Windows 10: Microsoft Details Workaround For 'Reset This PC' Failures In 2004 Update

Microsoft has offered users of Windows 10 version 2004 a workaround for the 'Reset This PC' problem that stops them using the feature. 

Windows 10 Reset This PC feature is designed to help user reset the PC if it isn't running well. As of Windows 10 version 2004, the feature offers users the option of downloading setup files from the cloud instead of using the local installation files. 

It also supports reinstalling Windows using local files, as it has since it was introduced in Windows 8. But on PCs with a fast internet connection, the cloud download option should make the reset process quicker and cleaner.

However, Microsoft confused Windows 10 2004 users after it quietly moved the Fresh Start option for installing a clean version of Windows 10 from the Settings app. Instead, as Ghacks reported at the time, on Windows 10 version 2004 and newer, Fresh start functionality was moved to Reset This PC in Settings.

But as spotted by BleepingComputer, Microsoft has just acknowledged in a new support note that the feature fails to do its job on "certain hardware configurations" running Windows 10 version 2004. Microsoft doesn't explain why the problem only affects this version of Windows 10.  

But on affected systems, after attempting to use Reset This PC, it produces the error message: "There was a problem when resetting your PC. No changes were made."

Microsoft recommends that users who are experiencing this problem open an elevated prompt by clicking Start and typing the Command Prompt or cmd in the Search box, then right-clicking Command Prompt, and then clicking 'Run as administrator'. 

After that, users should type the command 'dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth' and then press Enter. 

DISM refers to Deployment Image Servicing and Management, a command-line tool that is used to mount and service Windows images before deployment. 

Then users need to reboot the system, and from there can attempt to use Reset this PC again. 

ZDNet's Ed Bott has a detailed rundown of the steps users should take when using the Rest this PC feature when doing a clean install of the operating system.