John
If you have lost your Windows password and cannot sign in, your PC has recently started behaving obnoxiously, or you are experiencing some performance issues, you may want to know how to factory reset the Asus laptop without a password.
In the following sections, you will learn some common methods to get the job done with the least effort. In addition, you will also learn how to reset your Windows password if your computer doesn’t require a factory reset and you only want to regain its access after losing your login credentials.
Before You Begin
Most methods explained here require access to the boot options menu/window. While many Asus laptops support the ‘Esc’ or ‘F8’ key for the purpose, you may need to use a different one (or a combination of keys) depending on the model you have.
Method 1: Factory Reset Asus Laptop without a Password from the Login Screen
Asus or no Asus, to factory reset your laptop running a Windows operating system from the login screen without a password, you must first reboot your PC to the ‘Advanced options’ screen and then follow the on-screen instructions from there. The process is explained below:
Step 1: Get to the Login Screen
Power on your Asus laptop, and wait while it boots to the login screen and prompts for your password or PIN.
Step 2: Restart Windows to the Advanced boot Screen
Click the Power button from the bottom-right corner. Press and hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard, click Restart from the list and click Restart anyway.
Release the SHIFT key when the reboot process begins, and wait while your laptop restarts and the Advanced options screen appears.
Step 3: Choose a Reset Type
Click Troubleshoot on the Choose an option screen and click Reset this PC on the Troubleshoot window.
On the Reset this PC screen, click Remove everything to reset your Asus laptop and remove all the apps, Windows configurations, and files.
Note: If you knew the password, clicking Keep my files would have been a safer option, as the reset process is quick and doesn’t remove your files and data from the PC.
Step 4: Pick the Source of Installation Files and Reset your Asus Laptop
Click Cloud download to allow the reset process to download Windows installation files from the Microsoft server with all the latest updates. Click Local reinstall to use local files for reinstallation and then install the updates later.
Click Reset on the next screen and wait while your Asus laptop resets to factory defaults without using the password.
Method 2: Reset Asus Laptop without Password from Logging In
This method requires you to follow a three-step process. While in the first and second steps, you will create a bootable password reset disk using an efficient third-party tool called PassFab 4WinKey and reset your Asus laptop’s password. In the third step, you will reset Windows on your Asus laptop.
You can learn how to reset an Asus laptop without a password using both these steps by following the instructions explained below:
Step 1: Create a Password Reset Disk
Note: This step requires a working Windows PC and a blank USB or CD/DVD drive.
- Grab a working Windows PC and use your favorite web browser to download PassFab 4WinKey
- Install the program using the regular installation method
- Connect the USB drive to the PC or insert the blank writable CD/DVD into the optical drive
- Launch PassFab 4WinKey
- Click Start Now on the first screen
- Wait while the tool downloads the ISO file to your PC
- On the Make a boot disk window, click the USB or CD/DVD tile according to your blank media
- Click Start burning from the bottom-right
- Click Next on the confirmation box
- Wait while PassFab 4WinKey burns the ISO file to your USB/CD/DVD
- After the process, use the information on the Burn successfully screen to learn how to access your PC’s BIOS. Alternatively, close the wizard if you know the method.
- Disconnect the drive from your PC
Step 2: Reset Windows Password on an Asus Laptop
- Connect the USB drive or insert the CD/DVD into the optical drive of the target Asus laptop
- Restart the computer
- During the restart, press the Esc key (or F8 on some models) on your Asus laptop and follow the on-screen instructions to boot the computer from the USB or CD/DVD drive
- Once your PC boots, follow the procedure as instructed on the screen to unlock Asus Laptop
- Next, restart your PC and use the new password to log in
Step 3: Reset Your Asus Laptop
- Once Windows allows you to access the PC, click Start
- Go to Settings
- Click to select System from the navigation bar on the left
- Click Recovery from the right pane
- Click Reset PC from the Reset this PC tile under the Recovery options section in the right pane of the next window
- Click Keep my files or Remove everything on the Choose an option screen
Note: The steps after this are similar to those in Method 1.
Method 3: Reset Asus Laptop to Factory Settings without a Password Using the Recovery Partition
A recovery partition consists of a raw system image. When you reset your Asus laptop using this volume, it erases everything on your hard drive or SSD (including your files) and restores Windows to the factory settings, i.e., as it was when you first bought it.
To learn how to reset an Asus laptop to factory settings without a password through the recovery partition, you need bootable media.
If you know the password, you may require a bootable USB drive or optical disc. However, because the situation is otherwise here, you need to boot your PC externally, which is only possible through a bootable disc or drive.
Note: If you don’t have a bootable drive, you can conduct a quick online search and learn how to create one, as explaining that process is beyond the scope of this piece.
Once you have a bootable CD/DVD or a USB drive, you can follow the instructions given below to see how to factory reset an Asus laptop without a password:
Step 1: Boot Your PC Externally
Power off your computer. Insert or connect the bootable drive to your PC, power it back on, and press the Esc or F8 key to get to the boot options screen. On this screen, choose the drive/disc that contains your booting files and press Enter to boot your PC externally.
Step 2: Get to the Advanced Options Screen
Choose your region and language preferences from the first screen that appears and click Next to continue.
On the next window, click Repair my computer from the bottom-left corner to get to the Advanced options screen.
Step 3: Factory Reset Your Asus Laptop without Password
On the Choose an option window, go to Troubleshoot > Advanced options, and click System Image Recovery.
Note: If the System Image Recovery tile is not visible, click See more recovery options from the lower section of the Advanced options screen and then click the said tile on the next window.
On the next screen, click to select the tile representing your current operating system. Windows 11 for this example.
When the Re-image your computer wizard initializes, choose the Use the latest available system image(recommended) radio button, ensure that its fields are populated with the relevant information (which means that your PC has successfully detected the recovery image), and click Next.
Follow the on-screen instructions from there to factory reset your Asus laptop from the recovery partition.
Method 4: Reinstall Windows on an Asus Laptop
For this method, you need a bootable installation media to boot your PC and install Windows from scratch. This process is technically called ‘Clean Install’ or ‘Fresh Install’. Although this removes everything on your PC, including your files, your computer becomes as fresh as new.
However, you must use this method only as a last resort, i.e., when all the above troubleshooting solutions fail to fix the issue.
The process to install Windows on your Asus laptop is explained below:
Step 1: Obtain/Create a Bootable Media
Note: You will need a different, working computer to complete this step.
Use your favorite web browser to get to the https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 URL. Follow the instructions on the Microsoft official download page to create your preferred installation media type.
Step 2: Boot Your Target Asus Laptop with the Bootable Media
Power off your computer. Connect the bootable media to your PC, press the Power button to turn on your Asus laptop, and press the Esc or F8 key until you see the boot options.
Choose the bootable media you connected and press Enter to boot the computer through the disc/drive.
Step 3: Install Windows on Your Asus Laptop
On the first screen, choose your language and regional preferences, and click Next.
On the next window, click Install now and follow the on-screen instructions from there to install a fresh instance of Windows on your Asus laptop.
FAQs About Asus Laptop Resetting
Can I use the same method to reset Windows without a password on all computers?
While resetting the operating system remains identical for all PCs, your computer may accept a different key or combination of keys to restart to the boot options screen, where you can choose a media to boot.
What is the difference between the ‘Keep all files’ and ‘Remove everything’ options while factory resetting Asus laptop?
When you choose ‘Keep all files’, the reset process removes all third-party apps you installed manually and reverts all Windows and default apps settings and configurations to factory defaults. However, it doesn’t remove your personal data from the PC; you can access all your files post-completion.
On the other hand, if you click ‘Remove everything’, all your files are erased, all the third-party apps are removed, and all settings and configurations of Windows and default Windows apps are restored to factory defaults.
What if I cannot reset the password and can’t reset Asus laptop to factory settings either?
If this happens, as a last resort, you can obtain a Windows installation media and use it to install the operating system from scratch.
Conclusion
While you can easily learn how to reset an Asus laptop to factory settings without a password, it would be wise to create a password reset disk with the help of an efficient tool like PassFab 4WinKey and use it to reset the password. This could be useful if your PC works fine, but you can’t access it without the correct login credentials. Nevertheless, if you still want to try and see how to factory reset an Asus laptop without a password, you can follow any of the first three methods explained above to get the job done.
