Does Restoring a Computer to the Factory Settings Wipe the Memory?

by Melly Parker , studioD

When you factory restore a computer, you should expect a computer that functions like new – as long as none of the hardware is damaged. You won't have any access to old files and programs. While, for all intents and purposes, the memory is deleted, the old information may still be accessed by skilled professionals.


When you delete a file from your computer, that information isn't really gone. While it can no longer be directly accessed by your file system, it stays on the computer until the old data is overwritten by new data. For this reason, the government and many businesses employ sanitation standards for old computer equipment that is being discarded – hard drives must be erased completely with more than a simple system restore.

Factory Settings

Restoring a computer to factory settings makes the computer as it was when you purchased it. You'll have to run setup, reconnect to wireless networks and install all the programs that were previously on the computer. According to HP, a hard computer reset can restore the connection between the hardware and the BIOS, fixing many computer issues.


In order to return a computer to factory settings, all of your documents, pictures, videos and other data must be removed from the computer. So, in effect, the memory is wiped clean. If you're just trying to reset the computer so that you can use it as if it were new, a factory restore should be sufficient. If you need to completely remove information so it can never be recovered, you may need to use a data removal program.


If you're planning to sell the computer and want to be sure that absolutely nothing you've done on the computer can be restored, you will have to use a program designed to perform a full memory wipe. Zero fill programs, though they don't meet government sanitation standards, do keep most data from being recovered. Secure wiping, which in most cases does fulfill sanitation standards, overwrites existing data with three levels of overwriting. Degaussing is the only way to completely erase data forever, but it destroys the hard drive in the process.

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