Windows 7: If it is possible to revert windows 7 back to the first time setup

i was wondering if it is possible to revert windows 7 back to the first time setup i know this was possible on xp (without loosing installed programs) can this be done on windows 7

Hi,

Are you referring to a factory recovery from an OEM installation? If so, then YES, you can do that from the recovery partition, or by running the factory recovery disks, but......it will not retain any installed software or data.

Regards,
Golden

If Windows 7 came preinstalled and you wish to run Factory Recovery then post back the computer maker and we will give you the steps. You can also find them online on the maker's Support Downloads webpage for your model, or by googling how to run Recovery for your brand PC.

If you have retail Windows 7 then unless you have a System Restore point remaining from the time of setup, you needed to save a Windows 7 backup image to restore at times like these: Backup Complete Computer - Create an Image Backup.

If you have neither option then if you'll post back the problems you're experiencing we might be able to help you resolve them, or you can go ahead and back up your data to Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 - the steps are the same for retail.

The above ways are more proper, but could take longer and may cause issues with keeping the programs. You could also try syspreping the machine. That would delete all local profiles and documents but still retain your programs. That would probably be the quickest and easiest way. I dont recommend doing that more then once though.

Just use system restore, just select the first restore point