Windows 8 Refresh Feature Makes It Easy to Start With a Clean Slate
By Tony Bradley, PCWorld
One of the coolest features of Windows 8 is Refresh. Regardless of why you might want to start over, Refresh gives you a quick and easy way to start with a clean slate while also maintaining your apps, data, Windows settings, and user profile.
I’ve always been a proponent of Windows System Restore. If things start running wonky you don’t need to bother troubleshooting--just go back in time to a known good state using Windows System Restore. Since its inception, though, Windows System Restore has had its issues, and for many people it seems to fail when they really need it most.
Get a fresh start without reinstalling Windows by using Refresh.
Many users simply resort to a periodic fresh install of Windows. Windows 8 also provides Reset--a simpler way to wipe the PC and start over with a completely clean Windows 8 OS. That’s great if you’re selling the PC, or passing it on to another user, but if you just want a fresh start the Refresh feature gives you the power to do so at the push of a button without having to reinstall everything or restore it from backup.
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One of the first things looked at here was the options for backup and creating system images as well as what would be seen with the next version's repair tools. One refresh option looks to preserves files and folders like an Upgrade to Repair install would see while the other Reset optionswipes everything clean for a fresh start as being described in the report here.