Win 11 reset and BIOS reset order of operation

Would appreciate comment on priority of operation for an existing system -- should I do the Win11 reset (via RUFUS) =OR= a BIOS reset first?

The system is the Lenovo P1 as shown in my profile. Nothing horrendously wrong with it but there are several self-inflicted issues that keep plaguing me (power settings, display driver, changes to the registry for network priorities, etc) so rather than do serial troubleshooting I'd rather just go for the full blast. I have complete backups of the whole system so will not lose data.

Hello @JandS and welcome to ElevenForum.

If you have backups, couldn't you just restore from a backup from before the self-inflicted issues?
If not... just do the Windows reset.

Unless you really messed up the BIOS, you shouldn't need to reset it.
And... I'd imagine Lenovo has a utility to update the BIOS.



And... here's ten points just for filling out your computer specs.

Why not restore a backup image?

You should perform a bios reset (loading defaults/clearing CMOS) before a full system reset

How System Reset Affects Drivers:
Factory Reset (Local Reinstall): Restores your system to the state it was in when you first bought it, reinstalling manufacturer-provided software and drivers, effectively rolling back any updates or new installs.
Removes Newer Drivers: Any drivers or updates you installed after the factory image (like a newer graphics card driver) will be removed.
Cloud Download Option (Windows 10/11): If you choose to download Windows from the cloud during a reset, it might install more current, validated drivers, but it's not guaranteed to be the absolute latest.
Post-Reset: After a reset, you'll need to run Windows Update to download newer, optimized drivers or visit the manufacturer's website for specific drivers (like for Wi-Fi or graphics) if they aren't working.

I appreciate the replies here

I have many backups actually, unfortunately the self-inflicted changes don't have a known start or timeline

As for the BIOS, there has been a firmware update vs BIOS problem with the Thunderbolt port that has just recently been solved (* see below). Although the thread doesn't specify my model, the error regarding installing the Intel Thunderbolt Firmware 0.0.0.43 persisted for several months until I found the thread below and downgraded my BIOS to v128. When the BIOS fix came out I once again upgraded it this time following the solution to v130.

Aside from that, I want to be sure I have power / sleep / fan settings completely by-the-book again in case I decide to hit up Lenovo warranty support due to some overheating I'm having. As part of that troubleshooting I know I've messed with sleep and hibernate settings.

The immediate annoying issue is that my system is hanging fairly often after starting again after entering sleep; it seems to be the network not coming back fast enough so multiple processes keep trying to get internet access before that comes back. A week ago I got a strange error about not turning off the computer for 7 days but that is completely bogus, I turn it off every night. But that's got me wondering what's up as well.

(*)

glasskuter said:

You should perform a bios reset (loading defaults/clearing CMOS) before a full system reset

Click to expand...

Why would that be exactly?

If you have the bios setup the way you want it like fan speeds and onboard devices you want disabled there is no reason to reset the bios if resetting Windows.
One does not affect the other.

With Windows, if I'm going to do a clean install or repair install and keep the existing apps and settings. I'd only touch the bios if I had a specific reason to do so, like there was an issue with the computer that I suspected was being caused by bios settings or the like.

I'm a real square who only changes/resets or updates the bios when absolutely necessary.

KevTech said:

f you have the bios setup the way you want it like fan speeds and onboard devices you want disabled there is no reason to reset the bios if resetting Windows.
One does not affect the other.

Click to expand...

My answer was based on the posters question and the assumption it was the poster's intent to do both. If he resets to factory OOBE using the factory recovery partition, all the factory drivers and settings that will be restored during the reset will be based on what his out of box UEFI bios settings were.

@glasskuter correctly intuited my intention

1. do BOTH a BIOS reset and a Windows reset, to remove any possibility that I might have messed with the sleep + assorted other BIOS settings just a tad too much. Which prompted the "which should come first" question.

2, I would then do all the Lenovo BIOS updates to avoid the problem with the stubborn-but-now-fixed Thunderbolt port update issue.

Edit: code for the Lenovo link above
https://forums.lenovo.com/t5/ThinkPad-P-and-W-Series-Mobile-Workstations/Intel-Thunderbolt-Firmware-43-Fails-to-Install-using-Lenovo-Commercial-Vantage/m-p/5397670?page=1

JandS said:

would then do all the Lenovo BIOS updates

Click to expand...

Know that whatever bios updates have already been applied will STAY applied. A windows reset nor a bios "retore to default" will NOT undo bios updates. A bios update can only be reversed IF the OEM allows the user to manually flash an earlier bios version. So if that is your intent, I urge caution. You can easily brick your motherboard.

I can not speak for Lenovo, but Dell does NOT allow flashing an earlier bios version if the current bios version addressed security issues which nowadays, every bios update does. Only Lenovo can tell you if a particular bios version can be reversed,

Thank you @glasskuter, totally understand and appreciate your cautionary advice.

I had only done the rollback after many people on that thread reported success, and with knowing that Lenovo reps on the thread were actively monitoring.

The eventual fix of the updated BIOS was going from the earlier v128 and then eventually Lenovo Vantage found the newly-offered v130 because v129 had been withdrawn due to this Thunderbolt problem.