People often keep their work laptops or buy them from the company once they leave. While this gets you a computer for your personal use or work, you must first know how to reset the company laptop for personal use.
This is because company computers are usually bloated with applications that you will no longer need for personal use, some being proprietary software. Also, they contain security features installed to keep company data protected.
The security protections make installing third-party applications impossible, while the unnecessary applications take up space.
Read on to learn how to convert a company laptop for personal use.
How To Reset Company Laptop For Personal Use
Your laptop was most likely deployed by your company using a tool such as SCCM which automated the installing of the operating system, applications and also locking the operating system down so you don’t have full access to make the changes you need.
The easiest and fastest way to convert a company laptop into a personal one is by deleting every work-related file and turning the computer into factory settings. This removes all the work applications. Alternatively, disable the laptop’s security settings if you wish to retain some files or applications, thus allowing flash drives and third-party software to work.
8 Steps For Resetting A Company Laptop Into A Personal Laptop
Follow the steps below to reset a company laptop into a personal laptop.
1. Click Settings on the windows icon.
2. Select Update and Security.
Alternatively, get to where you need faster by typing reset on the search bar and then choosing Reset this PC.
3. On the Update and Security menu, choose Recovery, then the Get Started button.
4. clicking get started presents two options:
- Keep my files.
- Remove everything.
Before selecting any option, you must understand what they mean. The first option removes all the applications while keeping your personal files, such as document files, images, and videos. The second option removes everything, including your personal files.
It would be better to choose “remove everything”. This is because work laptops usually have too many files and applications that you will not need taking too much space and slowing down the laptop.
5. The following options for removing files will appear after choosing Remove Everything.
- Only the drive where Windows is installed.
- All drives.
The first choice only cleans the C-drive, while the second cleans everything, including your hard drive. The choice is ultimately yours.
6. Once you select your choice, you’ll see the following:
Do you want to clean the drives too?
- Just remove my files.
- Remove files and clean the drive.
Choosing the first option means the files are removed without cleaning the C drive. On the other hand, the second option cleans the C drive.
7. click next
8. click reset
Note
The reset process may take a while, with the laptop’s reset duration varying based on its condition. You must be patient and allow the process to take its course but make sure the laptop stays on throughout the entire process. This means ensuring it does not run out of charge.
Once the reset is complete, the laptop will restart then the windows set-up will commence. This will take some time, so allow the computer to do so as well without interruption. Once that is finished, choose your region (country).
After that, you will need to name your PC and create a strong password.
How To Customize A Company Laptop for Personal Use
A company laptop is usually configured for business use, so if you are going to use it for personal use, then you must make some changes to make it more suitable. Below are some of the things you can do to customize it
1. Configure the Settings
Check the various laptop settings, then tweak them to fit your preferences and needs. These include the keyboard layout, background, screen resolution, themes, time zone, and language.
Adjusting the settings makes the laptop more suited to you, so put a background photo that you like, select your desired theme, and add file and program shortcuts. You can also add widgets or if the OS support them.
2. Install the Software You Need
Install all the applications you need, whether for play or work, before making other changes.
3. Set Up All Your Accounts
Set up your accounts for social media, email, and other services you intend to access through your laptop. Use strong, secure passwords and apply two-factor authentication if possible to prevent unscrupulous people from accessing your accounts.
4. Import Your Files and Data
Transfer your files and data from your old personal laptop to make sure you have everything you need on the new laptop.
Final Remarks
Resetting a company laptop for personal use is pretty straightforward; you just need to follow the steps accordingly, and the computer will do the huge junk of the work. However, your data should be backed up beforehand, exercise patience, and ensure the laptop stays on. In addition, remove any stored company programs or data and create a new password and user account.