Solved Does a factory reset on a branded laptop bring back all the bloatware that came with the new laptop?

If i do a factory reset of my Lenovo laptop does it mean i will get back the initial programs like the trial version of Mcafee AV?
Will i lose the partitions i have created (i had made a seperate partition to keep the OS apart from my data partition)?
(yes there is a recovery partition on my disk)

What if i had deleted the recovery partition how would the reset have been carried out?

This link should answer your question:


If you have deleted the recovery partition, I don't think it's possible, but I will let more expert members advise you on that question.

Good look, and have a great day.

Regards
Phil

Two things:

And this can be done quickly and easily, and will keep your stuff, but replace the "factory" installation with a new set of Windows files:

I think the bottom line on all this is that you should first try to get rid of all the trash you can get rid of, perhaps using Revo Uninstaller (Free), but saving the things you want that you've added since the "factory" did its thing, and then freshen everything up with an in-place upgrade. It'll be like a new computer, but without the B/S.

perfection said:

If i do a factory reset of my Lenovo laptop does it mean i will get back the initial programs like the trial version of Mcafee AV?
Will i lose the partitions i have created (i had made a seperate partition to keep the OS apart from my data partition)?
(yes there is a recovery partition on my disk)

What if i had deleted the recovery partition how would the reset have been carried out?

Click to expand...

A recovery partition isn't required. Starting with Windows 10 the factory reset no longer needs a separate partition, it uses the files from the Component Store (WinSxS) as the source files to reinstall Windows. Any OEM apps and drivers will be reinstalled too, they are restored from an OEM Provisioning Package held in C:\Recovery\Customizations.

@Bree ,

I learned something today, and that is a good thing. I have a question, though, based on the link you provided.



The second paragraph contains a warning. It also seems to infer that the user has previously undertaken to create the reset information within Windows and that the manufacturer did not use that technique, but instead relied on a recovery partition.


The above link seems to confirm what I thought that if the recovery partition is gone, other means must be taken to restore the laptop.

I agree with previous posters who have stated that using the recovery partition is a "nuclear option." I, for one, would never go that route. That is why I make full system image backups weekly. I should have stated that in my initial reply -- my bad!

I am not questioning your expertise. I am just seeking to learn.

Thank you, and have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

What I do is to create (and save for the future, of course) several images of the whole boot disk at different points of the setup process. This way I can go back to any of them if the need arises. After some time, I delete the images I think I will not use.

garioch7 said:

The second paragraph contains a warning. It also seems to infer that the user has previously undertaken to create the reset information within Windows and that the manufacturer did not use that technique, but instead relied on a recovery partition.

English Community-Lenovo Community
The above link seems to confirm what I thought that if the recovery partition is gone, other means must be taken to restore the laptop.....

I am not questioning your expertise. I am just seeking to learn.

Click to expand...

The tutorial is aimed at those who want to make a provisioning package for their own clean install. It may be possible to use it in addition to an OEM provisioning package, but probably best not to in case of conflicts.

Most OEMs use the Provisioning Package method to factory reset a PC supplied with OEM W10/W11, but that doesn't stop then from using the older Recovery Partition method if they wish. Your link refers to "Lenovo One-Key Recovery" which I believe does rely on a separate recovery partition.

None of my PCs have retained their OEM installs, I've clean installed them all on arrival. But I do have a system image I made of my Dell Latitude 5410 and its OEM Windows 10 before wiping it and clean installing Windows 11. As you can see, none of the partitions are large enough to be a system image recovery partition. The last two partitions are for MS and Dell diagnostics tools.



Mounting the image of its C:\ drive (as the E:\ drive) you can see it has Dell's OEM provisioning package in its \Recovery\Customizations folder. This will install the Dell drivers, OEM Windows customizations, and OEM Dell utilities (along with a McAffee trial, if I remember correctly )

The simple answer is yes, a quick look at my Lenovo USB recovery Key suggests the trial versions of MS Office, McAfee are included along with other stuff for whatever hardware is in a particular Laptop. The version of Windows 11 seems to be what was factory installed at the time. i.e. it is a factory reset.

You have to order the Digital download recovery media from Lenovo and you have 3 days to do the download. They require you to have an Account and obviously various bits of info like ser no.
You will need a 32 GB USB Key drive, mine contains 15 GB.

You can still make a Recovery drive from Windows 11 > Control Panel > Recovery > Create a recovery drive, tick the system files box. In this case it is the current version of Windows, any trial versions stuff you have removed obviously will not be included.

Mine has partitions as delivered one of which is a small 2 GB recovery partition which must be standard, but obviously that does not include Windows.

You should have an Image of your Data partition or some kind of backup as a factory reset will likely remove it.

@Bree ,

Thank you for your detailed response. I appreciate it, as I am sure other members will as well. Thank you for sharing your expertise.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

Yes - i did it and my laptop was back to factory settings including ms office 2021 (forever version) and McAfee AV (trial)
Thanks folks and thank you Helmut for the courage to do it!

perfection said:

Yes - i did it and my laptop was back to factory settings including ms office 2021 (forever version) and McAfee AV (trial)
Thanks folks and thank you Helmut for the courage to do it!

Click to expand...

Now use REVO Uninstaller to uninstall McAfee. ^^

Bree said:

A recovery partition isn't required. Starting with Windows 10 the factory reset no longer needs a separate partition, it uses the files from the Component Store (WinSxS) as the source files to reinstall Windows. Any OEM apps and drivers will be reinstalled too, they are restored from an OEM Provisioning Package held in C:\Recovery\Customizations.

Create Provisioning Package in Windows 10

Create Custom Provisioning Package used to Reset Windows 10 or Create Recovery Drive

www.tenforums.com

Click to expand...

Does this method work for Windows 11 23H2 with the appropriate Windows Assessment and Deployment Kit?

Tried searching for the 23H2 version but was unable (?) to find a compatible version - the latest one I found was here but that was for 22H2.