Windows 8 Refresh Feature Makes It Easy to Start With a Clean Slate

Kat · Mar 11, 2012

I use the Image backup option, and do a new one every month or so, or if/when I make changes.

My C: drive contains nothing but the OS and installed programs. Everything else is on other drives.

So, if something goes pear-shaped, I simply do an image-restore.

By the time I've had a coffee and a cigarette, I'm up and away again, having
lost absolutely nothing.

Shame they had to hide it away in Win 8, but I've tested it, and it still works fine.

And a bigger shame that most I speak to either don't know about it, or if they do, don't use it.

Haven't had the chance to play with these new restore options yet.

Night Hawk · Mar 11, 2012

That's not hidden away but seen before you can reach the formerly named Startup repair now seen as Automatic repair on the Advanced options screen that follows. When booting live from the dvd or usb key used you will no longer see the OS detected press next button when going to enter the repair tools but need to go through two extra screens instead.

The reset and refresh screen appears after the Choose an option screen for Continue, Use another operating system, Troubleshooting. What really gets you with this however is seeing the options for Upgrade Repair install or Full clean install before reaching the Automatic repair option for startup issues! Gee trash the OS before any minor repair is attempted? Sounds like the "Lazy way out"!

brummyfan · Mar 11, 2012

It's better to do a clean install than using the built-in Refresh feature, one needs to re-install all the programs and drivers and really a pain. I prefer Brink's method in here:
http://www.eightforums.com/tutorials/3610-refresh-windows-8-using-custom-system-image.html

Night Hawk · Mar 11, 2012

I imagine later you will see the option for creating a full image available again. Since the CP is still in beta form I'm not worried about performing a clean install which would come up if there's to be a Customer Preview 2 equivalent to a Release Candidate.

Once an image is created that allows trying out the other reset option provided the image created is stored elsewhere like another drive before use of the reset option. Being that it is a beta one system configuration won't stay the same long anyways where an image is needed at this point. I end up changing things around each time I am in a long session in 8!

"test this,,, try that out! rearrange...."

whs · Mar 11, 2012

I may be conservative. But I am just using plain old images - with free Macrium, of course. All Windows recovery functions have been erratic and unreliable since they put them on the market. I don't trust them.

lehnerus2000 · Mar 11, 2012

Handle With Care

Be careful not to accidentally select the other option.
Whilst I was checking it out, I noticed that it was planning to delete ALL of my HDD/partitions (~4.5 TB of personal files).

whs said:
I may be conservative. But I am just using plain old images - with free Macrium, of course. All Windows recovery functions have been erratic and unreliable since they put them on the market. I don't trust them.

Macrium Reflect is my choice too.
I use version 4.x though, as I prefer the table summary layout, to the "eye candy" buttons.

whs · Mar 11, 2012

4.x is fine. The main advantage of free 5.0 is that you can burn the WinPE CD. And I also think the interface is a bit more flexible - in terms of options. But that may be just my impression.

lehnerus2000 · Mar 11, 2012

Table or Tile views

whs said:
4.x is fine. The main advantage of free 5.0 is that you can burn the WinPE CD. And I also think the interface is a bit more flexible - in terms of options. But that may be just my impression.

I like to screenshot the "Table Summary" and store it with my images.

If they would just introduce an option for "Table Summary" or "Tile Summary" views, I'd swap to the new version.

It does have a "create VHD" option that I can't find in version 4.x.

whs · Mar 11, 2012

Is it this what you mean by "Table Summary" - this one is from V5.

lehnerus2000 · Mar 12, 2012

I mean this

I mean this:

Night Hawk · Mar 12, 2012

Well as far as a backup image for 8 as well as the guide I can also opt to use Acronis TI while booted in 7. For 7 I simply have tested the Backup & Restore options there and found those to be reliable from having put them to the test several times.

For the time being here I can simply opt to use Acrons while I suspect if a CP 2 comes out in a few months from now the backup tools would have progressed even further as they did in the previous versions. (Note for Vista Ultimate, Enterprise editions only saw option for full system image backup)

Kat · Mar 12, 2012

whs said:
I may be conservative. But I am just using plain old images - with free Macrium, of course. All Windows recovery functions have been erratic and unreliable since they put them on the market. I don't trust them.

Been using image backup since Vista, with ONE failure. And that was MY fault....

No, it works pretty well, actually.

kado897 · Mar 12, 2012

I had a problem with Macrium 5 in W8CP. The backup completed without errors but on next boot it went into system recovery, failed and eventually gave up. This was in a VM but at least one other reported the same error on a native install. This is the thread. http://www.eightforums.com/software-apps/4104-macrium-reflect-free-bsods.html

Windows 8 Refresh Feature Makes It Easy to Start With a Clean Slate

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