Windows 10 stuck at 75% during full reset for two and a half days

Question

Windows 10 stuck at 75% during full reset for two and a half days

Big Big Guy 20

I started a full format of my laptop two days ago, left it overnight, and when I woke up, it was at 75%. It has been here since. I’ve seen people saying to hold the power button to manually restart, but I’m nervous about corrupting the system. What should I do?

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Hendrix-V 20,220 Microsoft External Staff Moderator

Hi Big Big Guy,

Thank you for your patience while resetting your device. During a full reset, especially when the “clean the drive” option is selected, it’s normal for progress to appear paused for extended periods while Windows completes background tasks. However, remaining at the same percentage for an unusually long time can indicate the reset has stopped responding.

As suggested by Q&A Assist, if the screen has not changed for many hours, you can try this approach:

Press and hold the Power button for about 10 seconds to turn the device off.
Wait 30 seconds, then turn the device back on.
If Windows Recovery appears, select Troubleshoot > Reset this PC > Remove everything
Choose Cloud download if available

This allows Windows to restart the reset process using fresh system files and typically resolves stalled resets.

Helpful tips before retrying:

Keep the device plugged into power
Disconnect any external devices
Avoid closing the lid during the reset

If you see a specific recovery screen or message after restarting, feel free to share it so the next step can be guided accurately.

Let me know if you need further assistance, feel free to ask me by clicking "Add Comment" or "Add Answer" if you cannot add comment so your response will be visible. Thanks for your effort.

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Answer 1

Do not force power off yet. During a Windows “Reset this PC” operation, the process can appear stuck for a long time and the screen may not change, but the reset can still be running in the background.

On some devices (for example, Surface Studio with a hybrid drive and multiple languages in the image), a reset can:

Take up to about 10 hours to complete.
Appear to hang at a specific percentage (such as 8%) for many hours.

Microsoft explicitly warns that manually restarting or powering off during a reset can cause the reset to fail and potentially corrupt the installation.

Given that the device has already been at 75% for more than two days, options are:

If there is any sign of disk activity (drive LED blinking, fan changes, occasional screen flicker), let it continue longer, as interrupting is risky.
If there is absolutely no sign of activity for many hours and it is clear the process is frozen, then a forced shutdown (holding the power button) may be the only remaining option. After that, on power‑up, Windows should attempt to:
- Resume or roll back the reset, or
- Enter the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), where the Troubleshoot > Reset this PC options can be used again.

For future resets on Windows 10:

Use Start > Settings > Update & Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get started.
Choose Keep my files or Remove everything.
Choose Cloud download or Local reinstall.
Do not manually restart or power off while the reset is running, even if the screen is black for an extended period.

If, after a forced shutdown, Windows fails to boot and goes into recovery, use Troubleshoot > Reset this PC from Windows RE and run the reset again, following the same guidance (do not interrupt once started).

References: