Reformatting guides
The places people most often get stuck when reformatting and reinstalling, laid out in order.
What to sort out before reformatting
Some things matter more than files. Two-factor authenticator apps and certificates cannot be recovered once they are gone.
6 min
Check BitLocker before you format
Modern Windows 11 locks the disk without asking. If you do not know where the recovery key is, D: will not open after the reformat.
7 min
Making a Windows install USB
Reformatting starts with an install USB. Which of the two tools to use, and which key boots from USB on your machine.
7 min
Reset vs clean install: which one to use
"Reset this PC" and a fresh install from USB leave different things behind. Slow PC, malware, handing it on, hardware swap — which one for each.
7 min
What to install first after reformatting
Drivers, antivirus, browser and the rest — the order that avoids problems.
7 min
Installing drivers after a reformat
Windows Update does most of it. The order for chipset, graphics and vendor utilities, and how to get out when there is no network driver.
7 min
Windows activation after a reformat
Genuine before means genuine after. What differs between branded PCs, retail keys and system-builder keys, and where to look when it will not activate.
6 min
What to install after a format
Only what you genuinely need again: browser, 7-Zip, VLC, Everything and three more. Plus the installs that used to be essential and no longer are.
8 min
Windows settings to change after a reformat
The defaults that cause trouble later — from showing file extensions to turning System Restore on.
6 min
Keyboard, language and input settings after a reformat
Wrong symbols, an extra layout cutting in, dates in the wrong order. Layout, removing extra keyboards, adding CJK input, region and time zone — five minutes.
5 min
Setting up backup after a reformat: the OneDrive folder-backup trap
What the OneDrive folder backup Windows turns on unasked actually does, and how to build a backup that survives the PC disappearing entirely.
7 min
Do you need an antivirus after a reformat?
Defender, built into Windows, is enough for most people. When you need more, and when adding one makes things worse.
6 min
Reinstalling Office after a reformat
Where Microsoft 365, a perpetual licence and the Office that came with the PC are restored from. The cases that need a key typed in are few and specific.
6 min
Getting your games back after a reformat
Bringing Steam, Epic and Battle.net games back without downloading them again, and where the save files really are. One folder is all it takes.
6 min
How to restore and recover after a format
The order to put accounts, certificates and files back — and how to tell whether anything is recoverable if you formatted without a backup.
8 min
How to run the installer file
Downloading and running the .bat file, and getting past the browser and Windows warnings along the way.
4 min
Which programs are safe to use on a work PC
Some programs labelled "free" are licensed at a company. Which ones catch people out, and what to use instead.
5 min
Choosing a browser: Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Brave, Vivaldi
Four share an engine. The differences are the sync account, memory, ad blocking and privacy — and which suits a low-spec or work PC.
7 min
Choosing an archiver: 7-Zip, Bandizip, WinRAR and the rest
All open ZIP, 7Z and RAR. The differences are licensing at work, garbled file names, and what the installer adds. When Windows 11 alone is enough.
6 min
Choosing a PDF program: reading, annotating, editing, converting
Edge for reading, Acrobat for government forms, PDF24 for merging and converting. It splits by what you do, licensing at work included.
6 min
Where to start
If you have not reformatted yet, start with what to sort out beforehand and the BitLocker check — they cover the things that cannot be recovered. Unsure whether a reset is enough or you need a full clean install? The reset-vs-clean-install piece settles that. If the reformat is done, read the install order, then drivers, activation and the settings guide. If you are at the point of putting your own data back, skip to restoring and recovering — and read that one first if you formatted without a backup. Lots of games? The games guide shows how to avoid downloading them again. Setting up a machine for work? Read the licensing piece first. Not sure which program to pick? There are three comparison pieces — browsers, archivers and PDF programs.
Once the reformat is done
Pick the programs you used and we build the installer files. No hunting through vendor websites one by one.
Choose programs