[lizzie2809]

what is the difference between a hard reset and a soft rest? i mean like don't they both do the same rstoration of factory settings???

[coolbelief]

Difference is that you can do a soft reset, if phone is in working condition but you r having some problem with it, (Dialing the code while phone is functional) and Hard Reset: you can perform if phone is not even booting up properly. (3 Button)
They do the same, reinstall firmware Not just Settings. means after doing a soft/hard reset phone'll be out of box condition, no third party apps, no settings, no user data on phone memory.

[phonehacker]

an other difference is that hard reset is hard to be performed in contrast with soft reset(reformat) which can be performed easily