How to Easily Reinstall Windows 10 Without the Bloatware

The “Reset Your PC” feature in Windows 10 restores your PC to its factory default settings, including all that bloatware your PC manufacturer included. But the new “Fresh Start” feature in Windows 10’s Creators Update makes it much easier to get a clean Windows system.

This was always possible through downloading Windows 10 installation media and reinstalling it on a PC. But Microsoft’s new tool makes performing a full Windows reinstall to get a completely clean Windows system much easier.

How This Works

The “Reset this PC” feature resets your PC to its factory default settings. If you installed Windows yourself, that means you’ll have a clean Windows system. But you probably didn’t install Windows yourself. Like most people, you probably purchased a PC that came with Windows, plus some extra bloatware.

In that case, resetting your PC will reset it to the way you got it from the factory–which includes all the software the manufacturer originally installed on your PC. From annoying bloatware to useful software drivers, it will all come back. You’ll have to either live with that junk or spend time uninstalling it.

To get rid of the bloatware for a clean, fresh-from-Microsoft Windows 10 system, you previously had to download Windows 10 installation media, create a USB drive or DVD, and then reinstall Windows 10 yourself. Windows’ new “Fresh Start” feature makes this process much simpler, allowing normal PC users to completely reinstall Windows in a few clicks.

Even Windows geeks, who often reinstall Windows on every new computer they get, can save some time with the “Fresh Start” feature. Just follow the instructions to quickly and easily reinstall Windows 10 on a new PC.

The downside is that you’ll lose all the manufacturer-installed software on your PC. Sure, most of them are useless, but some of the important stuff—like drivers and software—can probably be downloaded from your PC manufacturer’s website. If you want a utility later, you can probably download just that specific tool.

But, if there’s something you can’t get online–or if that bloatware includes a useful deal–you’ll want to make sure you get any necessary license keys or registrations before you do this. For example, many new Dells come with 20GB of free Dropbox space, which is a pretty great deal.

Lastly, while Windows promises to keep your personal files as part of this process, it’s always a good idea to have a backup copy of any important files on your PC in case anything goes wrong.

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How to Encrypt a PDF on a Mac

If you want to encrypt a PDF on a Mac, the easiest method is to use the Preview app. You can use Preview to add a password to your most sensitive PDF documents to keep them secure.

Preview is available as a core macOS app, so you’ll find it on any Mac computer. There’s no additional software required—all you need is a PDF document to encrypt and a Mac to encrypt it with.

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How to Backup computer files to a WD Passport

WD Backup is an easy-to-use backup application that automatically protects backup files, photos, and documents on a WD drive as primary storage. It can also restore previous backups to your computer.

Backup WD makes an incremental backup. Whenever you disconnect and reconnect a backup target or source device, WD Backup software rescues the backup source device for new or changed files and restores automatic backup protection according to the program.

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How to Find an App on Your iPhone or iPad Fast

Apple’s App Store features around two million apps for iPhone and iPad combined. If you’re like us, you probably have dozens of apps on your iOS or iPadOS device but have not had the chance to organize them all. You can easily lose track of an app icon’s location on the Home screen.

Luckily, the iPhone and iPad make it easy to find and launch the app you’re looking for. Here’s how to do it.

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