The concept of “restoring Windows 8” users often mean different things: someone just resuming the factory settings, and someone - removing previously installed updates or canceling changes that occurred after installing a suspicious driver. Today it is customary to consider several useful methods that will help roll back Windows OS versions 8 and 8.1. We will talk about them in today's article.
It is not necessary to reinstall the system to return the PC to work.
Recovery point: what it is for and how to use it
Such points are often used to bring the system back on track. They are created without the participation of the user, after installing various utilities, drivers, etc. You can create them yourself, manually. The method helps in situations when errors occurred when booting or running the machine after installing any program.
You can use the method as follows:
- get to the control panel (first select the "Start" button), click "Restore";
- click on “Start System Restore”;
- Include the renewal process, picking up the point of interest by the date.
Cancel updates
Sometimes, after the installation of basic updates, our computer starts to behave incorrectly: the Internet may disappear, errors occur when working with individual programs. To avoid such a development of events, experts recommend using rollback updates. Restoring Windows 8.1 when using this method is pretty fast. To do this, use the Windows Update Center, where you can click on “Delete Updates”. An alternative way is to use the command line.
So, after going to the Update Center, you need to select the "Installed updates" link. Here you will see all updates installed at the moment, their installation date and code. Having figured out exactly after what period the problems started with the machine, calculate the update and delete it by pressing the appropriate key. The PC will ask you to confirm your decision, to do this, click "Yes."
Now reboot the system - this will help you to understand if the error has disappeared or if you need to look for another solution to solve the problem.
Recovery image
To roll back to normal, the system may require a backup with all the drivers, programs, and, if necessary, files. Such images are present on all devices on which the OS was put by the manufacturer. The images are located in a hidden section of the hard drive, contain the manufacturer-installed programs, as well as the system itself.
The user can create such an image on their own at any time. It is best to do this after installing and performing basic settings. If the hidden partition is missing or was previously deleted, you can re-create it.
So, you need to select "Delete all files and reinstall Windows" in the "Restore" section. No preparation is required, because everything goes automatically.
Reset
If the computer running under Windows version 8 (8.1) does not work correctly, you can “drop” the main settings, and your important files will not be deleted. It is preferable to do this when all other options have not helped. The method is highly efficient, but the reset can be activated only if Windows starts by itself.
On the panel on the right side of the monitor, find “Parameters”, and then find the “Modifying Parameters” item. Next, it is important to select the “Recovery” section in the “Update and Restore” list.
Here are the following options:
- delete all files and reinstall Windows;
- recovery without deleting files (what interests us now);
- special download options (not applicable to this article).
If you click on the second option, you will reset all system settings, without affecting the files that are on the computer. In other words, videos, documents, music and a number of other downloads will remain intact. However, third-party utilities that you installed yourself will be removed. The programs from the Windows 8 store will be reinstalled automatically.
The first item will allow the machine to return to factory settings. By selecting it, you can lose important data. If the disk is divided into a couple of disks (C and D, for example), then non-system partitions can be left untouched.
Clarifications:
Performing a reset, the computer uses the recovery partition, which is present on all devices with Windows preinstalled. If the OS is installed on its own, a reset is also possible, but you will have to use the distribution of the installed Windows, from which the necessary files will be taken.
Many users after receiving Windows 8 are updated to version 8.1. After resetting the settings, they need to perform the update again, because in this case you will receive a “clean” version. In the process of performing these actions, you may need a product key (the system may ask to enter it at one of the stages).
If you can not log in
If nothing is loaded, the user can get to the update mechanism (for this, find the disk with the system). The procedure is as follows:
- boot from the installation disk or a recovery disk created in advance, click "System Restore";
- find the item "Diagnostics", then click on the button "Restore".
As you can see, it is only necessary to find the required disk - and the problem will be solved. After completing these steps, you will have the correct version of the OS, and a report on the programs that had to be removed will appear on the desktop.
Results
Restoring Windows 8 or 8.1 is possible even in the most difficult situations. All that is required for this is to study the instructions presented above and follow each of its points. We hope that one of the proposed methods will help to resolve the issue by saving important files on your computer. Good luck!