I want to Reset my PC but keep my files & settings, how do I do it?

I understand how stressful and frustrating this experience has been, especially after you’ve had successful resets on your Windows 10 PC.

The key difference could be due to how Windows 11 handles resetting compared to Windows 10. In Windows 11, even though the "Keep my files" option is chosen, some apps and settings may still be affected, especially if any issues occur during the process. The slowness and interruptions you experienced might indicate the reset wasn’t as smooth as it should have been, which can lead to partial loss of settings like bookmarks and saved passwords.

If the bookmark manager shortcut didn’t work in Firefox, try this:

Open Firefox.

Click on the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines) at the top right.

Click Bookmarks → Manage Bookmarks to access the bookmarks manager.

If it's still not possible, lets check manually.

Locate Your Old Profile Folder:

Press Windows + R, type %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles, and press Enter.

Check if there are multiple folders here. Each folder corresponds to a different profile.

If you find an old profile, you can copy it to a backup folder.

Restore the Profile:

Open Firefox.

Type about into the address bar and press Enter.

You’ll see a list of profiles. You can try creating a new profile and linking it to the old profile folder (the one you found in %APPDATA%\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles).

For Thunderbird:

Locate Thunderbird Profile Folder:

Press Windows + R, type %APPDATA%\Thunderbird\Profiles, and press Enter.

Look for folders in this location that may be your old profile.

Restore the Profile:

Open Thunderbird.

Go to Help → More Troubleshooting Information → Profile Folder → Open Folder.

Copy and paste the old profile folder contents (if you found it) into this new profile folder.

Please let me know if this works for you. I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

Why did it go wrong this time when it worked perfectly the last couple of times I used it for my own PC? It was very slow at times and showed a screen that indicated it was finished. A couple of times I was about to log in when it carried on resetting or installing.

I rely on emails in Thunderbird reminding me which account to use and going straight to it from emails for accounts like Firefox and yours. I tried looking for the Firefox and Thunderbird old profiles but I couldn't find them.

The Credential Manager had a few account names and hidden passwords. One is Microsoft and the other is Acer. I remembered the MS account as it is my login but would have had to try hard for the Acer one- at least until I get Thunderbird up and running or check out the syncing.

Ctrl + Shift + B does nothing.

Over time I can set up most of the bookmarks I need but it's the passwords and emails for various accounts that will cause me the most trouble and anxiety.

I'm really sorry to hear about the trouble you're experiencing after the reset.

If you had Firefox Sync, Edge Sync, or Chrome Sync enabled before the reset, your passwords, bookmarks, and settings may be saved in the cloud. You just need to sign back into your account:

Open Firefox, Edge, or Chrome.

Sign in using the same account you were using before the reset (for Firefox, it would be your Firefox Account, and for Edge/Chrome, it’s your Microsoft/Google Account).

Your data should sync back automatically if it was stored in the cloud.

In Windows Credential Manager:

Windows might have stored some passwords locally. You can check the Windows Credential Manager to see if any saved passwords for sites or services can be retrieved:

Press Windows + S and type Credential Manager.

Open it and go to Web Credentials or Windows Credentials to see if any passwords are saved there.

If you didn’t use Firefox Sync, Firefox still makes regular backups of your bookmarks locally:

Press Ctrl + Shift + B to open the Bookmarks Manager.

Click on Import and Backup, then Restore. You may see backups from previous dates and can restore them.

Edge and Chrome:

As with passwords, signing into your account in Edge or Chrome might restore bookmarks if you had sync enabled.

Please let me know if this works for you. I'll do my best to respond as soon as possible.

I'm afraid it was a complete disaster. All my settings, passwords. bookmarks have gone and it will take forever to set the ones I want again. I save all passwords so I don't have to remember them. Firefox and Edge .are on the taskbar but they are empty of everything that existed before the Reset. Chrome or Thunderbird are not there yet they were also on the Taskbar before.

The only good news is that my files all seem to be in File Explorer. I copied all of them by each folder to a thumb drive in the past day because I feared losing them. I had to do it that way as I received no proper help to backup to a portable drive from this site. Needless to say, I'm no longer a Windows fan, certainly not a Windows 11 fan. Reset worked perfectly for me in Windows 10 a couple of times and kept my old PC going for at least a further year.

Is there any way of retrieving my passwords.