and settings.

But before moving on to a reinstall, if you didn’t prepare for a computer backup before, there are a few things you can try to reset to default values (the initial ones after installation) Windows security settings and thoroughly clean up the system from every possible source of problem.

1) Before removing anything, you should try Microsoft Fix It automatic tools for common errors.

2) If the problem is related to permissions and security settings and you get strange errors like “access denied“or”Operation not permitted“you can try a reset Windows 7 security options.
For all non-Home versions of Windows, you can restore the default OS security settings from the original installation as follows:
In Windows XP, from the Run box, type the command cmd and press Enter to open the command prompt.
On Windows Vista and Windows 7, search for cmd from the Search box, right click on cmd and then run it as administrator.
On Windows XP, you have to type the following command and press Enter:
secedit /configure /cfg %windir%repairsecsetup.inf /db secsetup.sdb /verbose
On Windows Vista and Windows 7 the command is different:
secedit / configure / cfg% windir% infdefltbase.inf / db defltbase.sdb / verbose
After completing this operation, the user accounts for accessing the computer may have disappeared.
Remaining with the command prompt open, type the command net localgroup users account_name / add.

Microsoft has also published an Automatic Fix it of Windows Security Settings.

3) If there are still problems with access denied in a few folders or occasionally, I suggest you read how to change permissions on files and folders of accounts.
Be wary of any external programs such as Rizone Security Restore or others that are not developed by Microsoft.

If you were still not satisfied and wanted to continue with Windows reset until it returns to its initial state completely, but without formatting it, proceed as described in guide to getting your computer back to its original state, like new, without reinstalling Windows.
Summarizing the points, these are:

– Remove all applications and programs
From the control panel, enter the program installation and removal menu and uninstall all those that are not needed and also those that seem to have some problems.
The fastest way to quickly remove all programs is to sort them by Author’s name.

– Delete all temporary and cache files using Ccleaner or other programs to clean the Windows registry and obsolete files completely, so as to remove all traces of the uninstalled programs.

– Clean up the automatic start of programs not used with the tools indicated in the guide.

– Do the reset dei browser Chrome, Internet Explorer e Firefox

– You can do a reset of registry keys and services with RefreshPc, a free program that works to restore the system to its default values ​​without compromising its operation and without deleting any files.

In general and without all these procedures, you can always reset and solve any problem on the PC by creating a new user, without formatting.

Mahesh Makvana is a freelance tech writer who specializes in writing how-to guides. He has been writing tech tutorials for over a decade now. He’s written for some of the prominent tech sites including MakeUseOf, MakeTechEasier, and Online Tech Tips. Read more.

Like other apps, the Settings app can also sometimes malfunction. If this happens, resetting the app to the default settings may fix the problems you’re experiencing. There are a few quick ways to do it.

When You Should Reset the Settings App

You should reset the Settings app if it crashes too often or refuses to open, or if some functions in the app don’t work.

Like with resetting any other app, when you reset the Settings app, it removes a variety of settings and brings them back to their default values. This can fix bugs and other problems that are caused by your custom settings.

Reset the Settings App Using the Start Menu

If you prefer a graphical solution, you can use the Start menu to reset the Settings app. Skip to the next section if you want to use a command-line method.

To start resetting Settings, open your Start menu and search for “Settings.” Right-click the app in the results and select “App settings.”

In the Settings window, scroll down to the Reset section and click “Reset.”

You’ll get a prompt that says that your app’s data will be deleted. Click “Reset” in this prompt to continue.

The Settings app is now reset. You can now launch it from the Start menu, or by pressing Windows+i.

Reset the Settings App Using PowerShell

You can also run a command in Windows PowerShell to reset the Settings app. But to do this, you must run Windows 10 build 20175 or newer. (In other words, you need Windows 10 version 21H2 or later. At the time we published this article, this was a prerelease version of Windows 10 that was not yet released.)

To check your build, press Windows+R, type “winver” (without quotes) in the Run window, and press “Enter.” The second line in the About Windows window states your current build version.

If you’re on a supported build, open the “Start” menu, search for “PowerShell,” and click “Run as Administrator” on the right.

Select “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.

Copy the command below and paste it into your PowerShell Window. Press “Enter” to run the command.

Reset the Settings App Using Command Prompt

You can also use the Command Prompt to reset the Settings app. However, you will need the same version of Windows 10 that you need to run the PowerShell command above.

To start, access your “Start” menu, search for “Command Prompt,” and click “Run as administrator” on the right.

Click “Yes” in the User Account Control prompt.

Copy the command below and paste it into your Command Prompt window. Press “Enter” to execute the command.

If those methods don’t fix your issue, it might be a good idea to reset your entire Windows 10 PC. This brings all your settings to their default states, potentially fixing many issues on the computer.

How to restore default programs in Windows 7? This guide will tell you how to make it step by step.

By Lena / Last update February 28, 2020

Why do you need to restore default programs in Windows 7?

When you double-click a particular type of file, like a picture or a music file, it will automatically launch the program associated with that type of file. Usually, on a fresh copy of Windows, it will be a built-in program.

But now you find that there is something wrong when you are trying to open a file. The pictures, music or videos no longer launch the way you expect. Actually, you are not the only one who meets this issue. It happens now and then among Windows 7 users. Below is a question from the Microsoft forum.

“By mistake I had changed default program with other files and now all of my files and programs seem to have been changed to word documents, and they do not open. I cannot even open the internet any more in order to find a solution. How can I go back to my original settings?”

You may in a similar situation like this user so that you come to this guide to find a solution to solve the problem. Well, you have come to the right page. Next, we will show you how to restore default programs in Windows 7 with detailed steps.

How to restore default programs in Windows 7?

Step 1. Click the Start menu > Find Default Programs and click it.

Step 2. Choose Associate a file type or protocol with a program.

Step 3. Select the file type or extension you want to associate with a program > Click Change program.

Step 4. Choose the program you wish to set as the default program and click OK to confirm. If the program you want to choose does not show in the Recommended Programs/Other Programs, you can click Browse. to find it.

Now you know how to reset default programs in Windows 7. It’s quite frustrating to meet such a problem, but it’s fortunate that there is a solution to fix it. However, you may also encounter other problems in the future that can make your computer not work properly. And even worse, you may lose some important data like your work documents or family photos.

The problems are unavoidable, but it’s possible to get the computer back to normal quickly if you have made a backup in advance. So is there a reliable way that can help you backup everything easily? Well, one free backup tool named AOMEI Backupper Standard is the way to go. Just keep reading to learn how it can help you backup your Windows 7 computer.

An Easy Solution to Backup Your Computer

AOMEI Backupper Standard is one comprehensive backup & restore tool designed for Windows computer. It offers various backup solutions to keep your data safe, and also helps you get the computer back to normal quickly when problems occur.

1. Easy to Use. The interface is user-friendly, and you can make a backup easily with its timely notification.

2. Various Backup Solutions.

System Backup will help you make a copy of all contents in the system drive. It can help you restore your system to the previous normal state quickly if there is any system problem, which can help save the time for application reinstallation and settings reconfiguration.

Disk Backup will backup the entire hard disk. It lets you recover everything when you meet all kinds of problems, such as virus and hacker attack, wrong operation, software failure, etc.

Partition Backup will backup partition or volume. It allows you to backup one or the selected partitions instead of the whole hard drive.

File Backup will backup the selected folders/files that you never want to lose.

3. Backup to Various Destinations. It enables you to save the backup image anywhere you prefer, like the disk hard drive, the external hard drive, a cloud drive or a network share.

4. Schedule Backup. You can create a custom scheduled task for the backup, and then it will automatically backup everyday/weekly/monthly.

Want to give it a try? Just download AOMEI Backupper on your Windows 7 computer, and follow the steps below to make a backup in minutes. And here we will take system backup as an example.

Secure Download

Step 1. Open AOMEI Backupper > Click Backup and then choose System Backup.

Step 2. Partitions released to the system to boot are listed automatically > Name the task > Choose the destination path to save the backup image > Click Schedule to make a backup everyday/weekly/monthly as per your need > Click Start Backup to confirm.

Notes:

1. You can click Options to enable email notification or set compression level for the backup.

2. The Scheme option can help you remove old backup images automatically, which can help free up your storage space. It is available in AOMEI Backupper Professional. If you are interested, you can download the free trial version to explore it by yourself.

Conclusion

It only needs 4 simple steps to restore default programs in Windows 7. However, it will take a long time to fix more complicated Windows problems if you do not have a backup. So do not forget to backup your computer regularly, and AOMEI Backupper can be your best assistant.

Besides data backup, it can also help you clone a hard disk drive to another one with its disk clone feature when you want to get a new HDD/SSD.

– – Like its predecessors, Window allows users to reset Windows 10 to its original state. This will cause you to lose all data in the Windows installation drive, but in return it is a feature to help the computer can work again.

• Instructions 2 simple ways Reset Windows 10 (The last part)
• Summary of some simple ways to Reset Windows 10

How to reset Windows 10?

When using a computer and encountering a virus that causes Windows to fail or the computer slows down, the Windows 10 reset feature is the most useful ‘rescue’ for the computer to return to the new state.

All applications, software you have installed will be lost. In return, your computer will return to the newly installed state, only the operating system and available applications of Windows 10. In short, resetting Windows 10 will return the computer to the same state as when it was installed. Windows.

This feature is extremely useful for those who have little experience installing computers. In addition, it is also very easy to do without any external software or tools.

Instructions to reset Win 10

Click Start -> Setting or you can use Windows + I key combination

Then, on the Setting interface, click on the Update & Security option

Under Update & Security, select Recovery. Next, the system will allow you to choose from the Reset this PC section and click Get Started.

Here, you will have two options including:

· Keep my files: Delete all software installed on the computer but will retain the files in the user directory, default at C User username

· Remove Everything: Reset all, delete all applications, software on the Windows installation drive

Depending on your needs, you can choose either.

After waiting, the system will display the list of deleted applications. Click Next to continue.

The system will display a warning message if it continues to delete. Click Next if you have nothing to ‘freak out’.

Finally, the screen will display Ready to reset this PC. Click the Reset option to start the process. Depending on the hardware handled, the process of resetting Windows 10 will last about 20 minutes to 1 hour.

After the reset process is finished, you will have to select the information in Windows. The system will ask about the country you are living in, the language to install the application, how to enter the keyboard and the time zone. You can install as shown below and click Next to continue.

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Here, you can choose Customize Settings or Express Settings to install according to the default Windows settings.

CaptionCaptionCaptionCaptionCaption

Select I Own it and click Next to continue.

In this step, if you have a Microsoft account, enter it. If not, you can click Skip This Step to continue

As a final step, you need to set a username and password (if desired) to log in to Windows. Click Next to finish.

After that, the system has completed the reset process of Windows 10 and your Windows is completely like new.

Resetting Windows 10 is very simple, isn’t it? Just follow these steps, you can reinstall Windows as new without any application or software.

How to restore Windows 10 to factory settings when your computer does not work as it should or you just want to sell it? Here is a step by step guide for you.

By Ivy / Last update October 19, 2021

Quick Navigation:

What do factory settings refer to?

When we talk about restoring Windows 10 to factory settings, it actually means bringing the system state (including settings, drivers, programs, etc.) of the computer back to the point where it was first purchased from the manufacturer. This operation is also known as factory reset or factory restore.

People used to factory reset computers with a recovery disc came with the PC or made from built-in software. But nowadays, Microsoft offers you a useful recovery option called Reset this PC, which allows you to restore Windows 10 to factory settings with ease.

When to restore Windows 10 to factory settings?

Here’re some situations you need to reset computer to factory setting in Windows 10.

1. Your computer does not run well. After you purchase the computer for a period of time, you may encounter system crash or other serious errors. And you cannot solve it in a very short time.

2. You want to sell the computer or give it away. If you want to sell your computer or give it to your friend, you are supposed to remove all the personal data on it ahead of time. The best way is to fatory reset Windows 10 and remove everything on the PC.

What will happen if you factory restore Windows 10?

During the process of Windows 10 factory reset, you have to decide whether you want to keep your files intact or not.

If you want to keep your files, the operation will only remove the installed apps and settings on the computer. If you choose to remove everything, the operation will remove all of your personal files, apps, and setting. At last, you will have a computer with factory settings, including the original software, drivers, and operating system.

If the operation uninstalls the apps you will use in the future, you need to reinstall again.

How to reset computer to factory settings in Windows 10

If your computer is bootable, you can follow the following steps. If not, you can boot your computer into Startup options via a Windows 10 recovery drive.

Step 1. Navigate to the Recovery Settings window. You can click Start menu > Settings > Update and security > Recovery to summon the Recovery Settings window.

Step 2. Click Get started under the Reset this PC option.

Step 3. Choose the Keep my files or Remove everything option. It depends on whether you want to keep your files intact. Both options will return your settings to its default and uninstall all the apps.

Step 4. Click Next when you receive the following prompt.

Step 5. Confirm the following things and click Reset to start the pending operation. At last, just wait. The operation may keep 30 minutes to several hours based on the computer performance.

What to do after you factory reset Windows 10?

Indeed, there is no way to promise that your computer will run well all the time. A prevention measure is needed.

To protect your computer, you can create a system image backup. A backup can restore your computer to previous good state, even your computer crash.And this operation can be finished in a very short time. What’s more, you do not need to reinstall operating system and programs.

Here are some things you need:

1. A backup and restore software.To create a full backup, backup and restore software is essential. I recommend you free AOMEI Backupper Standard. It can satisfy your needs.

2. An external storage device to save your system image backup. An external storage device like USB flash drive can avoid system image backup damaged owing to a system crash or hard drive failure. And It’s portable to take.

Step 1. Download AOMEI Backupper Standard, install and launch it.

Step 2. Click System Backup under the Backup tab.

Step 3. Select the destination path. To ensure you can boot your computer after restoring system image backup, AOMEI Backupper Standard will select all the related partitions automatically.

Note: It’s a waste of time to do full backup every time. And your disk will be fullfiled with image backup sooner or later. So, you’d better do differential backupпј€supported on the Professional versionпј‰, which only backup the changed files.

Step 4. Click Start Backup.

This article is also applied to reset laptop to factory settings in Windows 10, reset desktop to factory settings in Windows 10.

Conclusion

When your computer does not run well, you can choose to restore Windows 10 to factory setting. After that, your computer will run well. But, you cannot promise that your computer will work forever.

Thus, you still need a backup image. A backup image can save your computer, even when system crash. And it can overcome the limitations of factory reset computer. you can restore your computer in a very short time. At the same time, you do not neeed to reinstall all the apps you will use in the future.

If you want to protect unlimited computers within your company, you can pick AOMEI Backupper Technician. With the inbuilt AOMEI Image Deploy tool, you are also allowed to deploy/restore system image file on server-side computer to multiple client-side computers over network.

How do I reset Photoshop preferences and settings to default? During experimentation, you might find yourself changing the default settings of Photoshop. Then later completely forgetting what the baseline setting were. If you have been messing with Photoshop for long enough, you know exactly what I mean. There might also be times when Photoshop begins to behave strangely and a settings and preferences reset to default might become helpful.

Well, the good news is that there is a simple fix that allows you to reset all of your Photoshop settings and preferences back to factory default. The following three methods have been tested to work on Photoshop CS2, CS3, CS4, CS5, CS6 all the way up to Photoshop 2022.

• 1 How to Reset Photoshop Settings and Preferences
  • 1.1 Reset Preferences on Quit from Within Photoshop
  • 1.2 Reset Photoshop to Default Settings from Shortcut

How to Reset Photoshop Settings and Preferences

To reset Photoshop to default while opening Photoshop,

1. First, hold down all three Ctrl+Alt+Shift buttons.
2. Now “while keeping those button held,” simply open Photoshop.
3. As it loads, you should get a prompt asking if you would like to “delete the Photoshop settings file”, Click Yes

How to Reset Photoshop Settings and Preferences to Factory Default.

If all went well, you should now have a fresh slate with all of the settings returned to their default.

Note : I have found that this process is kind of finicky and doesn’t always work. I have had the best results pressing Ctrl+Alt+Shift and clicking the shortcut from the start menu in Windows.

Reset Preferences on Quit from Within Photoshop

To Reset Photoshop Preferences while running from Photoshop,

1. From the menu bar, navigate to Edit -> Preferences -> General
2. (1) Choose the option to Reset Preferences on Quit.
   (2) Click OK when prompted to reset preferences when quitting.
   (3) Finally, Select OK to close the general preferences window.
   

Now when Photoshop is closed, your preferences will be reset.

Reset Photoshop to Default Settings from Shortcut

To reset Photoshop to default settings if you have a shortcut or image that can be opened with Photoshop,

1. Press and hold Ctrl+Alt+Shift then;
2. (right mouse click) a Photoshop shortcut or Image file and select Open.
   
3. Then choose Yes when prompted to delete the Adobe Photoshop Settings File.
   

This concludes my How To Reset Photoshop tutorial. If all went well, you should now be back to running Photoshop with the factory default settings.

Final Note : When working from Windows, I use Photoshop to do most of my graphical work. But when working from Linux, I prefer to use GIMP, which is a great open source equivalent (GNU Image Manipulation Program). Gimp does offer a Windows version as well. Something to consider if you are looking to move away from Photoshop into a Free image editor that can perform much of the same functionality.

The HOSTS file (C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc\hosts), is a plain text file that is used in operating systems (Windows, Mac, Linux, etc.) to map hostnames to numerical IP Addresses. The hosts file can override DNS and redirect websites to different locations.

Sometimes users modify the hosts file in order to block unwanted sites or to reach specific sites faster (increase Internet Speed). In other cases the hosts file may be incorrectly modified (compromised) by a malicious program to prevent Internet access or to redirect users to malicious content (URLs).

For all these cases, there is the need to restore the hosts file to its default settings (values) in order to resolve Internet connectivity problems.

In this tutorial you can find instructions on how to check hosts file’s integrity and how to reset host file to its default state.

How to Check and Restore HOSTS file’s integrity.

Step 1. Check HOSTS’s file integrity.

1. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to this location on your disk:

• C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc

2. Right click at hosts file and select Open.

3. From the list of programs select the Notepad and click OK.

4. If, when opening the hosts file, you see the screen below (Screenshot No1), that means that the hosts file is untouched and there is no need to modify or restore it to its default state.

[Screenshot No1. Default (Unmodified) hosts file]

5. In the case that the hosts file has been modified incorrectly by you or by a malicious program, then you should see additional entries at the end of the hosts file (Screenshot No2). In that case proceed to the next step and reset the hosts file to its original settings. *

*Note: If the hosts file has not modified by you, then after restoring it to its default values, perform a virus scan.

[Screenshot No2. Modified hosts file]

Step 2. Restore HOSTS file to Default.

You can restore/reset the hosts file to its default (original) settings, by using two methods:

Method 1. Automatically Reset HOSTS file with Host Mechanic Freeware utility.

Method 2. Manual Edit and Restore HOSTS file.

Method 1. Automatically Reset HOSTS file with Host Mechanic Freeware utility.

* Note: Some security software might show that the Host Mechanic is unsafe, when you try to download or run this software. Please ignore the message, it’s a false positive, since this tool tries to modify a system file. On the other hand, if you feel uncomfortable to run this file, then proceed to Method-2 below and restore manually the HOSTS file.

2. Extract the downloaded zipped file (Host-Mechanic.zip)

3. Run Host Mechanic application.

4. Click at Restore Default Host File button.

5. Close Host Mechanic and restart your computer.

Method 2. Manual Edit and Restore HOSTS file.

To manual reset (restore) hosts file to its default values:

1. Navigate to C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc folder.

2. Copy the hosts file to your desktop. To do that:

a. Right click at the hosts file and select Copy.
b. Then right click at an empty space on your desktop and select Paste.

3. Right click at the hosts file (on your desktop) and select Open.
4. From the list of programs select the Notepad and click OK.
5. Select the text below and press Ctrl + C (Copy).

6. Go to the open “host – Notepad” window and erase anything on it. [press Ctrl + A and press Delete (Del)].

7. Then press Ctrl + V to paste the above – copied – text.

* The hosts file should look like this:

8. From the File menu, select Save and then close the “host – Notepad” window.

9. Finally, copy the hosts file from your desktop and paste it back to “C:\Windows\System32\drivers\etc” folder. *

10. Choose Copy and Replace when asked.

11. Restart your computer.

That’s it! Let me know if this guide has helped you by leaving your comment about your experience. Please like and share this guide to help others.

Sometimes, when your computer is infected with a malware program (virus, trojan, rootkit, etc.), you face problems with critical Windows services, like Windows Firewall, Windows Update or other services which have been compromised or corrupted by the harmful program. In such cases, you must repair or restore these services to their default state.

This tutorial proposes an easy to try solution to restore critical Windows services to their default state.

Important steps before proceeding below:
1. Ensure that your computer is 100% clean from harmful programs like rootkits or viruses by following the steps in this guide: Quick Malware Scan and Removal Guide for PC’s.

2. Enable the System Restore Protection (if disabled) and create a restore point before running the Services Repair Tool, in order to restore your computer back in current state if something goes wrong.

How to easily repair, restore or reset Windows services to their default state.

We have successfully applied the below solution several times to different computers in order to fix the following critical Windows services when they are missing or when they present errors as they are corrupted: *

• Windows Firewall service (MpsSvc):Error Code 5 or Error Code 0x8007042c
• Windows Update:Service cannot be started or service is missing from services list.
• Base filtering engine (BFE):couldn’t be started (Error 5: Access is denied).

* Note for Windows 10 Users: The instructions of this article was written in 2014 and has been proven to work on Windows 7, Vista, XP and on Windows Server 2003 & 2008. Because in the latest versions of Windows several services have changed, I recommend you to try to repair your Windows 10 system by running the SFC /SCANOW command in Admin Command Prompt, and then to manually restore the default “Startup Type” of the Windows services as mentioned in this PDF file: DefaultServicesWin10.pdf

1. Download the services repair tool by ESET on your computer (e.g. on your desktop).

2. Run “Services repair tool by ESET” with Administrative privileges.

To do this right-click on “ServicesRepair.exe” file and choose “Run as administrator”.

3. Press “Yes” to the information window.

4. Restart your computer to apply changes.

Windows critical services should run now!

Additional step to perform if Windows services are still missing, cannot be started or they are corrupted:

If you face problems with several services on your computer, then you can run the System File Checker (SFC) tool from command prompt to fix Windows services. To do that:

1. Open an elevated command prompt window by going to:

• Start >All Programs >Accessories
• Right-click to “Command prompt” item and choose “Run as administrator”.

2. In the command window type the following command and press Enter.

3. Wait and do not use your computer until SFC tool checks and fixes the corrupted system files or services.

4, When SFC tool finishes, reboot your computer and check if Windows services are working again.

Why would anyone want to reset their computer back to its factory settings? After all, modern operating systems like Windows 10 come with a number of customization options that can help us tailor the look and ‘feel’ of our PCs to our own liking. This may well be true, but there are cases when you need to ensure that your machine is given ‘a fresh start.’

Reasons for resetting a computer back to its factory settings

If you use a PC for a few years, for example, you are likely to install quite a few applications on it that eventually slow it down significantly. You can do some cleaning up and remove some of the apps that are no longer needed, but even uninstalling them could leave junk data behind that will drag the performance down.

If you use a PC for a few years, you are also likely to want to replace it at some point. Throwing away a machine that is in perfect working order is never a good thing, however, and you might be willing to sell it on to someone on a tighter budget. You wouldn’t want the buyer to get any of your personal files and apps, though, so you’ll definitely want to revert the computer back to the state it was in when you pulled it out of the box. But isn’t that process too much of a hassle?

Is it hard to reset a Windows computer back to its factory state?

Restoring a PC back to its factory state used to be a pretty painful task. One option was to comb through the entire hard drive and the list of applications in order to manually uninstall and delete any of the data that you don’t need. Then, you’d have to go through Windows’ settings and revert everything back to its default state, which could be an even bigger nightmare, especially if you weren’t familiar with the ins and outs of the operating system.

There was a second option, which, on the plus side, was almost guaranteed to generate a better result. The hassle, however, was even bigger.

You’d need to go through your hard drive and back up all the data that you wanted to keep. You could either store it on an external drive or on a separate partition created on your own HDD (provided you have enough space, of course). Then, once you were sure that everything is fine, you’d need to format the system partition and install Windows afresh. It was a long process that required a level of expertise that not everyone possessed. Even for the more tech-savvy, the number of things that could go wrong was just too high.

There were third-party tools that supposedly made it easier, but their performance was debatable, and they were never cheap. Thankfully, Microsoft knew that the process could be optimized, and they also realized that it’s up to them to do it.

How to reset a Windows 10 PC?

Plenty of people criticized Windows 8 when it came out, but the truth is, it did bring a couple of fresh features that turned out to be very useful. Two of them were called Refresh your PC and Reset your PC. The first one would optimize the computer’s performance by removing all the desktop applications you’d installed on it. Crucially, however, it would keep your files and personalized settings. As you may have guessed, “Reset your PC” would remove your apps, your data, and it would also reset Windows back to its factory state.

In Windows 10, these two features were merged into a single tool called Reset this PC. To get to it, you need to open the Settings app via the Gear icon in the Start menu, and you need to navigate to Update & Security > Recovery. Alternatively, you can simply open the Start menu and search for “Reset this PC.”

When you get to the tool, you need to click Get started in order to choose what you want to do exactly. The dialog gives you two options: Keep my files and Remove everything.

If you pick the first one, Windows will go through your entire hard drive, it will identify your files and will make a copy of them. Then, it will wipe everything from the drive, it will install Windows, and it will reinstate your data. All your desktop apps will be uninstalled, and the settings will be reverted back to their default state, but your information will be just where you left it.

As you may have guessed already, if you choose Remove everything, you need to make sure that you haven’t left any important information on your hard drive. It simply deletes all the data and installs Windows. If you go for this option, you will see a second dialog with two more options: Just remove my files and Remove files and clean the drive.

Just remove my files is the quicker alternative, but if you choose it, recovery of your files could be possible, so if you’re planning to sell the computer to a stranger, you need to use the other option. With it, no one will be able to retrieve your files.

Conclusion

Chances are, if you use a computer for long enough, you will at one point need to reset it back to its factory state in order to boost its performance. Fortunately, the process is much quicker and a lot simpler than it used to be.

With Windows 11, Microsoft has introduced a redesigned Settings app. The new Settings app makes it easier to find a particular setting you are looking for.

When you open the Settings app, you will see the System category first. All settings and options are divided into a total of eleven categories. You can click on a category name on the left side to see sub-categories and settings/options on the right side. There is also a search bar at the top left to quickly find settings.

The Settings app in Windows 11 mostly works without any issues. That said, when you change from the default light mode to dark mode or when you change the wallpaper, it might hang for a few seconds.

Users who have any issues with the Settings app can reset or repair it. For example, you can reset the Settings app if it does not open. One can reset the Settings app via Settings or PowerShell.

Following are the two ways to reset the Settings app in Windows 11.

Method 1 of 2

Reset the Settings app in Windows 11

NOTE: Resetting the Settings app deletes all data stored in the Settings app.

Step 1: Open the Start menu. In the Pinned app section, perform a right-click on the Settings app entry and then click the App settings option to open the advanced page of the Settings app.

If the Settings app is not pinned to the Start menu, you can search for it, right-click on its entry, and click the App settings option.

Step 2: Here, scroll down to see the Reset section. Click on the Reset button.

Step 3: When you see the following confirmation, click the Reset button to reset the Settings app. Once the Reset job is done, the Settings app will be automatically terminated. You can open the Settings app again.

Note that you can also try the Repair option (present on the same page) if resetting the Settings app fails to fix the issue.

Method 2 of 2

Reset the Settings app via PowerShell in Windows 11

Step 1: Search for Windows PowerShell. Right-click on its entry in the search results and then click the Run as administrator option.

Click the Yes button when you get the User Account Control prompt.

Step 2: At the PowerShell window, copy and paste the following command and press the Enter key to reset the Settings app.

Get-AppxPackage *windows.immersivecontrolpanel* | Reset-AppxPackage

Tip 1: You can use the Windows + I hotkey to open Settings.

Tip 2: While using the Settings app, use the Alt + left arrow or backspace key to go back to the previous page/main page.

Windows 7 For Dummies

Sooner or later, you’ll want to restore the default settings for a Windows 7 feature. If you want to return to the way things were before you started messing around with them, you’ll need to know how to find the Restore Default buttons, which are strategically placed throughout Windows 7.

Customizing Windows 7 so that it works best with you and your lifestyle is what it’s all about. You’ll probably want to play with some of the settings, sometimes making them more like Vista or XP and sometimes customizing them into your own unique creations. Knowing that a click of a button can undo any damage should give you the confidence to really take charge of your Windows experience.

Libraries: If you’ve noticed that one of your default libraries (Music, Videos, Pictures, or Your Documents) is missing, you can put it back again. Just open a folder and right-click on the word Libraries in the Navigation Pane and choose Restore Default Libraries. Your libraries all reappear.

Start menu: You can customize many aspects of your Start menu, but every now and again, you might go too far and really mess things up. If this happens, you can bring back the original by right-clicking the Start button, choosing Properties, clicking the Customize button, and then clicking Use Default Settings.

Taskbar: To restore the original taskbar, just right-click a blank part of the taskbar and choose Properties. Click the Customize button and choose Restore Default Icon Behaviors at the bottom of the window.

Internet Explorer: If Internet Explorer seems clogged with unwanted toolbars, spyware, or just plain weirdness, bring back its original settings. In IE, click Tools and choose Internet Options from the drop-down menu. Click the Advanced tab and click the Reset button.

This action wipes out nearly everything, including your toolbars, add-ons, and search engine preference. If you also select the Delete Personal Settings check box, clicking the Reset button even kills your browser history and saved passwords, so that you must start from scratch. Only your favorites, feeds, and a few other items remain.

Firewall: If you suspect your Windows Firewall has become corrupted, you can bring back its original settings and start over. Click the Start menu, choose Control Panel, choose System and Security, and open Windows Firewall. Click Restore Defaults in the left column.

Some of your programs may need to be reinstalled.

Media Player: When Media Player’s library contains mistakes, tell it to delete its index and start over. In Media Player, press the Alt key, click Tools, choose Advanced from the pop-out menu, and choose Restore Media Library.

Choose Restore Deleted Library Items instead if you’ve accidentally removed items from Media Player’s library.

Folders: Windows 7 allows you to control many aspects of how Windows Explorer folders behave. To go back to the original settings, open any folder, click the Organize button, and choose Folder and Search Options. You can find a Restore Defaults button on each tab: General, View, and Search.

Most computers and laptops allow you to reset your device to factory settings in order to repair certain serious issues that you may be experiencing due to a software bug. This article will run through the most basic process for resetting your computer to its default state. Note that the procedure for resetting your device to its factory default varies slightly by model.

• Prerequisites
• Reset Windows 11
• Reset Windows 10
• Reset Windows 8.1

What to do before resetting your PC?

Even though you will be able to re-install your Windows OS while keeping your files, you should always back up all the sensitive files in case something go wrong during the re-installation process.

How to reset your PC on Windows 11?

Open the Start menu by clicking on the Windows icon on the taskbar.

Select Settings > System > Recovery.

How to reset your PC on Windows 10?

Open the Start menu by clicking on the Windows icon on the taskbar.

Select Settings > Update & Security > Recovery.

Under the section named Reset this PC, select Get started, and then choose from the options and/or settings depending on whether your want to keep your files or not.

You can repair some apps and programs if they’re not running correctly. Note that you won’t see repair, change, or modify options for all apps and programs.

Repair options from the Settings page

Select Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

Select the More icon next to the app you want to fix.

Select the Advanced options link under the name of the app (some apps don’t have this option). On the page that opens, select Repair if it’s available. If it isn’t available or doesn’t fix the problem, select Reset.

Repair options from the Control Panel

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and select Control Panel from the results.

Select Programs > Programs and Features.

Right-click the program you want to fix and select Repair, or if that’s not available, select Change. Then follow the directions on the screen.

You can repair some apps and programs if they’re not running correctly. Note that you won’t see repair, change, or modify options for all apps and programs.

Repair options from the Settings page

Select Start > Settings > Apps > Apps & features.

Select the app you want to fix.

Select the Advanced options link under the name of the app (some apps don’t have this option). On the page that opens, select Repair if it’s available. If it isn’t available or doesn’t fix the problem, select Reset.

Repair options from the Control Panel

In the search box on the taskbar, type control panel and select Control Panel from the results.

Select Programs > Programs and Features.

Right-click the program you want to fix and select Repair, or if that’s not available, select Change. Then follow the directions on the screen.

Windows Services is an important hidden part of Windows where it allows programs to run automatically before even logging in to a user account. Many features in Windows depends on the services for it to work properly. For example, if the Windows Update service is stopped and disabled from startup, checking for updates via Windows Update will give you the error code 80070422 with the message “Windows Update encountered an unknown error”. That is a very general error message and a normal computer user wouldn’t even know where to start checking in order to fix the Windows Update problem.

Some malware modifies the Windows services and even after removing the malware, unfortunately the services which has been disabled by the malware are not be re-enabled back by antivirus software. This is when you will start to notice that some parts of Windows are broken even though the virus is no longer on the computer. Here are some free tools that you can use to reset Windows Services to default state.

The default Windows Services setting is definitely safe because I have never seen a case that you have to manually enable a service from the default Services settings for something to work. Most of the time only experienced computer users will disable unnecessary services hoping to squeeze every inch of performance out of their computer.

There are a couple of ways to restore the Services settings back to default.

The first method is to visit Black Viper’s website, go to Services Registry Files according to the Windows version that is installed on your computer, download the appropriate file and run the .reg on your computer. Alternatively, you can also use Tweaking.com’s Windows Repair AIO tool and select the “Set Windows Services To Default Startup” repair option. Windows Repair AIO uses the same default data from Black Viper.

Do note that the Black Viper’s Services Registry File and Windows Repair AIO tool only restores the Start key of the service. That means that the service entry in registry must be valid, then only it can be started. As for other cases where the service is not even shown in the Services.msc, that is due to the whole service entry being deleted from the registry.

For example, if you delete the whole wuauserv folder from HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\services\ in registry, you will not see Windows Update listed in services.msc. So far I have not found a tool that can restore all the services registry back to default but ComboFix is able to restore some of the important services such as Windows Firewall (MpsSvc), Base Filtering Engine (BFE), Windows Defender (WinDefend) and Windows Update (wuauserv).

If the services in Windows is so messed up that neither resetting to default services settings nor restoring some deleted services with ComboFix fixes the problem, your last resort is to perform a Windows repair by reinstalling Windows using the Windows installation disc.

– Last updated on June 12, 2019 by VG

NOTE: This tutorial will help you in resetting or restoring Task Manager to default factory settings in Windows 10 . The method given in this tutorial should also work in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 .

Task Manager is a very important and useful component of Windows operating system. If we want to know which apps, programs and services are running in background, we can just launch Task Manager and find a complete list of all running programs and services.

We can learn which program is consuming more CPU and memory (RAM) resources with the help of Task Manager. We can also check which programs are set to launch at startup with Windows using Startup tab present in Task Manager. In fact we can enable or disable startup programs using Task Manager to speedup Windows startup process. ( Read Full Guide )

The best part of Task Manager is killing a not responding or stuck app. Whenever a program starts consuming too much system resources and makes the whole system slow, we can just kill the program using End Task button given in Task Manager. ( Related Guide )

Anyone can launch Task Manager by right-clicking on Taskbar and selecting Task Manager option from the context menu. We can also use Ctrl+Shift+Esc hotkey to quickly launch Task Manager.

When we fresh install Windows 10 in our computer and we launch Task Manager, it opens in Fewer Details mode or Compact mode by default which only shows currently running programs list, nothing else. We need to click on “More Details” button to launch Task Manager in full mode.

Now we can customize Task Manager according to our requirements. We can resize Task Manager window to fit our computer screen, we can add/remove tabs, columns, change various settings and options.

Sometimes you may want to reset Task Manager to default settings. You may decide to restore Task Manager to factory settings which were applied on Task Manager by default when you clean installed Windows 10.

By default Windows 10 doesn’t provide any option in Task Manager to reset it but we can take help of Registry Editor to reset Task Manager to default settings.

If you also want to reset or restore Task Manager to defaults in Windows 10, following steps will help you:

1. Press WIN+R keys together to open RUN dialog box. You can also open it from WIN+X menu. Now type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.

2. Now go to following key:

“TaskManager” is the main key which stores all Task Manager settings such as window size, location, customized options, etc. It contains a Binary value “Preferences” which stores all settings related to Task Manager.

3. To reset Task Manager, we just need to delete TaskManager key. Once we delete TaskManager key, Windows will forget Task Manager settings and when you’ll launch Task Manager, it’ll launch it fresh in compact mode without any customization.

To delete the TaskManager key, select the key and press Delete key on your keyboard. Don’t worry. As soon as you launch Task Manager, Windows will recreate the key again in Registry.

That’s it. You have successfully reset Task Manager to default settings in Windows 10.

By Tina | Follow | Last Updated October 18, 2021

Summary :

How to reset Display settings Windows 10? Have you ever encountered this error? This post from MiniTool will show you how to reset display settings Windows 10. Besides, you can visit MiniTool to find more Windows tips and solutions.

Once after updating Windows, you may find your desktop on Windows desktop is messing up. This would be an annoying thing. But, if your desktop is messing up, you can choose to reset display settings Windows 10.

However, there is no such button or keyboard shortcut to reset or revert to previous display settings in Windows 10. You have to set each setting manually.

So, in this post, we will show you how to reset display settings to default Windows 10.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10?

This post will show you how to reset display settings to default Windows 10.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10 – Themes

First of all, we will show you how to reset display settings Windows 10 – themes.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Press the Windows and I keys together to open Windows Settings.
2. Then click Personalization.
3. In the Personalization window, go to the Themes tab.
4. Then click on Windows 10 theme to apply it.

After that, you have reset the Themes in display settings Windows 10.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10 – Colors

In order to reset display settings Windows 10, you also need to change the colors of the display.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Choose Personalization >Colors.
3. On the right pane, go to the Choose your color
4. Then select Light or Dark to continue.
5. If you want to use a different color for Apps and Taskbar, select Custom.
6. Select the blue color under the Choose your accent color section if you want to use the default Windows 10 color.

After that, you have reset the display settings of Color to default Windows 10.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10 – Display Size

Here is the tutorial.

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Go to System.
3. Select Display, and select an appropriate scaling percentage under Scale and layout.

How do I get my desktop back up normal on Windows 10? How to change Windows 10 view? This post shows you the detailed guide.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10 – Text Size

Here is the tutorial.

1. Go to Windows Settings.
2. Choose Ease of Access >Display.
3. Adjust the slider to change the size of text Windows 10.

How to Reset Display Settings Windows 10 – Turn Off Custom Scaling

In order to reset display settings Windows 10, you can choose to turn off custom scaling.

Now, here is the tutorial.

1. Open Windows Settings.
2. Then choose System.
3. Click Display from the sidebar, and then click Advanced Scaling settings.
4. Clear previous settings and choose Apply.

After that, you have reset display settings Windows 10 successfully.

Apart from the above settings, to reset display settings Windows 10, you also need to do other settings, such as turning off Night Light, turning off Tablet Mode, turning off Magnifier, and so on.

To sum up, this post has shown how to reset display settings Windows 10. If you need to reset display settings to default Windows 10, you can try these solutions. If you have any better ideas to reset display settings Windows 10, you can share them in the comment zone.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Position: Columnist

Tina is a technology enthusiast and joined MiniTool in 2018. As an editor of MiniTool, she is keeping on sharing computer tips and providing reliable solutions, especially specializing in Windows and files backup and restore. Besides, she is expanding her knowledge and skills in data recovery, disk space optimizations, etc.

On her spare time, Tina likes to watch movies, go shopping or chat with friends and enjoy her life.

Fix corrupt settings

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What to Know

• To run MSDT, go to Start, enter msdt.exe -id WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic, and press Enter.
• Select Next >Apply This Fix >Close the troubleshooter.
• To run MSDT Tool in advanced mode, select Advanced and clear the Apply Repairs Automatically check box when starting MSDT.

This article explains how to fix corrupt settings in Windows Media Player 12. Instructions apply to Windows 10, Windows 8, and Windows 7.

Why Restore Default Settings

Windows Media Player 12 relies on its configuration settings to run smoothly. There are settings for the program to use and custom ones saved when you make a change—like customizing the view or adding music folders.

However, things can go wrong with these configuration scripts. Usually, corruption is the reason why you suddenly get a problem in Windows Media Player 12. For instance, when you run the program, a problem might arise, such as:

• You can’t get any audio to play.
• Errors appear when burning CDs.
• Media indexes become corrupted.
• Video playback issues with formats that worked before.
• Windows Media Player 12 crashes or doesn’t run at all.

Learn how to reset Windows Media Player.

How to Run the MSDT Tool to Reset Windows Media Player

If you have a stubborn configuration problem in Windows Media Player 12 that you can’t fix, instead of uninstalling WMP 12 and starting again, all you might need to do is reset to its default settings.

In Windows 7 or higher, one of the best tools to use for this job is called the MSDT (Microsoft Support Diagnostic Tool). It detects any corrupt settings in WMP 12 and can be used to reset them to the original settings. To discover how to do this, follow the simple tutorial below.

Select Start in Windows and type the following line in the search box: msdt.exe -id WindowsMediaPlayerConfigurationDiagnostic and press Enter.

The troubleshooting wizard appears on the screen. Select Next to start the troubleshooter.

Select Apply This Fix to reset WMP 12’s settings to the defaults, or select Skip This Fix option to continue without making changes.

If you elected to skip, there’s a further scan for any additional problems. The option to choose will either be the Explore Additional Options or Close the Troubleshooter.

How to Run the MSDT Tool in Advanced Mode

If you want to switch to the advanced mode to view the diagnostics in verbose (detailed) mode, click the Advanced hyperlink and clear the Apply Repairs Automatically check box when starting the tool.

In Advanced mode, you can view extended information about any problems found by clicking the View Detailed Information hyperlink. This gives you the chance to discover any found issues in detail. Select Next to exit this information screen.

To fix any corrupt WMP 12 settings, leave the Reset Default Windows Media Player option enabled and select Next.

On the next screen, select Apply This Fix or, to avoid making any changes, choose Skip This Fix.

Just as in the normal mode above, if you elected to skip the repair process, a further scan is performed to find any additional problems. After the scan, either select Explore Additional Options or choose Close the Troubleshooter.

If you have problems with the music library in Windows Media Player, you might want to read about rebuilding WMP’s database.

How do I reset my Family Tree Maker for Windows settings?

If Family Tree Maker will not start correctly, it may be necessary to reset the program settings. This will return all customized settings to their original, default values. This means that you will need to register again (click Help>Register Family Tree Maker), define your preferences once more (click Tools>Options), and re-open your family tree files.

Please note that your family tree files will not be affected in any way. However, after restoring the settings to defaults, no family trees will be shown in the list of trees on the Plan workspace. Don’t worry — they weren’t deleted from your computer. You just need to re-open your tree files in the application by going to the File menu, clicking Open, and selecting a tree to open one by one.

There are two methods for resetting FTM to default settings – we recommend using FTM itself (the first set of instructions below), though you may need to do it in Windows instead if you are having difficulty or are using an older edition of FTM. If you are successful using one method to reset the program to defaults, you’re done and don’t need to attempt the other.

Delete program data using Family Tree Maker (recommended)

While holding down the SHIFT key on your keyboard, open Family Tree Maker 2017.

The Family Tree Maker Startup Options window will appear. Click the Reset program settings to defaults radio button, then click OK.

Click Yes on the Are you sure you want to restore factory default settings. box.

The settings will be cleared and Family Tree Maker should open normally.

Deleting program data using Windows (alternate method)

1. Press Windows key + R on your keyboard to open the Run dialog box.
2. Enter %localappdata% then click OK.

Note: You can also access the AppData folder by clicking the Windows Start button in the taskbar and typing %localappdata% in the search box.

Note: If you do not see a folder that contains StrongName, back up and select a different StrongName folder.

8. Repeat this process with each StrongName folder until all of the appropriate folders have been deleted.

9. Close this window when you are done.

The settings will be cleared and Family Tree Maker should open normally.

Still having problems?

If you’ve followed the instructions above and are still receiving this message, click here for additional troubleshooting options.

In our environment we have a few Windows 10 PC’s which we use Adobe Acrobat on for viewing PDF’s. Whenever we attempt to set the default program for PDF’s from Edge to Adobe Acrobat it will be fine for the users session, but when the restart and come back the next day the association will be gone Wondering if there is a fix for this currently, read somewhere that either a registry edit or clearing out edge from the PC completely could work. Anyone else run into this? How did you resolve it? thanks for the help in advance.

Enter to win a a “Don’t Panic” inspired embroidered hand towel

Have you looked into an XML file to set default file associations?

Have a look at this article. Works for me on win10 PCs on our domain.

8 Replies

are you running the latest version of Reader?

This was a bug in Reader that Adobe fixed a few months back.

I think MS is trying to push Edge on everyone and there is no real way to stop it. I spent weeks trying to figure this out like last year and not s single suggested fix resolved the issue. The only difference was ours would reset to Edge after updates not upon each restart. That almost sounds like your getting a temp profile loaded each time and the default config is coming into play. I have seen many cases over the lifetime of WIN 10 acting like it loaded the profile only to find later on down the road that it was loading a temp profile. While you looking into the issue I would recommend looking in your USERS folder to see if there are any USERNAME.000 or TEMP profiles sitting in there

Have you looked into an XML file to set default file associations?

Have a look at this article. Works for me on win10 PCs on our domain.

Try running the following command and see if the problem persists after a reboot:

We add those registry keys to prevent Edge from taking over browser and PDF associations.

I used those Registry keys as well, which only changed the behaviour. It now asks for the application to open the file with every time, rather than defaulting to Edge. So Edge isn’t the culprit here. It’s Windows. The other thing is that this happens on only ONE PC out of my entire organization. The rest tend to hold their default settings. I also tried using BlueBeam Vu as the default PDF app, rather than Adobe. Same behaviour.

NathM Not running the current version of Adobe unfortunately,

Lockout No weird temp profiles from what i can see in the Users folder. I think you may be right about the issue for our PC’s they were all upgraded from windows 7 so that might also contribute to the problem not 100% sure however.

Will look into XML file with GP and the Registry keys and get back to everyone

Thanks for all the ideas!

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• NathM

I used those Registry keys as well, which only changed the behaviour. It now asks for the application to open the file with every time, rather than defaulting to Edge. So Edge isn’t the culprit here. It’s Windows. The other thing is that this happens on only ONE PC out of my entire organization. The rest tend to hold their default settings. I also tried using BlueBeam Vu as the default PDF app, rather than Adobe. Same behaviour.

Sounds like an application is trying to take over file associations which is causing Windows to “correct” itself. Ever since Windows 8, Microsoft has been using a hash key to determine if a file association change was made by the user. If a program attempts to take over a file association, Windows will see that the hash key was not updated correctly and it will automatically make Edge your default PDF reader or browser (It all depends on which extension the rogue program is attempting to take over).

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This is a huge mega pain in the a** to deal with.

So we dealt with it.

Here’s a three part blog entry on it:

And here’s the product to make this problem go to sleep.. forever:

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It Comes Down to This.

32+ years in IT at all levels, and the job search returns this as my best matchJust wow. Way to validate my existence.

Snap! Microsoft Build, DuckDuckGo, Windows File Explorer, happy Geek Pride Day!

Your daily dose of tech news, in brief. Happy Geek Pride, Towel, & Lilac Day! Not sure what that is? Then make sure to read the last story on here! You need to hear this. Microsoft shows off Windows updates at Build dev event Microsoft Bui.

Broadcom buying Vmware?

If this happens how will it affect us users?

Spark! Pro series 25th May 2022

Today in History: 1945 Arthur C. Clark proposes relay satellites in geosynchronous orbitArthur Charles Clarke was born on 16 December 1917 in Minehead, Somerset, United Kingdom. During the Second World War he was involved in developing the new technology .

The magic of Windows is in its customizable elements. There are myriad ways that one can change the look and feel of its visual components, be it the desktop, the start menu, or the taskbar. But once in a while, things get corrupted, go askew, or just don’t look how you want them to, with no clear way to get them back to default.

If you’ve been messing around with the Windows Taskbar and found that your endeavors have failed, don’t worry. In this guide, we look at a few ways to reset your taskbar in Windows 10 so you can go back to square one and return the taskbar to its former set up.

• 4 Ways to reset Taskbar in Windows
• #1. Restart from Task Manager
• #2. Restart from Command Prompt
• #3. With Script
• #4. Reset Taskbar to Default Settings
  • Show Cortana Button
  • Show Task View Button
  • Show Search Box
  • Notifications Area icons

4 Ways to reset Taskbar in Windows

Well, here are different methods you can use to restore the taskbar on your Windows 10 backl to how it was or simply restart it.

#1. Restart from Task Manager

If after customizing your taskbar you find that it’s not how you wanted it to be, there’s a simple way to reset it from Task Manager. It involves a simple restart of Windows Explorer. Here’s how you can do so:

Press Win+X and click on Task Manager.

Under the Processes tab, select Windows Explorer and click on Restart.

#2. Restart from Command Prompt

The same can also be done via Command Prompt. Press Win+R to open the Run app. Type in “cmd” and then click OK. This will open the command window.

Now, inside Command Prompt, type in the following command line and press Enter:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe && start explorer.exe

Make sure that you type the command line just as given below, taking particular note of the symbols, and with no additional spaces before or after.

#3. With Script

The simplest way is to download the batch file with the script. Download: Reset and Clear Taskbar Toolbars.bat

Once you have downloaded the batch file, double-click to run it. That will restart your taskbar right away in a blink of an eye.

FYI, here’s the content of the BAT file:

Yes, you can create this file yourself — pretty easily — if you want to avoid downloading a bat file. Just copy the commands given right above to a new text file, and be sure to save it as a .bat file (not .txt file).

#4. Reset Taskbar to Default Settings

Often you’ll find that resetting windows explorer doesn’t bring back the taskbar in its default state that comes with a fresh copy of Windows 10, replete with the Cortana button, the search box, the task view button, and the default icons and widgets.

Since Windows doesn’t have a dedicated button to reset the taskbar to its default settings, you will have to enable these buttons manually.

First up, right-click on the taskbar and click on Taskbar settings.

In the Settings window, make sure that the options are toggled on/off exactly as shown in the image below (default taskbar settings).

That is the Windows 10 default taskbar setting. However, you will note that some options such as the Cortona button, task view button, and the search options are not available in the settings window. These can be adjusted from the taskbar menu itself.

Show Cortana Button

The Cortana button lets you input instructions with your voice and have a hands-free approach to Windows. Even though the results you get with Cortana are quite limited, Cortana allows you to get some basic things done easily.

To have it on your taskbar, right-click on the taskbar and make sure there’s a tick next to the Show Cortana button option.

This will bring the show Cortana button on the left-hand side of the taskbar.

Show Task View Button

The task view button gives you a thumbnail view of all your open tasks, apps, and windows.

To enable it, right-click on the taskbar and make sure there’s a tick next to the Show Task View button option.

This will bring the show task view button on the left-hand side of the taskbar.

Show Search Box

The search box lets you instantly-search apps and services that are in Windows 10. Though it does take up a lot of taskbar space, not everyone is willing to do away with it.

To have it on the taskbar, right-click on the taskbar, hover over Search, and click on Show Search Box.

This will bring the search box on the left-hand side of the taskbar, next to the start button.

Notifications Area icons

The Notification Area, also called the “System tray”, holds the icons of different apps that run in the background. If you find that these have changed since the last time you configured your taskbar, here is how you can get back the default ones.

Right-click on the taskbar and click on Taskbar Settings.

Scroll down to the Notification area and click on Turn system icons on or off.

Now, toggle the system icons on or off as shown in the image below (default).

And with that, your taskbar will revert back to its default settings, including the different widgets, buttons, and system tray icons.

If you are troubleshooting or selling your Windows 11 PC, the “Reset this PC” feature is an important part of the operating system. Here’s how to use it.

If your Windows 11 PC has been up and running for a long time or you’re experiencing issues, one thing you can do is reset it to factory settings. You can do this using the “Reset this PC” feature introduced in earlier versions of Windows. You can still reset your PC in Windows 11, but the process has changed.

Here’s a look at how to use the “Reset this PC” feature by preserving files or deleting everything and starting from scratch.

How to Factory Reset a Windows 11 PC

To reset your Windows 11 PC, start by hitting the Windows key and opening Settings. Alternately, you can use the keyboard shortcut Windows key + I to open Settings directly.

Once Settings is open, click on System > Recovery.

Now, under the “Recovery options” section, click on the Reset PC button.

The following screen will open and give you the following two options:

• Cloud Download: Downloads a fresh copy of Windows 11 installation files from the cloud to reinstall the OS. Keep in mind this doesn’t restore utilities, apps, and other configurations that came with the PC when you first bought it.
• Local Reinstall: This uses files already available to reset the PC from a particular disk partition. This will restore any OEM tools that came preinstalled with the PC.

The option you choose is determined by what you want to do with the PC. If you’re going to fix an issue but keep your files, you’ll probably want to use “Local Reinstall.” But if you’re selling your device or want a clean start, the “Cloud Download” is the best option.

Ready to Reset Windows 11

Now, review the apps to reinstall after the reset and click the Next button.

Continue to follow the wizard’s on-screen instructions. You might see a message warning that your PC was recently updated, and you won’t be able to undo the changes.

Finally, you will get a message letting you know what resetting your PC will do. It will change settings back to the Windows 11 default configuration, keep personal files, reinstall Windows 11, etc.

Click the Reset button to proceed.

The time it takes will vary based on the amount of data, the hardware, and connectivity speeds. A progress message will display during the reset. Note that your computer will restart a few times to complete the process.

Steps to Take After a PC Reset

After the reset, you’ll want to check for updates by going to Settings > Windows Update > Check for Updates. After getting the latest security patches and driver updates (if any are available), you can check for missing drivers via Device Manager in Control Panel.

Hit the Windows key on your keyboard and type: device manager, and hit Enter or click the first result from the search list. If you have any missing drivers, check the manufacturer’s support site and download and install the drivers you need.

The PC Reset feature is essential whether you’re troubleshooting a significant issue or selling or gifting your Windows 11 system. And for more tips on how to handle Windows 11, take a look at how to customize the taskbar. Or, if you’re annoyed by the new right-click menu on Windows 11, check out our article on restoring the old context menu.

– Last updated on October 15, 2010 by VG

If you are a “Microsoft Security Essentials” user and want to restore all settings to default, here is a simple and easy solution for you.

Surprisingly MSE doesn’t provide any option to restore default settings in its configuration window.

In this topic, we’ll tell you how to restore all configuration settings of MSE to default using a built-in MSE command.

=> Simply provide following command in Command Prompt or Start Menu Search box or Run dialog box:

“%programfiles%\Microsoft Security Essentials\MpCmdRun.exe” RestoreDefaults

It’ll open a Command Prompt window and will close it immediately.

Now you can check MSE configuration settings and all settings would be restored to default.

You can also create a shortcut for the command and place it on Desktop or Quick launch toolbar or pin it to Windows 7 Taskbar.

You are here: Home » Troubleshooting Guides » How to Restore All Configuration Settings of Microsoft Security Essentials (MSE) to Default Using Command Line

About the author: Vishal Gupta (also known as VG) has been awarded with Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) award. He holds Masters degree in Computer Applications (MCA). He has written several tech articles for popular newspapers and magazines and has also appeared in tech shows on various TV channels.

Comments

NOTE: Older comments have been removed to reduce database overhead.

Hi guys,on Restore and Backup there is a Reset to factory setting button,if i press it will my windows 7 Os be deleted or it will only reset the laptop’s settings?

^^ I’m not sure which option you are talking about but most probably it’ll restore all default settings.

The path it control panel-back up&Restore-Select system settings or your computer-Advanced recovery methods-Return your computer to factory condition(This option will delete everything on your computer and replace it with a recovery image provided by your computer manufacture etc)

Do you want to Reset Cortana In Windows 10 to fix its problems? Here is the complete guide on this.

Sometimes, you may face a problem with Cortana. It may stop working due to various reasons, and may not be able to give the notification of weather, news, reminders, etc. So, you need to fix the problems of Cortana. Well, Cortana is preinstalled on Windows 10, and Microsoft doesn’t give any option to uninstall and reinstall it. But, don’t worry, Windows 10 provides a reset option for Cortana to solve its all problems.

Well, if you are using Windows 10, you may know about Cortana. Cortana is a virtual assistant (Your personal assistant or digital agent) by Microsoft. You can see the Cortana search bar on Windows 10 taskbar. However, if you don’t like Cortana, you can hide it from the taskbar. Also, you can disable Cortana from the Registry editor or group policy editor, but it is a bit difficult for non-techie guys.

There are a lot of fixes when Cortana isn’t working well. You can update windows, reset your PC, run a troubleshooter, or restart it. But, reset is one of the best and easiest methods to solve its all problems. You don’t need to reset OS to fix Cortana problems.

What Happen When You Reset Cortana

Well, when the Cortana isn’t working right, and you have issues with it, then you need to reset it. After resetting

• The app will be reinstalled and reverted to its default settings.
• Resetting permanently deletes your app’s data from your PC (Your preferences and sign-in detail).
• Documents will not be affected.

How To Reset Cortana In Windows 10

For this, you need to have the latest version of Windows 10. Options may not available on older versions of Windows. The steps are given below. Let’s get started.

1. At first, click on the Start Menu and you will see the list of all apps and programs that are installed on your PC/Laptop.

2. Scroll down and find the Cortana app from the apps list. After that, right-click on the Cortana app and you will see the two options – Pin to start and More. Click on the More option and after that open App Settings.

3. Now the Cortana app settings will be open. You will see the App specifications, permissions, battery usage, defaults, terminate, and reset options. Scroll down and click on the Reset button. When you click on the reset button, the popup message will be shown to confirm it. Again, click on the Reset button. Wait for some seconds to complete the progress. When the progress will be complete, you will see the green tick mark.

That’s all. Now, click on the Cortana search bar from the taskbar.

Final Words

So, this is the guide on How To Reset Cortana In Windows 10. However, this is pre-installed on Windows 10, but, Microsoft gives an option to reset it to solve the major problems. So, this guide may help you to fix almost all the problems regarding Cortana.

If your Windows 10 or Windows 11 machine is on the fritz, it might be time to restore the computer to its out-of-the-box settings. Here’s how to factory reset your PC.

If your Windows machine is acting up, running Microsoft’s Refresh Windows tool or uninstalling a recent update might do the trick. You can even run your own diagnostic tests to make sure your hard disk is healthy. But if your PC is running poorly or you plan to get rid of your current machine, it may be time to reset your PC to its factory settings.

Whether you’re still running Windows 10 or have upgraded to Windows 11, the steps below are mostly the same. This process can wipe your files and current settings, depending on what options you choose, so make sure you back up your files first.

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Recovery Settings in Windows 10

In Windows 10, click the Start menu and select the gear icon in the lower left to open up the Settings window. You can also select the Settings app from the app list. Under Settings, click Update & Security > Recovery, then select Get started under Reset this PC.

Recovery Settings in Windows 11

In Windows 11, open Settings > System > Recovery (or Settings > Windows Updates > Advanced options > Recovery). Click Reset PC next to the Reset this PC option.

Choose What to Erase

On either OS, you can choose Keep my files to remove only downloaded apps and settings. This will preserve your personal files and is recommended if you are trying to roll back an issue.

If your drive is beyond saving or you plan to get rid of the computer, select Remove everything, which wipes the drive clean by removing downloaded apps, settings, and personal files.

Reinstall Options

Before you can hit the reset button, you must determine how to reinstall Windows. Choose Local reinstall if you prefer the more hands-on approach of installing Windows from local storage.

If you want an easier route, click Cloud download to pull files directly from Microsoft’s servers. This option requires over 4GB of available storage space, but it is meant to be a faster and more reliable alternative to booting from a USB stick.

Customize Additional Settings

Once your selections have been made, there are a few extra settings you can customize, depending on what you picked. Click Change settings at the Additional settings screen to view your choices. If you chose Keep my files, apps and settings will default to what they were when the PC was brand new. However, you can change this by disabling Restore preinstalled apps.

By choosing Remove everything, Windows will erase all your files. This is the default option, and it is the quickest way to remove your personal files. However, this is less secure because those files can be recovered with the right software. If you plan to sell the machine, you’ll want something stronger.

Enable the switch under Clean data to ensure that your files are actually overwritten instead of simply removed. This will take longer than the default option, but if you have several hours to spare, it’s worth the wait.

Recommended by Our Editors

You already made the choice on how you wish to reinstall Windows, but you can change that answer from this menu. Enable or disable the Download Windows? option. By marking the choice as Yes, you will switch to a remote download of the operating system.

If you have multiple drives installed, there will also be an option to control if they should be wiped as well. Another option for deleting workplace resources may be present if certain configurations have been set up through your job. Check with your company’s IT department before changing this.

Reset Your Computer

Once you make all your decisions, click Next, and Windows will generate a screen that summarizes them. If you selected Keep my files, you can look at a list of apps that will be removed with the reset.

When you’re ready to commit, click Reset. Your computer will restart and boot back up again after some time. If you are getting rid of the computer, your work is done. Otherwise, sign back into Windows and make sure what you opted to remove has been wiped from the machine. If you backed up your files using an online backup service or Recovery Drive, they can now be restored to the machine.

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