在以前的Windows版本中，可用于将(Windows)Windows还原到以前状态的唯一工具是系统还原(System Restore)和Windows 备份(Windows Backup)。即使它们是有用的工具，您也不能使用它们将Windows恢复到其初始、干净的状态。您必须手动重新安装操作系统(operating system)。这有点痛苦。Windows 8 引入了一项名为“还原”(Restore)的出色新功能。使用还原(Restore)向导，您可以轻松地将Windows 8还原到其默认的干净状态，就像您正在执行操作系统的干净重新安装一样(operating system). 让我们看看它是如何工作的。
如何在Windows 8中启动(Windows 8)还原过程(Restore Procedure)
要开始使用，您需要转到PC 设置(PC Settings)。访问(Access)超级按钮，选择“设置”("Settings")，然后单击或点击“更改电脑设置”。("Change PC settings.")从PC 设置(PC Settings)窗口中选择“常规” 。("General")
滚动浏览“常规(General)”部分中的选项以找到“删除所有内容并重新安装 Windows”。("Remove everything and reinstall Windows.")
在继续之前花点时间考虑一下这个动作。如果您尚未尝试刷新(Refresh)，您可能需要查看我们关于该过程的文章。这可以解决各种各样的系统问题，而不会花费您的数据。
如果您确定要继续进行Reset，请了解您的数据、应用程序和设置(apps and settings)将在此过程中被牺牲。备份您想要保留的任何内容，然后单击或点击“开始使用”("Get Started")以获取...好吧，您明白了。
你被告知接下来会发生什么。单击(Click)或点击“下一步”("Next")继续。
在开始之前，请(Make)确保您的 Windows 8 安装介质在您的光驱中，否则您将看到以下消息。如果您忘记了，只需在看到消息时弹出光盘，加载光盘时该过程将自动继续。
此时，您将获得如何进行的选项。请理解(Understand)，无论您做出何种选择，您的数据和程序都会丢失。您的选择是：
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只需删除我的文件(Just remove my files)- 此选项会删除您的用户配置文件和程序，然后恢复操作系统。您的系统文件将备份到 Windows.old 文件夹并且可以恢复。此选项花费的时间更少，但也不太安全，因为您的驱动器不会被格式化。
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完全清洁驱动器(Fully clean the drive)- 此选项格式化您的硬盘驱动器，然后完全重新安装操作系统。这需要更长的时间，但可以保证驱动器上的任何东西都将在您重新开始之前被根除。
如果您发现自己处于重置Windows 8的位置，您可能想要进行更安全的驱动器清洁(drive cleaning)。然而，决定权在你。
如何删除您的文件和程序使(Programs Leaving)您的系统文件可恢复(System Files Recoverable)
要擦除您的数据和程序并简单地恢复Windows 8的现有安装，请单击或点击(click or tap) “仅删除我的文件”。("Just remove my files.")通读快速警告，然后单击(caveat and click)或点击“重置”("Reset")以开始工作。
当您的计算机重新启动时，您将看到以下消息：“Press any key to boot from CD or DVD”。不要按任何键。(Do not press any keys.)如果您按下一个键，您只需引导至安装介质并中断恢复过程(restoration process)。
让Windows 8自行启动并继续您已经开始的过程。
您将获得一个进度表(progress meter)，让您在修复过程中保持清醒。我们发现，在每次试运行期间，恢复率都停留(recovery stuck)在 3% 的几分钟内。如果发生这种情况，请不要惊慌。稍等(Just)片刻，安装应该会继续进行。
重置完成后，您必须重新运行完整的Windows 8 设置过程(setup procedure)。如需帮助您完成此过程的指南，请查看这篇文章：如何在您的计算机上安装(Your Computer)Windows 8 RTM。
按照上述文章中的说明进行操作，直到您选择硬盘上的安装位置。(installation location)确保(Make)选择应重新安装 Windows 8 的分区（与之前安装它的分区相同），然后单击或点击(click or tap) “下一步”。("Next.")
如果您选择删除此分区并重新格式化它，那么您实际上只是在做Windows会为您做的事情，如果您在设置重置时选择了其他选项。
完成安装过程的其余部分并登录(installation procedure and log)到Windows。除了添加到系统驱动器(system drive)根目录的Windows.old文件夹外，您会发现一切都是全新的。
以免您认为我们丢失数据是错误的，请查看隐藏在Windows.old中的(Windows.old)Users目录，您会发现没有备份任何用户配置文件或数据。
除了最初由Windows添加的程序文件外，您还将看不到任何程序文件。
如何删除您的文件和程序并彻底擦除(Programs and Completely Wipe)您的驱动器
如果您并不真正关心维护系统文件的可恢复副本，并且您希望确保您的计算机在此过程之后是干净的，请在重置(Reset)过程中出现选项时选择“完全清洁驱动器”("Fully clean the drive")。
该过程将与上述过程几乎相同。您会注意到的一个小变化是“准备重置您的电脑”("Ready to reset your PC")屏幕上发布的警告中最后一句的更改。“这将需要几分钟”这一("This will take a few minutes")行已被删除。这样做的原因是完全擦除比以前的选项花费的时间要长得多。尽管如此，确保您的问题将被清除干净，让您更加安心，值得等待。
擦除和重置(wipe and reset)完成后，您必须先同意Windows 8 许可(License)条款，然后才能开始设置Windows 8。继续点击或点击“我接受...”("I accept...")，然后点击“接受”。("Accept.")安装将直接从用户帐户创建(user account creation)开始，您将无法选择安装位置(installation location)，因为您的驱动器将被擦除并使用Windows 8的默认设置重新分区。
完成并登录后，您会发现您的计算机与第 1 天时(Day 1)完全相同。
没有Windows.old，没有数据，没有程序 - 只是一个全新的Windows 8安装。
结论
如您所见，完全擦除系统并将其恢复到出厂默认状态(default condition)是一件简单的事情。虽然很简单，但不应该掉以轻心。如果您选择擦除数据并恢复操作系统(operating system)，您将没有机会单击撤消并将其全部恢复。即使知道这一点，有时最好还是重新开始，而Windows 8 比以前的(Windows)Windows版本更容易帮助您做到这一点。
你有没有硬着头皮擦你的驱动器？在下面的评论中分享(Share)您的故事。
How to Restore Windows 8 to Its Initial Clean State Using Reset
In preνious versions of Windows, the оnly tools available fоr restoring Windows to a previous statе werе System Restore and Windows Backup. Even though they are useful tools, you cannot use them to restore Windows to its initial, clean state. You have to perform a manual reinstallation of the operating system. And that is a bit of a pain. Windows 8 introduces a great new feature named Restore. With the Restore wizard, you can easily restore Windows 8 to its default clean state, as if you were performing a clean reinstallation of the operating system. Let's see how it works.
How to Initiate the Restore Procedure in Windows 8
To get started, you need to go to PC Settings. Access the charms, select "Settings" and click or tap "Change PC settings." Select "General" from the PC Settings window.
Scroll through the options in the General section to find "Remove everything and reinstall Windows."
Take a moment to consider this move before you continue. If you haven't tried a Refresh yet, you may want to take a look at our article on the process. This can resolve a large variety of system issues without costing you your data.
If you're sure that your want to go forward with a Reset, understand that your data, apps and settings will be sacrificed in the procedure. Back up anything you want to keep and then click or tap "Get Started" to get... well you get the idea.
You are informed about what will happen next. Click or tap "Next" to keep going.
Make sure your Windows 8 installation media is in your optical drive before starting or you'll see the message below. If you forget, just pop in the disc when you see the message and the procedure will continue automatically when the disc loads.
At this point you'll be given an option as to how to proceed. Understand that, regardless of your choice, your data and programs will be lost. The choices you have are:
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Just remove my files - this option deletes your user profiles and programs then restores the operating system. Your system files will be backed up to a Windows.old folder and will be recoverable. This option takes less time, but is also less secure as your drive will not be formatted.
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Fully clean the drive - this option formats your hard drive and then completely reinstalls the operating system. This takes longer, but guarantees that anything on the drive will be eradicated before you start again.
If you find yourself in the position to reset Windows 8, you'll likely want to go for the more secure drive cleaning. However, the decision is yours.
How to Remove your Files and Programs Leaving your System Files Recoverable
To wipe your data and programs and simply restore the existing installation of Windows 8, click or tap "Just remove my files." Read through the quick caveat and click or tap "Reset" to get the job started.
When your computer restarts you'll see the following message: "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD". Do not press any keys. If you press a key, you'll just boot to the installation media and interrupt the restoration process.
Let Windows 8 boot on its own and continue the process you've already started.
You'll be given a progress meter to keep you sane during the restoration. We found that the recovery stuck at 3% for a number of minutes during each of our trial runs. If this happens, don't panic. Just wait it out and the installation should progress after a while.
Once the reset is completed you'll have to run through the complete Windows 8 setup procedure over again. For a guide to help you through this process check out this article: How to Install Windows 8 RTM on Your Computer.
Follow the instructions in the article mentioned above until you get to the point of selecting an installation location on your hard disk. Make sure to select the partition where Windows 8 should be reinstalled ( the same partition where it was installed before) and click or tap "Next."
If you choose to delete this partition and reformat it, you're effectively just doing what Windows would have done for you if you had chosen the other option while setting up your reset.
Work through the rest of the installation procedure and log in to Windows. You'll find everything is fresh and new with the exception of a Windows.old folder added to the root of your system drive.
Lest you think we were wrong about losing your data, take a look at the Users directory buried in Windows.old, you'll see that no user profiles or data are backed up.
You'll also see no program files except those originally added by Windows.
How to Remove your Files and Programs and Completely Wipe your Drive
If you don't really care about maintaining a recoverable copy of your system files and you'd rather be sure that your computer is clean after this process, select "Fully clean the drive" when presented with the option during the Reset procedure.
The procedure will run almost identically to the one described above. One minor change you'll notice is the alteration of the last sentence in the warning posted in the "Ready to reset your PC" screen. The line "This will take a few minutes" has been removed. The reason for this is that a full wipe takes significantly longer than the previous option. Despite this fact, the added peace of mind you get from ensuring your problems will be wiped clean is worth the wait.
When the wipe and reset is completed you'll have to agree to the Windows 8 License terms before you can get started with setting up Windows 8. Go ahead and click or tap "I accept..." and then "Accept." The installation will pick up right from the user account creation, you won't be given any options for selecting an installation location as your drive will be wiped and repartitioned using Windows 8's defaults.
When you finish and log in, you'll find your computer is exactly the same as it was on Day 1.
No Windows.old, no data, no programs - just a clean installation of Windows 8.
Conclusion
As you can see, it's a simple matter to completely wipe your system and restore it to factory default condition. Though it's simple, it should not be undertaken lightly. If you choose to wipe your data and restore the operating system, you won't be given a chance to click undo and get it all back. Even knowing that, there are times when its better to just start fresh and Windows 8 helps you do that with more ease than previous versions of Windows did.
Have you ever had to bite the bullet and wipe your drive? Share your story in the comments below.
