Reinstall, reset, of something else

Alias

Member
Messages
65
Windows 8 Home
I'm having increasing problems with hints all? of them trace back to W8. Be patient while a make a short list.
Browsers - IE 10, FF 23, Chrome, which I uninstalled - neither of them display pictures, buttons, link correctly in a number of web pages. For buttons like CONTINUE and SUBMIT, I have to run the cursor over the page to find the hidden button. This problem has existed since I bought the PC (I think).
Outlook 2010. Started getting 'item cannot be saved' and/or 'folder was deleted/removed' errors on attempting to retrieve mail or add a calendar event.
If I can explain this correctly, in the top right of every app are three icons? - MINIMIZE/RESTORE/CLOSE. For every iteration of windows I've owned, these icons were always in the same place. That is, if I had 8 apps open, I could put my cursor in one spot (e.g., over MINIMIZE), click 8 times, and all apps would be minimized. No longer. On some apps, the cursor is over MINIMIZE, sometimes over RESTORE due to different sizes of these icons.
I've searched the net for weeks and these (and others) have references to reinstall Windows. I have little interest in this since, AFAIK, this is major work. Now for my question.
I know? reinstall/reset will force me to reinstall, not only windows, but all installed apps. Also, I'll have to save/reinstall personal files. I'll stop short of saying that idea is DOA, but I have little interest in spending a majority of 4 days rebuilding my PC. Refresh seems to save most settings/files, but still requires reinstalling apps. Do I understand these options correctly? Is there a less painful way to correct the problems? Is it possible there are individual fixes for each problem? (But, for example, the Outllok problem is 'resolved' by reinstalling Outlook. Di that. Didn't help.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
Hi Alias,

IMHO, it seems like there are just too many issues to attack individually; especially when you state that some may have always been there and you are not sure. My advice at this point is to copy all of your important data, image, and video files to an external source and use the HP factory restore discs to go back to square one and start over. Sure, I know that's a real pain but I (personally) cannot get my hands around the entire envelope of problems you are having to the point where I (personally) could recommend a common point to fix all of your issues. You could also consider a refresh option.

http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/2293-refresh-windows-8-a.html

Good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
Thanks for the reply. The more I read, the more confused I get. Let's see how close I can come to reality.
'Restore' wipes all apps and personal files off the HD, necessitating a complete reinstall.
'Refresh' wipes out all apps but saves personal files.
Do I have this right?
I can't find what 'restore' does compared to the 'restore.'
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
Very good, Refresh it is. One quick question . . .
Can I create a Custom Recovery Image now and save my apps?
OK, two questions . . .
is there a way to schedule an automatic Custom Recovery Image?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
Can I create a Custom Recovery Image now and save my apps?

I really don't know. I'm not an app user. How about the repair install option which is supposed to keep your store apps?

is there a way to schedule an automatic Custom Recovery Image?

Yes, you can create a custom recovery image; however, I'm not sure how you would intend to use this customization option effectively. There are also standard backup and incremental backup options available in either Win 8 inherently and/or 3rd party backup programs like Macrium Reflect. My advice would be for you to do the refresh or repair install and then start a new thread on your custom image or custom backup requirements and be specific about you requirements when you do. Good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
Thanks for your patience.
I'm apparently confused/ignorant on the details of the options. I can find not option (sans Custom recovery Image) that saves 3rd party apps (e.g., MS Office, Quicken). Only 'store' apps. Since I have literally 40-50 3rd party apps on my HD, reinstalling all isn't appealing. Of the options you present, 'refresh' seems most appealing. Specific to Custom Recovery Image, do I need a separate post to see if it is too late or not?
As for backup, I backup all personal files daily but will create another post later about backing up apps.
TIA
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
Can I create a Custom Recovery Image now and save my apps?

I really don't know. I'm not an app user. How about the repair install option which is supposed to keep your store apps?

is there a way to schedule an automatic Custom Recovery Image?

Yes, you can create a custom recovery image; however, I'm not sure how you would intend to use this customization option effectively. There are also standard backup and incremental backup options available in either Win 8 inherently and/or 3rd party backup programs like Macrium Reflect. My advice would be for you to do the refresh or repair install and then start a new thread on your custom image or custom backup requirements and be specific about you requirements when you do. Good luck.

I think Alias is referring to this option which takes an image of your PC to use with Refresh later.
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-create-use-custom-recovery-image.html

It keeps all "apps" including desktop software when you use it to Refresh later.

However I don't know the answer to the question of whether it's too late to create one from a PC that's in a broken state - my apologies.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1, 10
They are not apps; per se, they are installed programs that appear in the uninstall area. That's an entirely different issue. Go back and review those tutorials with regard to saving installed programs or wait for someone else because I have to go out for a few hours. BTW, I can't see how you are going to combine a refresh and/or repair install with a custom recovery image restoral at this time. Maybe I'm totally missing your entire objective here but some price has to be paid when you take corrective action. With that said, I'm going to ask someone else step in to help you from here. Maybe they'll be better at explaining your options. Sorry I couldn't help. Good luck.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    Intel G2020
    Motherboard
    ASRock B75M-DGS R2.0
    Memory
    8GBs @ 1333 MHz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 EVO
    PSU
    400w
    Internet Speed
    57/11
This problem has existed since I bought the PC (I think).

You also may have a problem with the Recovery Partition, it would have been best to return to Retailer at the start.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    ME, XP,Vista,Win7,Win8,Win8.1
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Other Info
    Notebooks x 3

    Desktops x 5

    Towers x 4
Thanks for referring me. I'll show a little ignorance here. For hundreds of years I've been referring to 'installed programs' as 'apps.' Thought they were the same thing. Given that, I want to refresh? reinstall? Windows with minimal loss of installed apps (e.g., Office, Quicken). So the question is, can I use custom recovery image now to save installed programs?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP
You'll probably not have luck with creating a custom image now. If you do that then refresh will refresh your programs and apps to the state they are now in. This means that your issues probably will not be fixed. It might work as creating one now and refreshing to it would still clear your AppData etc but my guess is it will not fix everything. You could always try it.

Really you want to make a CustomRefresh after you have installed all your programs and before anything breaks. Obviously it is too late now but if you do a refresh and then re-install all your programs then you should make one at that point (and probably a system image) in case you run into similar problems in the future.

If it was me I'd do a refresh, install all programs/apps, run Windows update and then run recimg to make the CustomRefresh and also create a system image using File Recovery.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 Pro Prieview x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    MacBook Pro Core2Duo
    CPU
    T7600
    Memory
    3
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI Radeon X1600
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Internal
    Screen Resolution
    1440 x 800
    Hard Drives
    40GB
    Keyboard
    Apple
    Mouse
    Apple
    Internet Speed
    Varies
    Browser
    Various
    Antivirus
    Defender
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