A few days ago we saw how to restore our PC when it started to offer lower performance than normal or when it would change its owner. We saw three methods to leave it almost like out of the box, three options that nevertheless may be the last step to take.
And is that to solve performance problems with some applications that have started to malfunction or give errors does not need to reach such extremes. To do this we are going to use the new Microsoft option for which we can work concisely with the affected application.
Before continuing to highlight a very important aspect: only some applications downloaded from the Microsoft Store are compatible with this method. If the app has been downloaded and installed in another way, we only have to throw away the method that we all know to solve faults. Uninstall (if possible with the uninstaller) and reinstall.
Steps to reset a Windows 10 app
To start the formatting process “of the application we access the” Settings “menu of Windows 10 by means of the gear wheel in the lower left area.
In the window that opens on the screen we should look for access to the “Applications” submenu. By clicking on it we will see how we access all the applications that we have installed and all the options they offer.
Among all the applications we choose the one that we want to “restore” and with the right mouse button we click to access “Advanced options” .
Once inside “Advanced options” we will see a slider that we must download in order to find the options that interest us, called “Finish”, “Repair” and “Restore” . It is about choosing the one that most interests us and for that we must know what each one consists of.
What Finish, Repair and Reset each do
With the first, with “Finish” , Windows will close the application but our data will not be deleted (account, user, password …). It is the softest option.
And if this method does not solve the problem we can go to “Repair” , a system by which Windows will analyze the application to detect possible failures and correct them and do so without modifying our data.
Finally, “Reset” is an option that indicates its purpose in the name. It will erase all the data and the application will be installed again from scratch.
At this point we remember what we said before; not all applications offer these options , so we have no choice but to try on the desired, one by one, to see if they are within the compatible.
Summary
This article explains how to fix a malfunctioning application in Windows 10 without a full reinstall, using an option available only for apps downloaded from the Microsoft Store. It covers finding the app’s advanced options through Settings, then choosing between Finish, which closes the app without deleting data, Repair, which fixes faults without changing data, and Reset, which erases all data and reinstalls it.
Questions this article raises
- Why is this reset option limited to Microsoft Store apps only?
- How do you tell whether Repair has actually fixed the underlying fault?
- What happens to saved settings specifically when using the Reset option?
