A factory reset or master reset is a full restore of an electronic device to its factory settings. Such electronic devices include handheld computers such as PDAs and cellular phones. It entails deleting all information stored in the device. This is essentially the same as reformatting a hard drive. A factory reset may become necessary from time to time on a device which is no longer working. It should be used with caution, as it destroys all data stored in the unit. Many problems with a hand held electronic device such as freezing can be resolved by performing a factory reset or hard reset.
In Microsoft Windows, resetting to the factory default settings can be accomplished by reinstalling Windows. Many brands of computers have a factory reset setting that can be found in the start menu.