Windows System Restore. Windows System Restore How to recover windows 8.1 files

Recovery system files Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 most interesting topic. Especially if the operating system starts to fail, but we don’t have a recovery image and we forgot to turn on system protection so that recovery points can be created. In this case, we will not be able to restore the system from the image, we will not be able to roll back Windows to the created restore point, and we are also too lazy to reinstall the system, since this will take the whole day. And right here we have another chance to return Windows to normal - try to restore system files. In this article I will try to fully cover the topic so that we can revive our computer in any situation.

1. Recovering system files on a busy system

If our computer somehow turns on, then we do the following. (if it does not turn on, see section 2 of this article)

Open the Start menu. In the search field we write “Com”. On the element " Command line"Right-click and select " Run as administrator»

In the command line that opens we write

sfc /scannow

We wait a bit

If your system is ok, you will see the following image

If your Windows was broken, you will see the following

System files were successfully restored. We reboot and immediately turn on system protection to create restore points so that next time we can simply roll back the state of the computer to a couple of days ago and that’s it.

It happens that when scanning the system, the sfc.exe utility found damaged files, but could not fix them. In this case, I would restore system files in Safe Mode. If in safe mode the same read the last paragraph 4 of this article.

If your computer does not boot at all, as discussed at the very beginning of the article, then read the next paragraph.

If our computer does not want to boot at all, then we use the recovery environment. You can load into it:

Pressed when turning on the computer F8 repeatedly
Booting from a boot (installation) disk or flash drive

The first option will work if we have a boot partition that the system created when partitioning the disk when we installed the system. Boot partition size:

Windows 7 - 100 MB.
Windows 8 - 350 MB.

In any case, try pressing F8 several times during boot. A window should appear with additional download options. Choose Troubleshooting computer problems.

In the next window, select the keyboard input method. Select the language in which you have set the administrator password (if there is no password, you can immediately click Next >).

Select a user with administrative rights and enter a password if you have one. If there is no password, just click OK.

Select the command line.

If you are unable to enter the recovery environment using the F8 key, you will need to boot from the installation (bootable) flash drive or disk. You can boot from disk in the same way. Only in this case you need to put the DVD-RW (optical disc reader) first in the boot priority.

I like to boot from removable media using the boot menu. In maternal ASUS boards it is usually also called by the key F8.

After booting from a flash drive or disk, I saw the following picture. I choose Windows Setup- Windows installation.

We wait until all installed Windows are found.

We choose the one that does not turn on for us. And here CAREFULLY! We remember the letter that the recovery environment assigned to your system (in the Folder column). I have this D.

Select Command Line.

Enter the command

sfc /scannow /offbootdir=D:\ /offwindir=D:\windows

Instead of D, you substitute your letter. Press Enter and wait for the scan to complete

On the virtual machine where the above screenshot was taken, there was blue screen, so I was not surprised that system files were found and restored.

3. How to find out the drive letter with Windows installed

If you succeed using the key F8 bring up the window " Additional options download" and select "Troubleshoot computer problems", then we need to find out the drive letter where Windows is installed that was assigned by the recovery environment. This can be done in two ways

1. Call the notepad with the command

Open menu in notepad File and choose Open…

Left click Computer and in front of you there will be disks with letters.

You can go to the disk and make sure what and where.

2. Use the utility DISKPART

On the command line enter:

diskpart- call the utility for working with disks.

list disk- look through the list of disks.

select disk- I choose the one I need HDD.

detail disk- I call up information about this disk.

4. For Windows 8/8.1

If the sfc utility was unable to restore damaged system files, then you need to try to restore the storage of these system files. The place where copies of working system files should be located. As I understand it, it is located at C:\Windows\WinSxS. That is, we must first fix the file storage, and then use the “SFC / Scannow” command to restore Windows system files.

4.1. Recovering storage using Windows Update

1. Launch Windows PowerShell with administrator rights. To do this, open the Start menu or home screen and click on the “Search” icon. In the search box we write “PowerShell”. Right-click on “Windows PowerShell” and select “Run as administrator” or “Run as administrator”.

2. In the window that opens, write

Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth

and wait. If the storage is intact or it was possible to restore it using Windows Update, then you will see the following picture.

If Image Health State: Healthy - everything is fine. Reboot the computer and try SFC /SCANNOW again.

4.2. Restoring storage using an image

If we have problems with Windows Update, then this method will do.

1. Download original image Windows 8/8.1 is the same bit size as your system. How to find out the bit depth installed system - .

2. Connect or mount the downloaded image. Right-click on the image and select “Connect” or “Mount”.

3. In the command line with administrator rights, we look at what editions there are in the image with the command

Dism /Get-WimInfo /WimFile:F:\sources\install.wim

I have 2 editions in my image. It’s hard to understand which one I need based on these distinctive signs. Let's use the first one. If it doesn’t work, the second one.

4. Launch Windows PowerShell with administrator rights and set the command

Repair-WindowsImage -Online -RestoreHealth -Source F:\sources\install.wim:1

where F is the drive letter to which we connected the image, 1 is the Windows edition number in the image.

5. Recovering system files manually

If using the sfc utility it was not possible to recover damaged files, you need to try to do it manually. In this case, you need to additionally run the command

findstr /c:"" %windir%\Logs\CBS\CBS.log >"%userprofile%\Desktop\sfcdetails.txt"

Findstr/c: ""%Windir%\Logs\CBS\cbs.log>sfcdetails.txt

and study the file carefully sfcdetails.txt on your desktop or %windir%\Logs\CBS\.

It should be something similar to the picture below.

After the name damaged file known (Accessibility.dll), look for it on another computer with the same system as yours. If this is not an option, then I would download the original Windows image and install it on the virtual machine. I found the file I needed and copied it to a bootable or installation flash drive. Then, with this installation flash drive booted into the recovery environment, launched the command line. From command line I would open a notepad. I opened the menu File > Open - and now I have an almost full-fledged explorer. We copy and replace the working file from the flash drive, reboot and everything should work.

If you have the option of installing virtual machine does not fit, then you can include the install.wim file in the folder. Then go to this folder and copy the necessary files.

1. Create a folder. For example, “Win8.1Pro” in the root of drive D.

2. Copy the install.wim file to the root of drive D.

3. Mount the install.wim file into the created folder.

Dism /Mount-Wim /Index:1 /WimFile:D:\install.wim /MountDir:D:\Win8.1Pro

Go to the created folder and copy the necessary files.

Disable the image

Dism /Unmount-Wim /MountDir:D:\Win8.1Pro /Discard

Sometimes, due to the installation of a program, driver, or virus infection, Windows may begin to run slowly or stop working altogether. System Restore allows you to return your computer's system files and programs to the state they were in when they were working correctly, and avoid lengthy troubleshooting. It will not affect your documents, images and other data.

There are times when it is necessary to perform a system rollback - restoring the main system files from a “snapshot” of an earlier state - a restore point or OS image. With its help, you can return Windows to working condition, but at the same time, everything installed in Lately to drive C (or any other, depending on which drive the backup will be on), programs and, quite possibly, settings made during this period.

If you can login

Rollback to last point

If, after installing a new application or update, only part of the system stopped working for you (for example, some driver crashed or a problem occurred in the program), then you can restore to the last point when everything functioned without failures. Don't worry, your personal files will not be affected.

Attention!

The recovery process will not be able to be interrupted once it is started. It can only be canceled after the process is completed.

Once the process is complete, your computer will reboot and everything will be as before again.

If the system is damaged and does not work

Method 1: Use a restore point

If, after making any changes, you cannot log into the system, then in this case you need to rollback through backup mode. Usually, in such cases, the computer itself switches to the required mode. If this does not happen, then when starting the computer, press F8(or Shift+F8).

After this, the recovery process will begin and you can continue working on your computer.

Method 2: Backup from a bootable USB flash drive

Windows 8 and 8.1 OS allow you to create boot disk restoration using standard means. It is a regular USB flash drive that boots into the Windows recovery environment (that is, limited mode diagnostics), which allows you to repair startup, file system or fix other problems that cause the OS to not boot or run with noticeable problems.

Backup can take quite a while for a long time, so be patient.

Thus, the OS family Microsoft Windows allow using standard (regular) means to perform complete backup and restoring operating systems from previously saved images. In this case, all user information will remain intact.

By the concept of “restoring Windows 8”, users often mean different things: some simply restore factory settings, while others mean uninstalling previously installed updates or undoing changes that occurred after installing a suspicious driver. Today it is customary to consider several useful methods that will help roll back the OS. Windows versions 8 and 8.1. We will talk about them in today's article.

To return your PC to working order, it is not necessary to reinstall the system

Such points are very 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 where errors occur when loading or operating the machine after installing a program.

You can use the method like this:

get to the control panel (first select the “Start” button), click “Recovery”;
Click on “Run System Restore”;
enable the renewal process by selecting the point you are interested in by date.

Cancel updates

Sometimes, after installing basic updates, our computer begins to behave incorrectly: the Internet may disappear, errors may appear when working with certain programs. To avoid such developments, experts recommend using update rollback. Restoring Windows 8.1 using this method is quite fast. To do this, you should use the Center Windows updates, where click on “Remove updates”. Alternative way- use the command line.

So, after going to the Update Center, you need to select the link “ Installed updates" All updates installed on your computer will be visible here. this moment, date of installation and code. Having figured out exactly after what period the problems with the machine began, calculate the update and remove 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 understand whether the error has disappeared or whether you need to look for another way out to solve the problem.

Recovery Image

To roll back to normal, the system may need to backup copy with all drivers, programs, and, if necessary, files. Such images are present on all devices on which the OS was installed by the manufacturer. The images are located in a hidden partition of the hard drive and contain programs installed by the manufacturer, as well as the system itself.

The user can create such an image on his own at any time. It's best to do this after installing and performing basic settings. If hidden section is missing or was previously deleted, it can be created again.

So, you need to select “Delete all files and reinstall Windows” in the “Recovery” section. No preparation is required, because everything happens automatically.

Reset

At malfunction on a computer running Windows version 8 (8.1), you can “reset” the basic settings, but your important files will not be deleted. It is preferable to do this when all other options have failed. The method is highly effective, but the reset can only be used if Windows starts on its own.

In the panel on the right side of the monitor, find “Settings”, and then find the “Change settings” option. Next, it is important to select the “Recovery” section in the “Update and Recovery” list.

The following options are offered here:

deleting all files and reinstalling Windows;
recovery without deleting files (what interests us now);
special download options (not relevant 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. Programs from the Windows 8 store will be reinstalled automatically.

The first point will allow you to return the car to factory settings. If you select it, you may lose important data. If the disk is divided into a pair of disks (C and D, for example), then non-system partitions can be left untouched.

Clarifications:

When resetting the settings, the computer uses the recovery partition, which is present on all devices with Windows pre-installed. If the OS was installed on your own, a reset is also possible, but you will have to use the distribution kit of the installed Windows, from which the necessary files will be taken.

Many users after getting Windows 8 are updated to version 8.1. After resetting the settings, they need to update again, because in this case you will receive a “clean” version. During these steps, you may be asked for a product key (the system may ask you to enter it at one of the steps).

If you can't log in

If nothing loads, the user can get to the update mechanism (to do 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 “Diagnostics” item, then click on the “Restore” button.

As you can see, you just need to find the required disk - and the problem will be solved. After completing these steps, you will have the correct OS version, and a report of programs that had to be removed will appear on your 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 resolve the issue by saving important files on your computer. Good luck!

Return to the initial state- 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 re-install drivers and enter serial number product. 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 installation Windows disk 8.1:

In the window Windows installation click Further:

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 point you have a choice: 1) clear only system partition; This option is suitable for you if your OS has become unusable and you want to restore it for further use. For full 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 operating system(or as if you just brought home new computer With Windows pre-installed 8.1). Select your region, language, time zone and keyboard layout:

Accept the license terms:

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

The system will request confirmation via mobile phone or mail. 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:

In just a few clicks, you will return the systems to their original state, getting rid of the problems that arose after installing faulty drivers or buggy software.

Recover Windows without losing data

Soft Windows reset 8 is called " Recovery"(Refresh). To do this, first press the " Win+C» open « Miracle panel", and then call the menu " Options | Change computer settings" In the first version of Windows 8, the recovery function is located in the " Are common».

Here you will have to scroll far down the list. Windows 8.1 has better menu organization. In this system, click on " Update and recovery" and then to " Recovery" Function " Refresh» in Russian Windows versions 8 and 8.1 was called " Updating your PC without deleting files" Click the mouse on the button " Further» will start the Wizard's work.

Recovery from storage media

In the next step, your computer will start in the so-called recovery environment ( Windows Recovery Environment - RE). If this console is not configured on your PC, Windows will ask for an installation disc.

Insert the DVD or USB drive containing the Windows installation files. Windows RE will then analyze your hard drive, save your data, settings, and applications, reinstall Windows, and finally copy everything back to it. After the reboot, you will receive a “fresh” Windows with all the data saved during the update.

Hard Reset Windows

A real reset in Windows 8 is launched in a similar way. Open the Miracle Bar again and "Options | Change computer settings" On Windows 8, go to the " Are common", and in Windows 8.1 select " Update and recovery | Recovery" Function " Reset"here called" Removing all data and reinstalling Windows" Clicking on " Further" launches the Windows RE recovery environment, so keep the installation or recovery disk handy.

With such a reset, however, no data will be saved: Windows environment RE will erase and format all partitions, and also reinstall the system. Some manufacturers, such as Sony, have integrated a recovery feature into their laptop menus that uses a hidden Recovery partition. On some models there is a separate button for this.

Recovery Image Configuration

The “Refresh” function does not affect only “tiled” applications; installed classic programs disappear. On the Desktop, you will be prompted to view a list of uninstalled applications, which can be used as a starting point for later installation of programs.

Professionals can take advantage of the customizable recovery feature. First, configure the computer to your liking, select the necessary parameters and programs, and then press the " Win + X"call the menu in the lower left corner of the screen and run " Windows PowerShell (Administrator)».

Confirm the User Account Control prompt and enter " mkdir C:\RefreshImage" After this, the command “ recimg –CreateImage C:\RefreshImage» create new image, which will be used for recovery.

Photo: manufacturing company