I need to factory reset my Windows PC, but I don't have a recovery key.

The manufacturer of your computer may have a quick and easy way for you to restore your computer to exactly the way it was when it left their factory. If you search their website you will find the instructions, or tell us the brand name and exact model of your computer and we will look it up for you. Just keep in mind that doing this will overwrite everything on the hard drive, so whatever you haven't backed up will be lost forever.

In this case, you will need to do a clean install, There's no way to bypass the key ask.

To perform a clean installation of Windows 10 using the Windows Media Creation Tool. You do need to get access to another computer so you can download the Windows installation files into a flash drive, then use the flash drive to help your computer. Hopefully you have a spare computer, or you can have friend or family help you.

The following steps should be done on a working Windows computer:

Download the Windows Media Creation Tool from Microsoft's official website. https://www.microsoft.com/software-download/windows10

Run the tool and select "Create installation media for another PC."

Choose your language, edition, and architecture (32 or 64-bit) and select "Next."

Choose "USB flash drive" as the media to use for the installation and select "Next."

Connect a USB flash drive with at least 8 GB of free space to your computer.

Select the USB flash drive you want to use, and then select "Next."

The tool will then download the required files and create the installation media.

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Now these steps will  be done on your problematic computer:

Go to the computer's BIOS boot menu to have it boot from the USB drive.

Follow the on-screen instructions to install Windows 10, making sure to choose "Custom install" and select the option to delete all existing partitions.

Once the installation is complete, you'll have a clean installation of Windows 10 on your computer.

A Windows “recovery key” usually refers to a BitLocker recovery key, not something required to reinstall or reset Windows itself.

Why there is no recovery key for this PC

• BitLocker recovery keys only exist if BitLocker device encryption was enabled on that PC.
• If BitLocker was never turned on, there will be no recovery key associated with that device in the Microsoft account.
• If BitLocker was enabled but the key was never backed up to the Microsoft account (for example, it was saved to a file, printed, or stored by the OEM), it will not appear under that device online.

Reinstalling Windows without a recovery key

• A BitLocker recovery key is not required to reinstall Windows on a drive that can be wiped. It is only required to unlock an already‑encrypted drive to access existing data.
• If the PC will not start and recovery options do not work, Windows can be reinstalled using installation media (USB/DVD):
  1. On another working PC, go to the official download page for Windows 10 or 11 (see links in the references) and download the media creation tool.
  2. Use it to Create installation media for Windows on a USB flash drive.
  3. Boot the problematic PC from this USB and perform a clean install of Windows.
• A product key may not be needed if the device has a digital license or an embedded key in firmware. Many modern devices automatically apply the key during installation if the edition matches.

Important consequence

• If the system drive is BitLocker‑encrypted and the recovery key truly cannot be found anywhere, the data on that drive cannot be decrypted. In that case, reinstalling Windows using installation media will require deleting/formatting the encrypted partitions, which results in data loss but gives a working Windows installation again.

Where a BitLocker recovery key can exist (if BitLocker was enabled)

• In the Microsoft account’s BitLocker recovery page (only if it was backed up there).
• Printed or written down when BitLocker was first enabled.
• Saved to a file on a USB drive or another disk.
• In an organization’s Azure AD or on‑premises Active Directory (for work/school devices).

If none of those locations contain a key for this PC, the key cannot be recovered, but Windows can still be reinstalled from installation media as described above.

References:

• Recovery options in Windows
• Create installation media for Windows
• Find your Windows product key
• Reset your PC