Try This Before You Reformat Your Computer (Windows 8, 8.1 10)

Be it a laptop, notebook, netbook, or desktop there is an easier way to fix your laptop in no time other than performing a reformat.

But before that I would like you to know that the method that I am going to mention in this article will erase all of your files unless you specify that it will not be deleted.

TL;DR

I did a factory reset. You can do a factory reset by pressing F11 repeatedly on your keyboard after you press the computer's power button. Or, go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery and then choose Reset this PC if you are still able to boot to Windows 10.

Just yesterday my older brother sent me two laptops owned by his eldest daughter for troubleshooting.

The ASUS laptop seems to have a failing hard drive and memory. The other one, a HP laptop, seems to be infected by malware.

At first, I tried to manually remove all the malware on the HP laptop. It’s hard to remove malware when you are unable to connect it to a network because of the possibility of infection.

The HP laptop exhibit multiple error message while I was working with it.

There's the Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) with a CRITICAL_STRUCTURE_CORRUPTION message.

Microsoft said the critical structure could be caused by incompatible software that are installed on the computer.

In the event viewer there's the BUG CHECK error.

Bug check error could also be caused by conflicting software or by a failing memory.

When the computer is booted normally, BSOD happens almost instantly after Windows has loaded but most of the time BSOD happens randomly.

When I checked the Task Manager, I saw that there are so many instances of Google Chrome in the background as well as another obscure app that I am not familiar with.

In the control panel there are obvious malware apps that are installed. I uninstalled them all and I deleted all the folders related to them and restarted the computer. Still the problem exists.

But when I booted to Safe Mode the problem is not happening at all. And that only means one thing. The problem is not the memory but the malware.

By that time my patience has run out (in manually removing the malware). So, I decided to just perform a factory reset.

Because of BSOD is ruining the laptop's ability to perform a reset inside Windows 10 I need to do it at boot-up.

TIP #1 - Do a reset inside Windows

Resetting your computer especially a laptop will save you time in installing and downloading drivers from the internet.

Basically, a reset will return your laptop to state where you first used it. In short, all the changes and files you have saved and changed on it will be erased.

You can access "Reset this PC" in Settings -> Update & Security -> Recovery and then choose Reset this PC if you are still able to boot to Windows 10

TIP #2 - Do a reset at boot-up

Or, you can access it at boot-up by pressing F11 repeatedly after you pressed the power button of your computer.

TIP #3 - Do a reset using your Windows DVD

Or, you can use an installation DVD to access the advanced startup option and then look for Reset this PC to reset your computer to its factory default.

After Reset this PC is started just wait for it to finish and you are good to go.

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I am an I.T. professional (Computer Engineer) working in a private company, a blogger, a father and a husband.