Windows System Restore. Windows System Restore Windows 8.1 Recovery Tool

The Windows 8 and 8.1 operating systems allow you to create a bootable recovery disk using standard tools. It is a regular USB flash drive that boots into the Windows recovery environment (that is, limited diagnostic mode), which allows you to repair startup, the file system, or fix other problems due to which the operating system will not boot or runs with noticeable problems.

A boot disk for Windows OS is useful because with its help you can run system recovery, update the system and reset your computer to its original working parameters.

It should be noted, however, that the disc or media cannot be used to install Windows. At the same time, the boot disk is very similar to the one used to restore Windows 7.

The recovery disk (USB version) or system recovery disk (for CD/DVD version, available only in Windows 8) is intended for those who do not have an official Windows 8/8.1 boot disk.

I strongly recommend that you create a disk or flash drive to restore the system before you get into an unpleasant situation - if you cannot start Windows 8 or 8.1, you can easily and playfully return the OS to a working state using the prepared kit.

Keep in mind that the 32-bit (x86) recovery disc can be used to repair the 32-bit version of Windows 8/8.1. Accordingly, the 64-bit (x64) edition of the recovery disk only works with 64-bit Windows 8/8.1.

The good news: you can repair any edition of Microsoft Windows 8/8.1 from this disk, as long as it is designed for the same hardware architecture (32-bit or 64-bit). One last note: do not try to use the Windows 8.1 recovery disk to resuscitate Windows 8 and vice versa!

Requirements for creating a Windows 8/8.1 boot disk or system recovery disk

First, make sure you have a blank CD/DVD (this is a requirement for Windows 8 environment only) or USB drive with a minimum size of 256 MB (megabytes) of the total disk space. Many OEM computers have highly customized recovery partitions—they can require up to 32 gigabytes of disk space on the recovery drive.

The CD or DVD disk in Windows 8 must be truly empty, because the program will not be able to write data to rewritable media. You can erase the contents of a CD or DVD by opening My Computer (Windows key + E), right-clicking on the CD/DVD drive logo in the list and selecting "Erase this disc".

A USB drive can be a simple portable flash drive or a hard drive with a similar USB interface. Please note that this hard drive will be formatted and you will lose all files on it. Therefore, it would not be a bad idea to do backup of all important files! Be careful. If you delete valuable files, you will have to restore them (about resuscitating a flash drive to a website).

After creating the recovery disk, you need to make sure that your computer is able to boot normally. Some older USB flash drives do not support booting. Also be sure to check your computer's boot order in the BIOS to make sure booting from USB devices is enabled and listed before booting hard drives.

If your computer is equipped with USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 interfaces or later, plug the recovery drive into the USB 2.0 port - this may solve some problems with booting the system.

Creating a bootable USB flash drive to restore Windows

To start creating a bootable disk, open the search settings using the Windows key + W and enter "Recovery" in the search box. Click on "Create a recovery disk".

As expected, the User Account Control window appears. Click "Yes" to make sure you know what you're doing.

The “Create a recovery disk” window will appear in front of you. First, check the box next to “Copy the contents of the recovery partition to disk.” Then connect the USB drive, wait about 10 seconds and click Next.

If you cannot enable the "Copy the contents of the recovery partition to the recovery drive" option when creating a recovery drive in Windows 8 or 8.1, you need to copy the Windows installer instll.wim to your hard drive or SSD drive. Please note that this will increase the default recovery disk space requirement from 256 megabytes to 4 gigabytes respectively.

If, when creating a Windows recovery disk, the message "We cannot create a recovery disk on this computer. Some required files are missing" appears, the winre.wim file or the system-reserved partition is missing.

Select the correct drive letter from the list, select the USB flash drive in the window. Then click the "Next" button.

Windows will warn you that all contents of the selected drive will be erased. To continue, click the "Create" button.

The process of formatting the drive and copying files may take several minutes, depending on the speed of your USB drive. Once the disc is ready, click the "Done" button.

Completing the process of creating a bootable USB flash drive for Windows 8

Now check that your device is indeed capable of booting from the recovery disk: some older USB drives do not support booting. In this case, make a newer recovery disk on the flash drive and retest the drive for bootability. Now open the flash drive in any file manager and make sure that the content matches what you see in the screenshot below:

Creating an "old school" bootable CD/DVD for system recovery in Windows 8

If you want to create a bootable system recovery CD or DVD (this is only possible in Windows 8), search for Windows key settings+W, type "recovery" and click "File recovery in Windows 7" (yes, that's a thing) glitch, in fact the option has that name).

If you can't find the item you're looking for, open a command prompt window (use Windows keys+X), type sdclt.exe and press Enter to run the program.

On the left side of the Microsoft Windows 7 File Recovery window, click the “Create a system repair disc” button.

The “Create a system repair disc” window will open. Select the desired successor and click the "Create Disk" button.

If you insert a non-blank CD or DVD, you will see an error dialog like this: "The system repair disc was not created, there is no media in the device (0xC0AA0202)." Click OK, insert a blank disc and the burning process will start automatically.

Right-click on your CD or DVD drive and select the "Erase this drive" option.

It may take several minutes to create a system repair disc. After the process is complete, specify the name of the disk and click the “Close” button.

Resume. I hope that these instructions helped you create a bootable USB flash drive to restore Microsoft Windows 8. If you have any questions, ask them in the comments, I will definitely answer them (see below).

Answers to readers' questions

After restoring Windows 8, files and some programs disappeared. How to return/restore them?

Answer. You must understand that restoring Windows 8 from a disk or other media assumes that all installed programs will be removed and will need to be reinstalled. However, if you installed Windows on a different drive, you can go to the user folder (Users - [username]) on the system drive used by the previous OS. In the Application Data subdirectory, look for user files with application configuration files; they can be copied to the user’s current folder. But the actual Windows applications will need to be installed from installation files.

If you installed Windows 8 on the default system drive and overwritten the old version of the OS, look for the Windows.old folder. It stores copies of previously installed programs.

The laptop crashed after uninstalling Windows 8. There was no archiving before either. And now, having returned some things, I can’t find some files: the office program, my notes, etc. The update center does not work. It is impossible to find deleted files, the default is everywhere. How to restore windows 8 to normal like before?

Answer. It looks like you used a restore point a few days ago. However, the question is formulated in such a way that it is not clear what you wanted to ask. Let's try to answer point by point.

1. The easiest way to install an office suite is by downloading the installation package on the developer’s website.

2. Windows Update 8 operation Depends on the Windows Update service. Start - Run - services.msc. Find the specified service, switch to the “Automatic” state, and reboot the system.

3. To recover deleted files, use specialized programs, we have written about them many times.

If I restore the system via a USB flash drive (on Windows 8), will the system be restored to factory settings or to the time the recovery disk was created?

Answer. Burning Windows 8 to a USB flash drive is just a convenient reinstallation option without using a disk drive.

You can write Windows 8 onto a USB flash drive and reinstall it from scratch, but you will need to configure, install programs, etc. again. If you use Windows restore points, you return to the state in which the OS was recorded at the time this point was created.

Recently, Microsoft has been constantly improving the reliability and stable operation of its OS. However, situations often arise when, for one reason or another, the PC does not work correctly. In such cases, users can only perform a hard restore of the entire system.

This guide will help solve the problem. Follow the detailed instructions below and you will definitely succeed!

Step 1. To access the environment, you need to enter "advanced" into the system's search text box. Next, click on the “Settings” icon, as shown in the screenshot.

Step 2. Click on "Advanced startup options" and you will be taken to the "General PC Settings" screen. Scroll down to the “Advanced startup” section and click on the “Restart now” button. The computer will reboot into the system settings menu.

Step 3. Now click on the “Troubleshoot” button, then on “Advanced options”. You will be taken to a new section where you click on “Automatic Repair”. The computer will prompt you to select an account. To restore the system, you must have access to the administrator account.

Step 4. Select an account and click “Continue”. An automatic system check will begin.

Step 5. The process may take some time; on slow computers it may take up to 15 minutes. Be patient and do not perform any manipulations with the PC during this time. The system can be rebooted multiple times.

Step 6. After the check is completed, the system will notify you of its results and offer options for further actions: if problems are detected, you will be asked about initializing the recovery process, but if no errors are found, turn off the PC or use other tools.

If the problem is not resolved, proceed to the next part.

Part 2: System Restore

This function takes copies of your operating system daily and creates a rollback file from them. If automatic troubleshooting does not help, follow the script below.

Step 1. Everything is similar to the previous section. Repeat the first two steps in exactly the same sequence.

Step 2. Click on the “Troubleshoot” button, then on “System Restore”. The computer will reboot again. After logging in, the system recovery process will start.

Step 3. Follow the installer where you select the version you want to downgrade to.

Step 4. After the download is complete, the system will prompt you to reboot. Click on the "Restart" button.

Congratulations! You have restored the Windows 8 operating system.

Part 3. Tips for restoring the system from a disk or flash drive

Important! Do not use the same disk for different versions of operating systems. So, for Windows 8 it should be “Windows 8/8.1 installation DVD”

Parameters to check before using the function:

Try entering safe mode and running system diagnostics. In most cases, this will fix many problems automatically.
If Windows only starts and works correctly in Safe Mode, use the Clean Boot option, which will show whether the problem is caused by third-party software.
If the boot via Clean Boot is successful, use the System File Checker utility to restore damaged system files.
While Windows is running, open the “Free WhoCrashed” program to fix BSOD (Blue Screen Of Death).
Try using the Windows Update application if your PC does not install updates and/or prompts you to install them again.
If programs are not downloading from the Windows Store, click on the Start menu, type wsreset in the text field and press Enter. Repeat the operation again as an administrator.
To fix damage to the control panel, use the DISM tool as directed in the Windows 8 user guide.
Since the Windows Recovery Environment does not include a RAM testing module, you can use the Memtest86+ utility for this purpose. Use it to make sure that the components are working correctly, otherwise reinstalling the system will be pointless.

Video - How to restore the system on Windows 8

Restoring to its original state is one of the system recovery options in Windows 8.1. It is advisable to use this function:

if you want to delete all your data and restore the computer to the state at the time of purchase;
when the computer cannot be restored in any other way.

What is the difference between resetting and reinstalling?

It differs in that you do not need to reinstall the drivers and enter the product serial number. The recovery program will only fix problems in the system kernel and delete personal files.

How to reset Windows to its original state

Boot from the Windows 8.1 installation disc:

In the window Windows installation click Next:

Select an item Diagnostics:

Select Return to original state:

In most cases, there will only be one copy of the operating system on this list. If there are several of them, select the desired (or problematic) system that you want to restore:

At this stage, you have a choice: 1) wipe only the system partition; This option is suitable for you if your OS has become unusable and you want to restore it for further use. For a complete recovery, it is enough to restore only the system partition. 2) clean all computer disks if you have several. This option is suitable if you want to sell your computer and clear all data. Also, this option is desirable if you are restoring the system after a virus infection and have already saved all important documents to a flash drive.

In most cases, the option will do Just delete my files. This will give you a chance to recover some files. If you select the second option, the system will completely erase files to protect against recovery. This option will take much longer and is suitable if you are selling or giving away your old computer.

Click the button Return to original state to start the process of restoring Windows to its original state:

After this, wait until the progress reaches 100% and the system restores its original state:

After resetting the operating system, the computer will behave as if you had just installed the operating system on it (or as if you had just brought home a new computer with WIndows 8.1 pre-installed). Select your region, language, time zone and keyboard layout:

Accept the license terms:

Select a color, name your computer, and click Next:

The system will request confirmation via mobile phone or email. Complete the required steps:

Enter the received code:

At this point, you have the choice of either copying all settings and apps from the Microsoft Store,

or set up your computer as new:

G8 users always have the opportunity to return the OS to a working state in case of unforeseen situations. However, the “rollback” option as such is not something new. Previous versions of the Microsoft product also provided “return” functionality. And yet, restoring the Windows 8 system is an order of magnitude faster and, importantly, in a more correct manner. The rollback scenario in the new OS has become, so to speak, multifaceted and can be implemented under different conditions, including unfavorable moments when an emergency condition does not allow the standard “return mechanism” to be used. If you are interested in knowing what effective measures are provided in Windows 8 in order to return your computer to a particular operating state, read on for some useful tips. Make sure that you are using the appropriate method when restoring the OS.

A purely rhetorical question: why is this necessary?

Yes, the developers of the new OS really did their best. A significantly time-saving protective procedure called “Windows 8 system recovery,” when implemented, does not require the user to have in-depth knowledge in the computer field. Now, in the event that the operating system has ceased to fully function or does not want to boot at all, the owner of the eight only needs to press a couple of keys - and the lost stability will be restored using Windows operating tools.

At any time, under any circumstances, you can “roll back” settings and parameters that critically affect the performance of the system. You don't have to reinstall the entire OS and plunge into the sometimes tedious process of debugging the working environment. Restoring the Windows 8 system is the optimal solution, designed for speed and comfort when solving various problems related to “rollback”. If you don't agree with this, hurry up and change your mind!

How does this work?

Let's say that as a result of installing certain software, your system began to work unstable. If you are a beginner, then for many reasons the easiest way to return everything to its place is to “roll back” the OS to its default settings.

Move the marker to the lower right corner of the screen.
From the options, select "Options".
Activate the item of the same name that appears at the very bottom of the toolbar with the addition “Change... PC”.
In the new window, click on the “Update and Recovery” section.
Use the item indicated at the end of the list that opens.

Attention: no matter what method you use, programs and applications will no longer be available for use. Registry settings and settings will be overwritten and changed to default values.

How to restore a Windows 8 system: three options for a standard “rollback”

So, in a new window the user is given the right to choose:

Recover your PC without deleting files.
Complete reinstallation of Windows with formatting of the system partition.
Loading the operating system from various devices (flash drive, DVD drive or external hard drive).

In the first case, all system files will be replaced. will remain untouched. However, previously installed third-party software will undergo an uninstallation process. If you decide to restore the Windows 8 system using the second method, then it is advisable to choose the method of completely clearing the “C:\” partition. Practice shows that the process of overlaying files on top of old ones is an extremely unreliable installation method. Whereas formatting the system disk before installing the operating system is much more promising in terms of further use. System files are written more correctly to the cleaned up disk space.

The third method is, so to speak, classic, and to implement it you will need a Windows distribution. However, the installation disk may be required in the two previous options if a Windows 8 system restore point has not been created.

Restore point

A far-sighted user understands that one’s own shortcomings and “machine incidents” in the process of using a PC simply cannot be avoided. This is why you should be careful to make a copy of a perfectly functioning OS. In case of unforeseen circumstances, you can always return to the “saving” recovery point.

Press the key combination “Win + F”.
In the search line, just enter the first three letters (“vos...”) - and the desired section “Creating a point...” will be displayed below.
By clicking on the above item, you will be taken to the “System Properties” menu, to the “Protection...” tab.
Click on the “Create” button, which is located in the lower area of the window.
Specify the name of the saved copy, and after a few seconds the backup data of a working OS will be copied to a special Windows partition.

Now you should have no questions about how to perform a system restore on Windows 8. However, some aspects of the “return functionality” still require detailed consideration. But more on that later, but for now let’s touch on the “compact topic.”

“Portable rollbacks,” or How to perform a factory reset on a laptop

As a rule, laptops are sold with a pre-installed OS. Today, the current version of the operating system of the Microsoft family is considered to be “eight”. Therefore, let's look at the question of how to restore the Windows 8 system on a laptop. Moreover, in this situation, the process of returning to its original state may differ slightly from the same action in the case of desktop computing equipment.

Recovery section: what, where and why

As a rule, there is a hidden partition on the laptop’s hard drive that contains a licensed Windows distribution. To restore a “crashed” system using the Recovery partition, you need to activate the corresponding key when you turn on the computer.

It is no secret that each manufacturer of portable electronics implements its own script for entering the PC hardware management firmware and the service recovery option is also no exception in the context of what was written. Therefore, without special knowledge, a practical understanding of the question of how to restore a system on Windows 8 cannot in any way guarantee the success of the enterprise.

On Asus laptops, when starting the PC, you should activate the F9 key.
For Lenovo, Toshiba and Dell devices this is the F11 button.
For Samsung modifications, the optional key is F4.

Once you get to the return service menu, carefully study and only then follow the selected action scenario. It is worth noting that such recovery software has an intuitive shell and detailed annotations for each optional item. Maximum attention - and you will undoubtedly figure everything out. By the way, some portable models are equipped with separately derived Recovery, which, by activating, you will immediately find the answer to the question. on Windows 8 (on a laptop).

Typical problems and methods for solving them

The operating system does not always load so that the user can use one of the checkpoints. It often happens that a novice user does not even think about the need to create a backup copy of the OS. For such situations, a second recovery option is provided. In the event that the system software of an electronic machine fails due to the fault of a destructive virus, the third method should be used. Depending on the type of malfunction, all you have to do is use one or another solution from the list “How to perform a system restore on Windows 8.” Let's act!

Windows won't boot: there is a restore point on the hard drive

When you turn on the computer, press the F8 button and hold it until the special boot menu appears.
Next, go to the “Options” section.
Activate the tile with the same name as the top item, “Select others...”.
In the next work area, click the Diagnostics button.

The presented update options will help you in practical terms solve the problem of how to restore the Windows 8 system. In our case, use the “From control point” option.
It would be a good idea to pre-debug the OS boot process - click on the tile whose name indicates your problem.

When everything is “bad”, but the user has a Windows distribution: an option for the unpremeditated

If you have a disk with the operating system installation files, you have nothing to worry about. Thus, there are plenty of options to return the “combat efficiency” of your OS. However, let's consider the simplest of them, the description of which will help you implement a full system recovery (this method also works on Windows 8.1).

Insert the Windows distribution disc.
If the computer is turned on, reboot, then use the special key to enter the BIOS menu.
In the “Download” section, you should set the primary device to be a DVD drive or a USB device with an OS image placed on it.
Next, save your changes using the F10 key.

At the initial boot stage, select the interface language and click on the “Recovery” tile.
The next item is “Diagnostics”.
The final preparatory action is to activate the “Restore” section.
After the installation process is completed, your new OS will be ready for use.

Where do you think Windows 8 system recovery occurs first? You will find out the answer in the next chapter.

A multifaceted problem, or What to do if the system is infected with a boot virus

It is quite difficult for a novice user to determine whether his PC is infected with malicious code or whether the “uncontrolled behavior” of the OS is a banal system failure. However, “boot file pests” are capable of destroying and destroying the code of boot sectors, which leads to the moment when Windows (OS) does not start.

Repeat all the steps from the previous paragraph of the article up to the “Recovery” point.
From the list provided, select the operating system that does not boot. Click the "Next" button.
In the next window (“Options…”) activate the “Command Line” item.
After the utility is launched, you should enter “Bootrec.exe”.
Press Enter and wait for the operation to complete.

In conclusion

Well, now you know how to restore a Windows 8 system via BIOS and which method is most favorable for solving a specific problem. Hopefully, the information above will lead you to make some appropriate decisions, one of which will be creating a special recovery disk. However, today there is a huge amount of various specialized software on the Internet, with the help of which even a novice user can reliably protect himself from unforeseen situations of “machine crash”. Be wise and consistent!

When it comes to what a Windows 8 system rollback is, people mean different things by this concept. Some people want to return to the previous configuration, others want to get rid of updates, and others prefer the original state of the system. All these cases can be discussed so as not to expose the user to doubt in any situation.

Restore points

Windows 8 recovery is most often carried out through special points. These operating system state fragments are created automatically. It is also possible to create them yourself. The restore point method allows you to return the system to its original state in case of simple errors. You need to do the following:

Open the Recovery menu in the control panel.
In it, click on Run System Restore.
In the list, indicate exactly the restore point to which you want to rollback.

This is a trivial solution to common problems that involve small changes.

Opting out of updates

It happens that your computer starts to feel feverish from recently installed updates. Restoring Windows 8 in this case occurs by canceling the installation of these updates. To do this, you need to use the Update Center, which will help you figure out which low-quality software products should be removed.

Rolling back settings

In difficult situations, it is possible to return the settings to their original state. In this case, the users' personal files will be preserved. This is the kind of solution that should be used when others have not helped.

Open the right Charms panel;
Select the Settings button;
Click Change computer settings;

A list will appear in which you need to click on Update and Recovery >> Recovery.

In this case, the user's programs will be changed, but music, videos and photos will remain untouched.

You can also enter the Recovery parameter in the search. This word is typical for manufacturers of, for example, laptops. Naturally, the computer will display a list of applications that help restore the device to factory settings.

Laptop Recovery Manager

A laptop is such a wonderful compact computer that even has its own built-in program that allows you to return to its original state. Most often it is called Recovery Manager or some other Recovery. Before loading Windows on a laptop:

From Asus, you need to hold down the F9 key, after which the factory settings will return;
From HP, you need to hold down the F11 key to launch Recovery Manager, which will offer to roll back the computer to factory settings;
From Acer, you need to simultaneously hold down Alt + F10, and then enter the password 000000.

Images for rollback

Recovery images contain any computer with Windows 8. These are copies of the operating system that store all programs, files and settings. Users have the opportunity to independently create such images at any time.

USB and DVD

How to restore Windows 8 if it won't even start? It is possible to create a USB or DVD disk that will help return the computer in any difficult situation, especially when it refuses to start the operating system. Such media is created automatically by Windows tools:

The disk is created using the standard recdisc utility;
A USB card can be organized using Create a recovery disk.

These simple tools help bring your computer back to life in any difficult situation. It is enough to select boot from these devices in the BIOS, and the automatic process will begin to return the system to its original state. The disk with the operating system itself also helps. In this case, you can save files that are not located on the system drive. It is very important to divide the hard drive into several parts: for example, drive C is for system files, drive D is for the user’s personal files. The computer can be attacked by malware at any time, but drive C can be easily cleaned and a fresh operating system installed on it, while photos and videos will remain recorded on drive D.

In fact, there is nothing simpler than how to restore Windows 8. Today, a huge number of techniques have been invented. The main thing is not to panic, because a computer is a device that supports the Recovery option.

(Visited 572 times, 1 visits today)