Perform complete reset without access to an account?

[PhredP]

Hi,

I just bought a Windows 10 tablet that was on sale VERY (irresistably) cheap at a local electronics store, because it was an open-box unit and the power cable/adapter had long since been lost. I am able to charge it with a USB cable with no problem, and Windows seems to boot OK, but I cannot log in. It looks like random customers have probably created accounts and done who knows what else to the system.

I would like to wipe it clean except for the OS, which I'd like to restore to factory settings. Basically, I want to restore it to the condition of a new unit fresh out of the box. But I do not know how to do this without being able to log on. I'm familiar with earlier versions of Windows (7 and earlier) but have little experience with Windows 10.

Can someone out there tell me how to restore this unit to fresh-out-of-the-box condition?

 

[Lutfij]

Generally, with these kind of things, a re-installation will save you tonnes of headache and worry/frustration later down the road though since you insist the best way to perform a factory reset or a reset, if you will, is to follow up on this tutorial.

If you're interested in a re-installation then create a bootable USB installer and then proceed according to this tutorial as an issue can come about be it via a reset/restore point or even an update reboot process.

You could also shoot us the make and model of the tablet in case you might need a BIOS/device drivers for download for your particular unit.

 

[PhredP]

Thanks for the response - it is appreciated - but the last thing I want to do with a no-name tablet with unidentifiable hardware and possibly deficient customer service is to install from scratch a generic copy of Windows with no product key and no way of knowing if I can get the correct drivers.

Fortunately for me, their website (which wasn't as bad as I'd feared) did have links to a recovery drive image specific to this unit, and after I finally convinced them that yes, their download server was really down and that that was the reason I couldn't download that image the first time I tried, they brought it back up and I was able to download the image, copy it to a USB drive, and restore the tablet to presumably its original condition.

So I no longer need a solution to this problem. Thanks anyway.