How to fix
“There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made” error
on Windows

Hello. I had some major problems with my sound on Windows, and I just couldn't' get it fixed, so I decided to do a PC reset. However, I can't get it completed - I receive an error "There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made." Please, could you help me with this?

System Restore is a built-in Windows recovery feature that can be used to revert certain, relatively recent changes that were made to the PC, essentially making it an easy way to roll back any changes that might have broken Windows. The tool is extremely useful and is commonly used to tackle problems such as Blue Screen errors, driver issues, registry failures, and much more.

While troubleshooting issues, users can come across other errors, crashes, or other system failures. This can significantly increase the time needed to fix the problem. In this case, we are talking about the System Restore error "There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made."

Reset your PC is a new feature in Windows 10 which allows users to reset their device without losing personal files and settings. This ensures that the user experience remains consistent, even if they install many apps or change certain system settings.

The error usually occurs when you perform Reset your PC from Settings > Update & Security > Recovery. Most commonly, the reset fails due to the fact that a previous attempt of reset didn't go correctly and wasn't able to enable System Protection or create a restore point before initiating the Reset your PC process.

While Microsoft claims that the issue only occurs on Windows 10 built 2004 versions,[ref en-1] users of other operating system versions might experience the issue as well. Below we will provide several ways that should help you fix the "There was a problem resetting your PC. No changes were made" error and revert your computer's state back in time, finally resolving the original problem.

If you are dealing with many problems at once, we highly recommend you employ a PC repair application [d1] to deal with those. It goes without saying that certain computer problems might be a pain to solve manually, hence leaving the job for an automatic repair solution is a good way to avoid the tedious process of problem-solving.

1. Repair system file corruption

Corrupted system files are usually the main reason for the System Restore error to occur. Thus, let's run some commands via Command Prompt:

• Type cmd in Windows search
• Right-click on Command Prompt and select Run as administrator
• If User Account Control shows up, click Yes
• As the new window shows up, paste the following command:
  sfc /scannow

  

• Press Enter and wait for the process to be completed
• If SFC fixed corrupted files, restart your PC
• If the scan returned an error, use the following command:
  dism /online /cleanup-image /restorehealth
• Restart your PC and try using System Restore once again.

2. Re-enable ReAgent.exe

Disabling and enabling the process used by Windows Recovery might help you resolve the issue:

• Open Command Prompt as administrator as explained above
• Copy and paste the following command, pressing Enter after:
  reagentc / disable
• Follow up with the following command:
  reagentc / enable

  

3. Rename registry files

• Open Command Prompt as administrator
• Copy and paste the following commands (don't forget to press Enter after each!):
  cd %windir%\\system32\\config
  ren system system.001
  ren software software.001
• Restart your computer.

 4. Use System Restore

If you have System Restore points made previously, you can try using the feature instead of the PC reset:

• Type rstrui.exe in Windows search and hit Enter
• Here, select Choose a different restore point (if available) and click Next
• Tick Show more restore points (if available)
• Pick a point in time when the original problem did not exist
• Click Next and Finish.

  

If you can't boot into Windows...

Some users might get stuck in a reboot loop - it is a common problem, although might be very problematic. Here are a few things that you should try:

5. Run Startup Repair

• Restart Windows - use Power or Reset button
• Once the system starts loading, interrupt the process by pressing and holding Power button for several seconds - do this two more times and you should enter Windows Recovery Environment.
• From here, select Troubleshoot > Advanced Options and click Startup Repair

  

• Wait for the process to complete and see if that helped you load into Windows.

6. Run Command Prompt commands

You can use Command Prompt even if you can't boot into Windows. Here's how:

• Repeat the above steps to enter Windows Recovery Environment
• Select Troubleshoot > Advanced options > Command Prompt

  

• This should launch Command Prompt window
• From here, execute all the commands mentioned in the first half of the article (methods 1,2,3)

7. Reinstall Windows

If none of the above solutions helped, you should reinstall Windows. For that, you will have to use a USB stick of at least 8GB (keep in mind the contents will be erased when creating the ISO)[ref en-2] and another (working) computer to create an installation media file:

• Visit the official Microsoft website and download Windows 10 installation media
• Launch the installer and agree to terms
• Select Create installation media (USB flash drive, DVD or ISO file) for another PC

  

• Pick USB flash drive while having the USB connected to your PC
• Select UEFI partition when prompted
• With the system image created, now you need to make sure that the boot priority is correct so you could boot from the USB
• Launch the corrupted Windows system and keep pressing Del, Esc, F12, F10, or another button (refer to your motherboard or laptop manufacturer for more details on how to access BIOS)[ref en-3]
• Once in BIOS, look for Bootup tab or section
• Set the boot priority to USB/removable drive and exit BIOS

  

• Reboot the system and the setup should start
• Within the setup, make sure you select the Keep my files option to avoid losing your personal files
• It is recommended to removing all the applications, however, as they might be the cause why you have problems in the first place.

Additional read:

• How to launch System Restore via Command Prompt?
• How to reinstall Windows without losing files?
• How to reset Windows to factory settings?
• How to optimize your Windows registry?