[Laforce]

Internal and external keyboards on Asus laptop stopped working. Error message notes that "Asus Number Pad configuration info in registry is incomplete". After multiple remedy attempts including re-boots, uninstalling/reinstalling drivers and trying different external keyboards, Asus tech service recommends a factory reset. My research leads me to believe that this is a fairly straight forward process involving backup and reinstall, but I don't know what I don't know. Have any of you TV techies out there ever done this yourselves? Is it possible to do this and preserve apps/programs along with personal data files? Thanks in advance for any guidance!

[retiredguy123]

An easy way to do a factory reset is to reboot and, during the reboot, press the F9 key. I have not done a factory reset on an Asus computer, but they usually give you an option to reset the computer without removing the files and apps. I have had limited success solving issues with a factory reset, but it is worth a try.

[MorTech]

Settings->Windows Update->Advanced Options->Recovery->Reset PC

Select "Keep your files" and "download Windows 11 from internet" settings.

Most likely your local Win11 is corrupted so you want a fresh Win11 from the internet.

[JoelJohnson]

Not all PCs can convert to Windows 11. If you don't really need the power of Windows, then you have choices. One choice is to convert your PC to a Chromebook (Google it), a better option (in my humble opinion) is to convert to Linux Mint. Linux works kind of like Windows, but without being tracked and forced to sign into their system. It has a "Word" like program as well as a spreadsheet and other Windows "type" programs. There is no "Linux" company, it is "open source" which means anyone can look at the Linux code (and 10 of thousands do) to make sure it is safe. There are many YouTubers that can show you how to do it. I've converted many people here in the Villagers to Linux and they never go back to Windows.

[Altavia]

Originally Posted by MorTech

Settings->Windows Update->Advanced Options->Recovery->Reset PC

Select "Keep your files" and "download Windows 11 from internet" settings.

Most likely your local Win11 is corrupted so you want a fresh Win11 from the internet.

+1 for trying this.

[villagetinker]

IMHO, I would save all my important files to an external hard disk or thumb drive, just in case.

[retiredguy123]

If you have important files, they should be stored on a cloud drive. Anyone with a Google account has a 15gb Google drive automatically by default. If you don't trust a cloud drive for file storage, then you should never connect the laptop to the Internet either.

[Laforce]

I think I solved my keyboard issue by uninstalling and reinstalling Windows. The responses I received here were greatly appreciated as I am now more educated about backups. Thanks!

[cpguz1]

I agree. Linux Mint is a great option. Works great with repurposing older PCs and MACs. The Linux Mint Distro has the look and feel of MS Windows for users new to Linux.