If your Windows computer unexpectedly reset itself and your personal files aren't visible, don't panic. This MiniTool guide provides several practical solutions to assist you in restoring your system and retrieving your files.

My Computer Reset Itself and I Lost Everything

“I was gaming when I noticed the performance slowing down, so I rebooted my PC. The reboot took longer than expected, and upon logging back in, I discovered most of my files (photos, documents, etc.) were gone. My background had also reset to the default setting. Besides my Steam games and some applications, everything seemed erased.”answers.microsoft.com

It can be extremely disheartening and alarming to log into your computer only to find that it has wiped itself clean. If you're experiencing this, you might be wondering why it happened and how to retrieve your missing files and restore your system to its normal state.

Generally, this issue could arise following a Windows update or an improper shutdown. In the subsequent section, I will outline simple steps to get your system and files back to normal.

How to Fix if Your Computer Reset Itself

Solution 1. Restart Your Computer

Many system problems are merely temporary glitches, and a basic restart can often resolve them. Therefore, if you notice that your computer has reset itself, it might not have been fully wiped. Try restarting your computer and verify if everything is functioning as expected. If the problem continues, consider restarting your device four times to observe any changes.

Solution 2. Examine the User Profile

Should all your personal files and installed apps vanish and your desktop revert to its default state, it’s likely that your user profile hasn’t loaded properly. Instead, Windows logs you into a temporary account. When this occurs, follow these steps:

Step 1. Open File Explorer and go to C:\Users. Look for two user folders that resemble yours. Open these folders and check within Pictures, Documents, Desktop, etc., to see if your files are present. If they are, proceed with the following actions.

Step 2. Right-click the Start button and select Settings.

Step 3. Navigate to Accounts > Family & other users.

Step 4. In the right panel, click Add someone else to this PC. Follow the on-screen instructions to create a new administrator user account.

Step 5. Click the newly created account, select Change account type, choose Administrator, and click OK.

Step 6. Click Start > the profile icon, and then sign in to the new account.

Step 7. Go to C:\Users and copy all your data from the old profile to the new profile.

If your files remain unlocated, search for a Windows.old folder on your C drive, and then copy and paste the files to the new profile.

Solution 3. Execute a System Restore

If you've set up a system restore point, you can attempt to execute a system restore to revert your system to a prior healthy state.

System Restore only reverts system files, registry settings, and installed programs to their states at the time the restore point was created. Personal files won't be impacted.

First, open the Control Panel and ensure items are displayed by large or small icons. Then choose Recovery > Open System Restore.

In the ensuing windows, pick the restore point you wish to use from the list of results and finish the restoration process.

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That covers how to address the "computer reset itself" issue.

How to Retrieve Missing Files on Windows

If you’ve attempted all the solutions but the files are still absent, they might have been deleted or lost permanently. In such cases, you can employ free data recovery software to scan your disk and determine if the desired files can be retrieved.

MiniTool Power Data Recovery is recommended here. As a green and secure Windows file recovery tool, it supports recovering various types of files from HDDs, SSDs, and removable storage media. Download its free version and utilize it to recover up to 1 GB of files for free.

Step 1. Launch this file recovery tool to access its main interface. Here, select the disk partition where the missing files should reside and click Scan.

Step 2. Once the scan concludes, locate your files via Path or Type. Additionally, you can use the Filter feature to sort scan results by file type, file size, date modified, and file category. Furthermore, you can input a partial or complete file name in the search box in the top right corner and press Enter to search for a specific file.

Step 3. Double-click each target file to preview. Select all the files you wish to recover and click the Save button. In the new window, specify a location to save the recovered files.

Final Thoughts

When faced with the “Windows 11/Windows 10 factory reset itself” issue, start by restarting your device. If that doesn’t help, check if you’re logged into a temporary account. To revert the system to a previous condition, run a system restore.

If the files are permanently deleted, use MiniTool Power Data Recovery to recover your files.

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