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MFR IT Technical Guides
Table of Contents
1 Glossary ... 3
2 Backup Strategy ... 4
3 Windows Backup Options ... 5
3.1
Windows File History Backup ... 5
3.2
Windows System Image Backup ... 7
3.3
Windows System Protection ... 10
3.4
Troubleshooting questions with System Protection ... 13
4 Restoring files from Backup ... 13
5 System Restore -‐ Restoring Windows 8.1 with a System Image backup ... 16
5.1
Restoring Windows 8.1 on a functioning computer ... 16
5.1.1
Use the Recovery function in System Restore to revert the system to a previous state. ... 16
5.1.2
Use the new PC settings tool in Windows 8.1 to refresh the system. ... 20
5.2
Restoring Windows 8.1 on an inaccessible machine ... 23
6 System Rebuild – Complete rebuild of a Windows 8.1 machine ... 29
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1
Glossary
Drive A disk on a computer, either physical, or virtual, (a physical disk may contain multiple virtual drives or volumes
Volume A logical drive that appears as a single accessible storage area, place to store system and/or data System Image An exact copy of a drive, useful in recovery to replace a faulty or missing
System Restore Point A point-in-time where the system, (i.e. Windows) has taken a copy of the configuration settings and files necessary to run Windows that you can revert the system back to
Cloud Backup Backup to places located on the Internet HDD Hard Disk Drive
GB GigaByte, a computer sizing unit that denotes an amount of memory, (1GB = 1000MB, MegaByte) Wizard A part of an application, (generally on install), that guides the user through setting configurations for
the application
NTFS New Technology File System – Microsoft’s proprietary File System, providing a stable and secure platform for Windows to be installed onto
File System Is used to control how data is stored and retrieved. Every hard disk requires a file system that acts like a cataloguing system for all the data stored on it
Hardware Refers to any physical used or connected to a computer system; Hard Disks, CPU, etc. Software Refers to the non-tangible parts of a computer system; Operating System, Applications, etc. CPU Central Processing Unit – carries out the instructions directed to it by the Operating System and
other applications
Boot The term used for a computer starting up
2
Backup Strategy
Why? – To protect your computer, and most importantly, your Data, from corruption, loss,
or deletion you need to have a backup strategy in place.
It is very important to always have a current backup of your system and files so that in the event of disk failure; corruption of the O.S.; loss of your PC, (more prone to happen with laptops); or some other issue that renders your system unrecoverable; you can restore from a valid backup and get everything back.
Windows 8.1 comes with three standard types of backup;
1. Windows File History Backup – Microsoft, in Windows 8.1, have removed their previous Windows Backup program, and replaced it with a version of File History that allows you to back up your files and folders to a separate backup drive/NAS.
2. System Image backup –Will create an image of all the system and application files, and provides a restore of the entire system, including all programs, settings, and files. This will create a single backup file. You cannot select individual files to restore with this type of backup.
3. System Restore, (local File History Backup,) – This tool allows you to set aside a certain amount of hard-disk space to create older copies of system settings and files to restore from if necessary, for each drive on the computer.
For the first two options it’s best to purchase an external hard disk drive, (HDD), that you can use as a backup drive. I recommend a 2.5 inch size drive that uses USB power, (i.e. it doesn’t require a separate power cable to run). WD and Seagate do good cheap drives and you can find these in most electrical goods stores, or computer wholesalers.
(The 3.5 inch drives are cheaper but larger, weigh 4 to 5 times as much, and often have separate power required). Option 3 uses a set amount of hard disk space on each drive that you set it up for – see section 2.3 for more details.
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3
Windows Backup Options
3.1 Windows File History Backup
Why? – So you can recover your data in the event of a system, user, hardware, or
environmental issue.
Note: File History backup will only backup files and folders located with Libraries, (e.g. Documents, Pictures, etc.), Contacts, Favourites and files and folders located on the desktop.
If you do change the location of your “Documents” and other folders, File History will still back them up providing they are linked to their associated Library – changing default Windows 8.1 folder locations was covered in Section 9 of the MFRIT.comWin8.1-Setup-Security-Networking document).
• To access Windows File History Backup open the “Search” function and type “file history”. • To do this either; Hover
the mouse cursor over the bottom-right of the screen until you get the “-“ showing then move
the mouse up to the Search icon;
• Or by pressing the windows key, “ + “s”, to search all items.
Alternatively, open “Control Panel” and select “Save backup copies…”, or “File History” – if you have view by Large/Small icons set.
• To access the “Control Panel”, either;
• Hover the mouse in the
bottom-left of screen,
selecting “Settings”
when it appears, then
“Control Panel”; or,
• Open “File Explorer” , and then select
