Recover Files After Factory Reset on Windows 11 | Full Guide

Is it possible to recover files after factory reset on Windows 11?

A factory reset restores your device to its original system state, erasing everything that wasn’t there when you first got it. It’s a helpful solution for fixing issues like a slow PC, freezing, or frequent or random system crashes. Additionally, factory resets prepare your Windows 11 computer for situations like selling, donating, or disposing of it.

When resetting Windows 11, you might wonder: does a factory reset delete everything? Generally, it removes:

In simple terms, a factory reset wipes out anything added after purchase, making your device feel like new. However, Windows 11 provides options: you can choose “Keep my files” to retain personal files or “Remove everything” to fully reset the system. If you’re planning to sell or donate your computer, the latter is the better choice.

Before resetting, back up important data to avoid accidental loss, as restoring files afterward can be challenging without professional tools.

How to recover files after factory reset in Windows 11?

Recovering files after a factory reset on Windows 11 is entirely possible, and the method you choose depends on your situation. If you don’t have a backup, tools like AOMEI FastRecovery make it easy to scan your drive and restore lost files. For those using cloud storage services like Google Drive or OneDrive, simply signing in and syncing your files can quickly bring your data back. If you’ve created a system backup beforehand, Windows’ built-in backup feature provides a straightforward way to recover your files

Way 1. Recover data after factory reset with AOMEI FastRecovery

If you don’t have a backup, you can use a Windows data recovery tool to scan your drive and recover deleted or lost files. While you might not see the deleted files, these tools can locate and restore them for you. One recommended option is AOMEI FastRecovery, which is user-friendly and ideal for people who aren’t very familiar with Windows. It simplifies the recovery process and helps retrieve your important data effectively.

 Why should you choose AOMEI FastRecovery to recover data after factory reset on Windows 11:

• User-friendly interface: The software offers an intuitive graphical user interface, making it effortless for all skill-level users. It also offers technical support in 24/7.

• Versatile functionality: The tool boasts high-speed and reliable data recovery from external hard drives and various storage media, including HDD, SSD, USB drives, and SD cards. It supports over 1000 types of data with recovering unlimited data, covering texts, deleted photos, videos, audio, emails, and compressed files, among others.

• Wide compatibility: Compatible with almost all Windows versions, including Windows 11/10/8/7 & Windows Server. And it supports multiple file systems like NTFS, FAT32, exFAT, and ReFS, ensuring broad device compatibility.

• Performs well in complex cases: Recover data from formatted disks, encrypted hard drives, system crash, corrupted USB drives.

• Security assurance: Users can download the software without worrying about bundled software, and it guarantees a secure environment by refraining from displaying any malicious ads during usage.

Step 1. Install and launch AOMEI FastRecovery. Choose the exact partition or disk where your data lost and click Scan.

Step 2. Then, the recovery tool start to scan and search. lt will execute the “Quickly Scan" first for finding your deleted data fast, and then execute the “Deep Scan" for searching other lost data.

Step 3. Once the scan is completed, all deleted files, recycle bins and other missing files will be displayed. Please select the file you would like to recover and then click "Recover".

Step 4. Then, select a folder path to save your recovered files.

Step 5. Wait patiently for this process of recovering ends.

Way 2. Recover deleted files on Windows 11 from backups

If you have any backup from cloud storage, you can find the deleted files that you need when you want to recover files after factory reset on Windows 11. Here we would like to take Google Drive and OneDrive as examples.

If you factory reset your Windows 11 PC, recovering data from cloud storage like Google Drive or OneDrive is straightforward. Here’s how you can do it:

For Google Drive:

Step 1. Reinstall Google Drive: After resetting your PC, download and install the Google Drive desktop application from the official Google Drive website.

Step 2. Sign In: Log in with the same Google account you used before the reset.

Step 3. Sync Your Files: Choose whether to sync all files or specific folders from the cloud to your PC. Your files will download automatically to the designated Google Drive folder on your computer.

For OneDrive:

Step 1. Reinstall OneDrive: OneDrive is preinstalled on Windows 11, but if it’s missing, download it from the Microsoft website.

Step 2. Sign In: Use your Microsoft account credentials to sign in.

Step 3. Select Folders to Sync: Choose which folders you want to sync to your PC. The selected files will be downloaded from the cloud to your local OneDrive folder.

Way 3. Recover data after factory reset on Windows 11 via System Backup and Restore

If you had created a backup before the factory reset Windows 11 using Windows' built-in backup feature in the Control Panel, you can easily restore your files. Here's how:

Step 1. Go to Control Panel > System and Security > Backup and Restore (Windows 7).

Step 2. Click Restore my files.

Step 3. Click Browse for files > Select files you want > Next.

Step 4. Choose where you want to save the recovered files, then click "Restore."

Conclusion

In this passage, you can know it is possible to recover files after factory reset on Windows 11 and how to do so. If you have a backup, you can choose to recover the removed files from cloud storage like Google Drive or OneDrive. Windows built-in backup tool like System Backup and Restore is also supported in recovering data after factory reset. However, if you don't have any backup, AOMEI FastRecovery may be the ideal choices for Windows data recovery.