<s>
A	O
factory	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
hard	B-Operating_System
reset	I-Operating_System
or	O
master	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
,	O
is	O
a	O
software	O
restore	O
of	O
an	O
electronic	O
device	O
to	O
its	O
original	O
system	O
state	O
by	O
erasing	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
,	O
settings	O
,	O
and	O
applications	O
that	O
were	O
previously	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
a	O
factory	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
entails	O
deleting	O
all	O
information	O
stored	O
in	O
the	O
device	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
essentially	O
the	O
same	O
concept	O
as	O
reformatting	B-Application
a	O
hard	B-Application
drive	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	B-General_Concept
resets	I-General_Concept
can	O
fix	O
many	O
chronic	O
performance	O
issues	O
(	O
i.e.	O
</s>
<s>
freezing	O
)	O
,	O
but	O
it	O
does	O
not	O
remove	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	B-General_Concept
resets	I-General_Concept
may	O
also	O
be	O
used	O
to	O
prepare	O
a	O
device	O
for	O
sale	O
,	O
refurbishing	O
,	O
destruction	O
,	O
donation	O
or	O
other	O
transfers	O
of	O
ownership	O
by	O
removing	O
personal	O
data	O
and	O
configurations	O
associated	O
with	O
the	O
previous	O
owner	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Factory	B-General_Concept
resets	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
achieved	O
in	O
a	O
variety	O
of	O
ways	O
depending	O
on	O
the	O
electronic	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
factory	B-General_Concept
resets	I-General_Concept
will	O
restore	O
the	O
computer	O
to	O
the	O
computer	O
's	O
original	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
and	O
delete	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
user	O
data	O
stored	O
on	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
's	O
Windows	B-Application
8	I-Application
and	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
10	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
Apple	O
's	O
macOS	B-Application
have	O
options	O
for	O
this	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Android	B-Application
devices	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
factory	O
data	O
reset	O
option	O
in	O
Settings	O
that	O
will	O
appear	O
to	O
erase	O
all	O
of	O
the	O
device	O
's	O
data	O
and	O
reset	O
all	O
of	O
its	O
settings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
Samsung	B-Application
smartphones	O
,	O
a	O
factory	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
operation	O
does	O
not	O
affect	O
the	O
Knox	B-Application
Flag	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
other	O
devices	O
can	O
be	O
restored	O
to	O
factory	O
settings	O
,	O
like	O
televisions	O
,	O
GPS	O
units	O
or	O
tablet	B-Device
computers	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
electronic	O
devices	O
have	O
a	O
menu	O
with	O
tools	O
and	O
settings	O
called	O
the	O
service	O
menu	O
,	O
which	O
commonly	O
includes	O
a	O
tool	O
that	O
performs	O
a	O
factory	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Game	B-Protocol
cartridges	I-Protocol
,	O
particularly	O
ones	O
designed	O
for	O
Nintendo	O
handhelds	B-Application
that	O
maintain	O
save	O
data	O
,	O
may	O
feature	O
a	O
factory	B-General_Concept
reset	I-General_Concept
option	O
that	O
can	O
instantly	O
delete	O
all	O
of	O
such	O
data	O
from	O
the	O
cartridge	B-Protocol
,	O
initiated	O
either	O
by	O
selecting	O
a	O
particular	O
setting	O
in	O
an	O
options	O
menu	O
or	O
by	O
inputting	O
a	O
particular	O
button	O
combination	O
during	O
startup	O
.	O
</s>
