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Philipess's avatar
Philipess
Iron Contributor
Jul 10, 2026

Does factory reset remove everything from PC on Windows 11?

I plan to trade in my PC and want to know if factory reset removes everything from my Windows 11 PC. Some people says the factory reset is not safe enough so I am a bit worried about this. P.S. How ...
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AAbner's avatar
AAbner
Iron Contributor
Jul 10, 2026

BIOS/UEFI Secure Erase is a firmware-level drive wiping tool that answers Does factory reset delete everything on laptop windows 11 by delivering far more thorough hardware sanitization than Windows built-in resets, fully erasing all SSD/NVMe system files, personal data and partitions with irreversible permanent data removal and zero recoverable residual traces.

Let me tell you: Does factory reset delete everything on Windows 11 laptop?

Step 1: Restart your computer and repeatedly press the Del, F2, or F10 key during startup to enter the BIOS/UEFI.

Step 2: In the Advanced menu, look for an option labeled Secure Erase, Disk Wipe, or SSD Secure Erase.

Step 3:

  • ASUS: Advanced → NVMe Configuration → Secure Erase
  • GIGABYTE: Peripherals → NVMe Configuration → Secure Erase
  • MSI: Setup → Advanced → Secure Erase+

Step 4: Select the target storage drive from the list.

Step 5: Confirm and run the secure erase process, which takes approximately 10 seconds.

Once complete, exit the BIOS; all data on the selected drive will be permanently deleted.

The firmware secure erase feature completely wipes all data from a solid-state drive, providing better protection than the standard Windows 11 factory reset—which may leave behind recoverable residual files. However, this feature is only available for solid-state drives, immediately destroys all stored information, and cannot be undone.

Advantages

  • Hardware-level erasure, which is more thorough than a Windows factory reset
  • Extremely fast—it takes only about 10 seconds to completely erase an NVMe SSD
  • No need for an additional bootable USB drive or third-party erasure software
  • Thoroughly removes all traces of residual data that could still be recovered after a standard reset

Disadvantages

  • Compatible only with SSDs and NVMe drives; does not support mechanical hard drives
  • Some devices have a BIOS password lock that prevents access to the secure erase option
  • The operation is completely irreversible; files cannot be recovered once executed
  • A power outage during the process may result in SSD damage