We wipe every laptop before it is resold, so your data does not leave our building on it either way. You should still wipe it yourself first, because it is your data and you should be the one who knows it is gone.
Doing it properly is mostly about order. Back up first, release the laptop from your accounts second, and reset it last. Reset first and you can end up with a BitLocker screen asking for a key nobody has. Using a MacBook instead? The MacBook guide is separate, because the process is completely different.
Step 1: Back up, and check the backup opens
Copy everything you want to keep to an external drive or a cloud service such as OneDrive or Google Drive. Do not forget the places people miss: the Downloads folder, the desktop, browser bookmarks and saved passwords, and any files kept inside an app rather than in Documents.
Then open a few files from the backup on another device. A backup you have not checked is a hope, and once the reset has run there is no undo.
Step 2: Find your BitLocker recovery key
Many Windows laptops encrypt their drive automatically, using BitLocker on Pro editions or Device encryption on Home editions. That is good for security, and it can cause a problem during a reset, when Windows may ask for the recovery key before it continues.
Find the key before you start. If you sign in with a Microsoft account, it is usually stored at account.microsoft.com/devices/recoverykey. On a work laptop, IT will have it. Alternatively, switch encryption off before resetting.
- Open Settings and choose Privacy & security.
- Choose Device encryption, or search for Manage BitLocker in the Start menu on a Pro edition.
- Check whether encryption is on. If it is, either confirm you can see the recovery key in your Microsoft account, or turn encryption off and wait for decryption to finish.
Step 3: Sign out of your Microsoft account and your software
Turn off Find my device in Settings, under Privacy & security. Then sign in to account.microsoft.com/devices on another device, find this laptop and remove it, so it no longer shows in your account.
Sign out of everything else that remembers you: your browsers, OneDrive, Microsoft 365, Steam, Adobe and any other service with a limited number of device activations. Deactivating licences now saves you emailing support later.
Step 4: Reset Windows 11 with Remove everything
Windows 11 has a full reset built in, and with the right options it cleans the drive so files cannot easily be recovered. Plug the laptop in before you start, because a clean reset can take an hour or more.
- Open Settings, choose System, then Recovery.
- Beside Reset this PC, choose Reset PC.
- Choose Remove everything.
- Choose Cloud download or Local reinstall. Either works. Cloud download is useful if Windows has been misbehaving.
- On the Additional settings screen, choose Change settings.
- Switch Clean data to Yes. This is the option that cleans the drive rather than only deleting files, and it is the one people skip.
- Choose Confirm, then Next, then Reset, and leave the laptop plugged in until it shows the setup screen.
- When it reaches the first setup screen asking for your region, switch it off. Do not sign in again.
Still on Windows 10?
The reset is the same idea in a different place. If your laptop can run Windows 11 it is worth knowing that buyers prefer it, but you do not need to upgrade before selling.
- Open Settings and choose Update & Security, then Recovery.
- Under Reset this PC, choose Get started.
- Choose Remove everything.
- Choose Change settings and switch Clean data on, or on older versions choose Remove files and clean the drive.
- Choose Reset, leave it plugged in, and switch it off at the first setup screen.
Business laptops: BIOS passwords and company management
ThinkPads, EliteBooks and Latitudes often have a BIOS or supervisor password set by the company that owned them. Remove it in the BIOS setup screen, or tell us the password, because a laptop we cannot get into cannot be tested.
If the laptop came from work, check that IT has released it from Microsoft Intune and Windows Autopilot. An enrolled laptop rebuilds itself into the company setup after a reset, and we cannot buy a laptop that a company still owns or manages.
The last few things
Peel off any stickers with personal details, take out any SD card or USB dongle, and find the original charger, which is worth including.
- Note the processor generation and battery health before you reset, for the calculator
- Pack the charger with the laptop
- Leave it switched off at the setup screen, not signed in
The short version
Back up and check the backup, find your BitLocker recovery key or switch encryption off, remove the laptop from your Microsoft account, then reset with Remove everything and Clean data switched on. On a work laptop, make sure IT has released it from Intune and Autopilot and removed the BIOS password. Do it in that order and the laptop arrives ready to test.