Should you use cloud download or local reinstall on Windows?
When resetting your Windows 10 or Windows 11 PC, you will be asked whether you want to perform a "Cloud Download" or a "Local Reinstall". These options work a little differently, and each has its pros and cons. Here is the difference between the two.
In this section:
Both will reinstall Windows on your PC
The "Reset this PC" function reinstalls the Windows operating system on your computer. You can also keep your personal files or erase them, or even erase your entire drive. But, whatever you do, Windows will replace your system files with new ones. Then you will have a like new system and you will have to configure it and reinstall your programs again.
In Windows 10, go to Settings> Update & Security> Recovery and click "Get started" under Reset this PC "to find this feature. In Windows 11, you will find this feature in Settings> System> Recovery> Reset PC.
"Cloud Download" and "Local Reinstall" are different ways to get the same state: this Windows 10 or Windows 11 system like new. Think of it as a factory reset feature for your Windows PC.
"Cloud download" downloads system files
When you select "Cloud Download," Windows downloads new system files from Microsoft's servers and uses them to reinstall Windows on your computer.
As the Reset this PC interface notes, this download may be larger than 4 GB in size. If you have internet data limits or your connection is slow, this may be a problem and you may want to use reinstallation. locale instead.
This option is essential if your PC's system files are corrupted. If the "Local reinstallation" option fails and cannot reset your PC properly, you should try the cloud download instead.
Believe it or not, if you have a fast internet connection, uploading to the cloud can actually be faster than reinstalling locally. It's because of the way local resettlement works.
"Local reinstallation" uses files from your PC
If you choose "Local reinstallation", Windows will use the system files already on your PC to reinstall Windows.
It's a bit more work for Windows than it looks. Windows must go through its files, find the originals, and reassemble them into a new Windows system. For this reason, local reinstallation may actually be slower than uploading to the cloud, especially when you have a fast internet connection.
Microsoft's Aaron Lower says that the local reinstallation can take over 45 minutes for "[construct] a new copy of Windows from the existing installation" when he explained how the cloud download works differently.
Local reinstallation is especially useful if you have internet data speed limits, a slow connection, or if your device is offline. It will also keep any Windows updates that you have installed on your PC.
Additionally, local reinstallation may fail if your PC's Windows system files are corrupted. If you want to reset Windows due to system issues, Cloud Download can be more reliable.
Which one should you choose?
For the typical PC, cloud download or local reinstall will work fine. Assuming you have a fast internet connection with no strict download limits and your PC doesn't appear to be in a corrupt state, you should also get your PC back to like-new condition within a reasonable amount of time, either.
However, some options are better for certain situations:
- If you have a fast internet connection and data is not an issue, use the cloud download. You could save time.
- If you have a slow connection or want to avoid additional downloads, use local reinstallation. You will avoid unnecessary downloads.
- If your PC isn't working properly, or you've tried local reinstallation before and it failed, use cloud download.
Whichever you choose, your PC will end up in the same place with a like-new Windows installation.
And don't worry: if the local reinstallation fails, you'll see a message telling you that there was a problem. It won't just reinstall Windows with corrupted system files. If the process of resetting this PC is complete, it worked fine.
(What if the reset process for this PC finishes but you still have crashes, blue screens, or other system issues? This is a sign that your computer may be having hardware issues instead. only software problems.)
