Windows 8 – Backup, Restore & Recovery By John Allen
Contents
1. longer available in 8 1 it didn t work well anyway e File History maintains a real time backup of all your data on a permanently attached USB hard disk There can be issues with this unless you have a permanently attached backup drive Alternatively you can still use the free SynchToy use a 3 party backup program called SecondCopy e Storage Spaces If you really want to get flashy this offers on the run file backup protection using either Mirror image or Parity storage for the technically minded a bit like RAID but uses normal fixed USB disks More detailed info is here http blogs msdn com b b8 archive 2012 01 05 virtualizing storage for scale resiliency and efficiency aspx Instructions have not been included here As well as all this your computer manufacturer may have installed a 3 party recovery application so you can reset your computer to factory condition In theory a Windows System Reset should achieve the same result Detailed Instructions Creating and Using a Recovery Drive Creating a Recovery Drive When you take possession of a new PC or you haven t done this yet it is a good idea to create a System Recovery Drive Have a blank USB flash drive on hand Using a System Recovery Drive See how to do it here System Refresh Windows 8 Settings charm choose Change PC Settings click General choose Refresh your PC without affecting your files follow instructions from there Windows 8 1 Settings2. 013 8 25 38 AM System Image Restore Point Backup Show more restore points Scan for affected programs gt t i lt Back Next Cancel If you have updated Windows or other software this will be lost but will be replaced on the next update Click on the point you want to use to highlight it And click Next It will ask you whether this is the one you want click Finish to restore it A warning will pop up Click Yes and the restore will begin and automatically reboot the computer when it has finished A short message will tell you whether it was successful after the unit reboots Occasionally restore points fail and the computer returns to the point you started from You can try another if this results in the same there is a problem with the system and you will have to look into another solution Creating a custom Restore Point If you are going to try something experimental and of a dubious nature it is a good idea to create a restore point in case you want to revert to it As above on the Start Screen click the Search Charm then choose Settings and type restore in the search box click on Create a Restore Point It will open the System Properties window Click Create System Properties Computer Name Hardege Adernced Syrien Potection Fence Use syen orotection to undo unwanted system changes ten Healore Tou Can unde oystem changes dy reverting your computer to a previous esoe port System Restore Protector Seting Neatatio L
3. Panel oO File Efit View Teoh Heip Exclude from File History I pou dont want to seve copies of spect folders oF Shianes add then here Exchuded fubsers and h rarnes E Cvthers lehn Margi videod BigPond Movies suggest that you then click on Advanced settings and make the following changes 1 Set Keep saved versions to something other than Forever otherwise the disk will eventually fill up CS a AllControl Pane items File History Advanced Settings v Search Contra Pane File Edt View Tools Help Advanced settings Choose how often you want to seve copies of your fides and how long to keep saved versions Veruons Save copies of files Sere of offline cache Keep seed versions HorneGroup Recommend ths arive Event logs Open File Hatory event logs to wiew recent events er erron 2 Set the backup frequency to your choice Note that only changed and new files are backed up with this frequency e All Control Panel items File History Advanced Settings Search orteal Panel File Edit View Took Help Advanced settings Choose how often you want to save copies of your files and how long to keep saved versons Versions Save copies of files Size of offline cache Keep teved vervons HereGroup if this PC is part of a homegroup you can recommend this drive to Dai Recommend this dewe Puent ians Then click Turn on to start File History operating It will initially backup
4. Windows 8 Backup Restore amp Recovery By John Allen Restore and recovery options for Windows 8 are different to earlier versions of Windows and of course the terminology has changed These are a lot of different things you can do As a minimum you could create a Recovery Drive which contains a Custom Refresh Image and periodically create a new Custom Recovery Image You could also create custom System Restore points prior to doing something risky e Create a Recovery Drive useful if you cannot boot your system It is best to use a USB drive e System Restore reverts your operating system and applications to a specific earlier date while preserving your data e System Refresh and Custom System Refresh more drastic than System Restore If you don t have a Custom Recovery Partition file it resets windows as originally installed it will retain all your data but it will deletes all programs and apps that you have installed This is similar to restoring a disk image but your data is kept If you have made a Custom Recovery Partition file your apps and programs are also kept well most of them are e System Reset more drastic than System Refresh ALL your data programs and apps are deleted and the system is restored to its original install state Custom Recovery partition files cannot be used for a Reset e Full System Image Backup including data the Windows 7 Backup feature which was available in Windows 8 is no
5. all your files then each hour or what you selected check for changes gt Control Perel All Control Pene kemi File Hator amp Search Contre Panel p Fie Edt View Tools Help z IP aiaa Keep a history of your files Restore personel files File History saves copies of your files so you cam get them beck if they re lost or damaged See IF File History is off Earhuche folders gt Advericed settings Copy fles trom ldwames desktop contacts favourtes and SkyDrive r a Freetgent Go USB Device Ei m Seagate 148 GB free of 148 GB Turn on i Viewing your file history You can view File History on a Windows 8 computer using File History where you can also restore files Viewing using File History Open File Explorer and click History Now you get a folder view of File History ie the files on your local hard disk and their previous versions Home Fle History terre urteti Teeth tees Fercurtiecs Shy Dire r j s f y EE You can preview any of the files but you cannot change them To restore a file select it and click the green arrow or right click Restore Viewing files directly If you need to view your file history on a computer with an older version of Windows open the external USB disk in Windows file explorer double click on the File History folder then keep double clicking on the various computer name user folders until you come to a folder called Data Open the C folder th
6. ble on your computer started if not Click Choose a different restore point E System Restore a Restore system files and settings Sesten Restore can help fx problems thet moht be mrang yor Cortese fun Soay stop reaponcing Sycten Restore doss not affect oy of your docume ts DAUES OF otter persornw dete Recernfy eetabed progres aul divers reght be uransiabed and Secocereevied restore Solec tee optan te ucio the fhiost recent upetete drivet or software mstaistion you Tik It is causing probiers Teese IOVI L 10 41 53 AM Oeeergriar betel inside TonTon HOME Current tree sone ALS Eastern Standed Tire it lor aGecied prog ars E Choose gt Gfferent restore pant Next gt Canos Another box will open with often just one listed Click the Show more restore points select one a while back System Restore Restore your computer to the state it was in before the selected event Current time zone AUS Eastern Standard Time l Date and Time Description Type 21 07 2013 10 41 53 AM Installed TomTom HOME Install 18 07 2013 4 42 41 PM Windows Update Critical Update 10 07 2013 7 17 26 AM Windows Update Critical Update 2 07 2013 1 42 30 PM Removed e tax 2012 Uninstall 10 04 2013 10 46 13 AM System Image Restore Point Backup 13 03 2013 6 48 00 AM System Image Restore Point Backup 13 02 2013 9 03 41 AM System Image Restore Point Backup 17 01 2013 10 07 17 AM System Image Restore Point Backup 9 01 2
7. charm choose Change PC Settings click General choose Remove everything and reinstall Windows follow instructions from there Windows 8 1 Settings charm choose Change PC Settings click Update and Recovery click Recovery choose Remove everything and reinstall Windows follow instructions from there System Restore Restoring your system to an earlier date If you have a problem with the computer sometimes this can be overcome by restoring the computer to an earlier time Windows normally creates a restore point whenever software or Windows updates are installed System Restore does not delete change or restore your personal files in My Docs Pictures Videos or emails It rolls back your system to a particular date System Restore is not as drastic as a System Refresh or a System Reset so is worth trying first if you have a system problem The quickest way is on the Start Screen click the Search Charm then choose Settings and type restore in the search box click on Create a Restore Point This will open a new window System Properties System Properties E3 oerenter Meee Hearthware Advanced Srian Froteces Perce A Lise maton pnecton to unG unwarged maot changes EZ oniy eae seth Je S gt Mer gece Tesis s maou port ight roa for tee ioves s reyee nen peotecton tuned on Click on System Restore this will open up the System Restore dialogue box with a restore point listed Check to see if it is before the trou
8. charm choose Change PC Settings click Update and Recovery click Recovery choose Refresh your PC without affecting your files follow instructions from there Note that unless you have made a Custom Refresh Image your system will revert to as it was first installed and you will lose all the apps and programs that you have installed but retain all of your data It is a good idea to make a Custom Refresh Image after you have set up your computer and installed all your software so that will be used instead if you do a Refresh so all the programs and apps that you have installed will not be deleted You can also make new custom refresh images periodically Creating a Custom Refresh Image Periodically you can make an updated Custom Refresh image These images must be stored on your C drive otherwise recovery may not work The best way to create and manage these Custom Refresh images is to use the simple free program called RecimgManager Download and install RecimgManager from http www recimg com The User Manual for RecimgManager is here For DOS heads you can also create these using an Elevated Command Prompt See this article It also explains how to manage multiple Custom Refresh Images System Reset Using System Reset is really a last resort if you have problems that cannot be resolved by other means It will delete ALL your data programs and apps and reset your system to when you first set up Windows 8 Windows 8 Settings
9. en Users then your user name and you will see all your files but with dates appended File Edit View Tools Help Organize v Include in library Share with Burn New folder Downloads Name Date modified Type Size t Pictures Se ae z do Contacts 29 12 2012 3 04 PM File folder 4 Recent Places ATER ORTE d Desktop 29 12 2012 3 04 PM File folder amp SkyDrive ATL tN di Documents 29 12 2012 4 22 PM File folder A d Favorites 29 12 2012 3 04 PM File folder Libraries aa J Music 29 12 2012 3 23PM File folder Documents ee recs eer ay j do Pictures 29 12 2012 3 20 PM File folder a Music pa eas NS S do SkyDrive 29 12 2012 4 22PM File folder t Pictures ae a mE d Videos 29 12 2012 3 04 PM File folder F Videos Viewing files using this method is OK but there is no Restore function and you should not edit them If a catastrophe has occurred and for some reason this is the only way you can view them they can at least be copied to your main hard disk Warnings Keep your backup USB disk plugged in Don t include any part of the USB disk in your Documents Pictures or Videos library Windows will get confused If you delete files reformat your backup drive or replace it File will prompt you asking if you want to include all previously saved offline files Select NO and it will perform a new full file history backup to your new or erased drive
10. erves Protecta i Acer C sytem n amp POSERVICE o Corpse restos settings noege disk moos ang Oetete restore ports Create a restore pori eget now forthe i have system protection umed on Configure Create OK Cancel A small box will pop up to ask you what you want to call it give it a relevant name say pre Tester System Protection Ea Create a restore point Type a description to help you identify the restore point The current date and time are added automatically pre Tester l Create Cancel Then then click Create this will now appear on the restore points if you need to use it Some computers have System restore turned off recommend it be turned on Repeat the last operation but in the System Properties choose configure and make sure the first option is selected Accessing System Restore when Locked out of Windows 8 If you have set up your Windows 8 computer with a Microsoft account ie using an email address it is possible to be locked out of your computer In this case you may be able to do a System Restore to a date when you could access the computer so regaining access To access System Restore normally requires you to be logged in with an Admin account the old F8 at boot up to access Safe Mode trick does not work with Windows 8 If you have a separate Local admin account as well as your Microsoft account which is strongly recommended you can log in locally and take recovery acti
11. les are dropped off and lost 2 If your hard disk fails files in the cache cannot be retrieved One good thing about File History is that the backed up files are not encrypted so you can view them directly on any computer Access File History from Control Panel File History or search for File History in Settings in the Start screen The first time you use it it says No file history was found and that File History is currently turned off Click on Configure File History Settings Home File History When the File History window appears if you have not already plugged in your external USB hard disk do so then refresh the window S pai H gt Control Panel gt All Control Panel Items File History v Search Control Panel R File Edit View Tools Help Refresh File History F5 Control Pane Home Keep a history of your files Restore personal files File History saves copies of your files so you can get them back if they re lost or damaged Set ave We recommend that you use an external drive for File History Connect a drive and refresh th Exclude folders use a network location Use network location Advanced settings If you want to exclude any folders from being backed up click Exclude folders and add each folder that you don t want backed up then Save changes for example exclude Bigpond Movie downloads in the Video library P At Control Porettems fe itory Leciude Folders v earch Content
12. ndows 7 Windows Backup function Setting it up To use File History you need a large capacity external USB hard drive connected File history will periodically scan your Libraries Documents Pictures Music and Videos Desktop Favourites and Contacts folders and backup any changed files This happens hourly by default but you can change the frequency Note that File History will not back up your emails If you want your emails backed up depending on the email client you use you need to locate the storage folder s for your emails and manually back them up Every time any of your personal files changes its copy will be stored on a dedicated external storage device selected by you Over time File History builds a complete history of changes made to personal files The backup files are written to a large capacity external hard drive that should be always connected and have the same drive letter If you remove this drive for any reason ensure that you use the Safely Remove Hardware icon and only remove it when it is safe to do so If you do remove the USB drive File History temporarily reverts to a local cache on the primary hard disk C drive until you reconnect the USB drive again then the cache is flushed to the USB drive so it is then up to date The size of this local cache is set to 5 of your primary hard disk but you can change this setting Two things to note about this cache 1 If it becomes full the oldest copies of fi
13. on using your local account However if you do not have a Local admin account here is a handy trick 1 At the login screen click the Power icon on the bottom right of the screen You will see the three power options hold the left shift key down and click Restart to gain access to advanced start up options a gt Shute Seep Shut down 2 Choose Troubleshoot then Advanced options then System Restore you can then proceed to attempt a System Restore which will require your password Warning If possible try to use System Restore to recover from an issue because then you keep all your programs and data If you are in dire straits you can use Refresh or Reset e Refresh will reset Windows 8 as originally installed and delete all your programs and downloaded apps but keep your data After this operation you would need to reinstall all your applications like Word email etc e Reset is more drastic it will reset Windows 8 as originally installed but also delete all your programs apps data and users After this operation you would proceed like when you first set up your system Using File History to back up personal data Introduction Backing up your personal files is and essential housekeeping task With Windows 8 File History you can backup your personal files restore some or all your files or restore the previous version of a file you have been editing or have accidently deleted File History replaces the Wi
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