# Automated pc restore?



## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

I think you just have to set up restore date. But I'm a cave man so no help here.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I just had to restore FF and was shaking in my shoes. Had no idea what I was doing but computer had become virtually useless. In Task manager I saw two FF.exe files at over 1.2 gig each and climbing so didn't look good. Fumbled my way through at least a partial restore and came out better, but don't want to mess too much with this antique as it needs to be replaced.

but, when I buy a replacement I would like that restore button or similar, thus the post.

Talk about a love/hate relationship, I couldn't live without my computer and the internet, but I hate both of them.

Bud


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bud9051 said:


> I just had to restore FF and was shaking in my shoes. Had no idea what I was doing but computer had become virtually useless. In Task manager I saw two FF.exe files at over 1.2 gig each and climbing so didn't look good. Fumbled my way through at least a partial restore and came out better, but don't want to mess too much with this antique as it needs to be replaced.
> 
> but, when I buy a replacement I would like that restore button or similar, thus the post.
> 
> ...


 It's like having a wife that never argues, just stops talking for no apparent reason.:devil3:


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## joed (Mar 13, 2005)

Many new PC have something close.
With the proper keystrokes on boot up you can boot to restore partition that will restore the PC to manufacturer default. All your settings etc will be lost.

There are also available external hardrive backup systems. You plug it into your USB and backup the system. If you ever need to restore you plug it back in and reverse the process to restore back to that days configuration.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

I hear you Joe, but I need the one button simplicity. I'm incompetent now with computers so what good will I be in 2, 5, 10 years? I need to bring in my computer geek and have him walk through the set up and done. Every time the pc has a problem, I push that button and go to sleep.

And remember, it isn't just me that is getting old, we have many millions of baby boomers crossing that threshold. IMO, for some reason the mfgs and experts DON'T WANT THIS. Although I don't trust the cloud it could be part of this process.

One button and done.

Bud


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## Nealtw (Jun 22, 2017)

Bud9051 said:


> I hear you Joe, but I need the one button simplicity. I'm incompetent now with computers so what good will I be in 2, 5, 10 years? I need to bring in my computer geek and have him walk through the set up and done. Every time the pc has a problem, I push that button and go to sleep.
> 
> And remember, it isn't just me that is getting old, we have many millions of baby boomers crossing that threshold. IMO, for some reason the mfgs and experts DON'T WANT THIS. Although I don't trust the cloud it could be part of this process.
> 
> ...


 So you want 2 buttons on the keyboard. One to back it up everyday. And one to go back to the last back up. That would be way to easy.


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## Bud9051 (Nov 11, 2015)

Hard for me to say what needs to be saved and what can be purged, that is part of the development of this one button function. My current pc takes 5 minutes to just turn on. Every other post requires me to reset the modem to force communications. Avast is a total hog and has only intercepted a couple of threats but I can't really say they were threats. I have run Malware bytes and it has never found a problem. I run search and destroy and again never finds anything wrong.

When I look at the gigabytes stored on this computer I have no idea which ones should be removed. Even looking at removing old software scares the H out of me that the pc will be dead when I'm done.

My point is, I'm not interested in fixing this Vista beast but want the new one to not fall into the same state of total disrepair.

BTW, if I disappear at some point it will probably be because the pc decided to die.

End of rant (not really).

Bud


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## Colbyt (Jan 27, 2014)

Bud9051 said:


> Did not try to search, wouldn't know it if I saw it. But why haven't they developed a box that can be set up on a new pc so when compromised one can plug it in, push a button and it saves, restores, and reloads what it saved per how it was set up.
> 
> I'm a dinosaur, but my company used to do exactly that with a stack of diskettes on an old XT banking system. Slow, but when we left they were good as new.
> 
> ...



If you are still using win 7 and have an external HD I can post the 3-4 easy steps to back up your entire system. External is best so you can unplug it to protect against malware infecting it.


I have an older 1TB version of this https://www.amazon.com/Elements-Des...TF8&qid=1537460842&sr=8-4&keywords=WD+my+book and it came with an auto backup software which I uninstalled as I wanted to using it a media center


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## chiraldude (Nov 16, 2013)

I have found the built in restore partition fairly useless since it restores back to factory setup, erasing all data and rolling back all windows updates.
I prefer to use a software backup tool to store disk images/snapshots. These can be setup to create a backup at regular intervals. When you want to restore, you boot with the rescue media and select the date you want to go back to and press go. Usually takes less than an hour.
There are free tools for this but if you want automated and "easy" you need to pay for something good. Also you will need storage media. Get the biggest USB hard disk you can afford. Or, you can purchase cloud storage for an annual fee. 
Acronis True Image and Norton Ghost are two I would recommend. For freeware, look at Macrium Reflect.


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## Arky217 (Aug 18, 2010)

Solve your Windows problems with one word, PEPPERMINT.

My computer starts in 20 sec. and shuts down in 3 sec.

Even IF you ever have a unrecoverable problem with Peppermint,
just reinstall the OS in just a few minutes, and all the apps in not 
much longer.

Been using Linux for about 12 years.
I've tried most of the popular distros
and Peppermint is the cat's meow.
Stable, secure, very fast, and very friendly support forum.

Peppermint


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## chiraldude (Nov 16, 2013)

Would recommend Mint but I think the OP is not likely to jump to Linux in one leap. 
At any rate, a backup is still a good idea no matter what OS you are using. Data corruption and hard drive failure is always lurking!


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## JaysEngineering (Dec 19, 2017)

So I have been in the IT Industry for about 17 years. Part of the problem is that every company is looking to do a specific task there way. Top that off with a to. A different hardware and software configurations and your just made that one button set it and forget almost impossible to attain. A solution that works for some may not work for others. Back in the day there were less options and we’ll less complexity which made things seem to work better in comparison to today’s tech. With that said you have to find the combination that is right for you.

Personally I have thousands invested in the latest tech. My system boots in seconds and shuts down even faster. I have Terabytes of space on a device as thin as a pack of winter fresh. What are you looking to backup specifically? Some are concerned with financial data. Others are concerned about the entire system state (operating system, applications and data). Then their is the back media. You can backup locally to a dedicated drive, you and backup to an external drive or backup to the cloud (just someone else’s data center). nothing is as simple as we would like it to be these days.


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## ReignStout (Aug 15, 2018)

Arky217 said:


> Solve your Windows problems with one word, PEPPERMINT.
> 
> My computer starts in 20 sec. and shuts down in 3 sec.
> 
> ...


Add ssd and it would be ~ 5 seconds.


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## Drachenfire (Jun 6, 2017)

Bud, what you are describing is available, we use it in my office. 

When we have a system that normal troubleshooting does not resolve, we launch a job that re-images the workstation and re-adds it to the domain. 

Unfortunately this system costs substantially more than the average consumer can afford.

However here is an option.

Setup your computer the way you want it including any applications you normally use. Once you have it configured, create a backup image.

Here are two websites that can assist with this.

Imaging Your Desktop with Desktop Imaging Software

How to make a full backup of your Windows 10 PC


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## Guap0_ (Dec 2, 2017)

Bud wrote:


> With today's malware it would be nice to hit that button as I turned in for the night and wake up to a brand new computer.


That would be nice but it's more complicated than that. A clean install or using the recovery partition is not always needed. A woman I know accessed the recovery partition accidentally. I don't know how she did that.


Neal wrote:


> I think you just have to set up restore date.


Don't confuse a restore point with the recovery partition


Neal wrote:



> So you want 2 buttons on the keyboard. One to back it up everyday. And one to go back to the last back up. That would be way to easy.


That's easily done using scheduled tasks.


chiraldude wrote:


> I have found the built in restore partition fairly useless since it restores back to factory setup, erasing all data and rolling back all windows updates.


Once again, it is a recovery partition not a restore point.


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## carpdad (Oct 11, 2010)

https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/how-to/windows/how-back-up-windows-10-3635397/


So far, and only read a few paragraphs of it, I like this explanations best of the few I searched for keeping the language normal and enough details. I have a bootable flash drive made when I free updated to win10 from 7, but your question reminded me I need something like this. One thing, a new repair drive would have the most recent updates. 



Another thing, though. Very old updates may not be compatible with the new, or maybe considered "corrupt" by new updates. It seems that all of this depends on the flavor of the programmers of the times and the past means nothing to the new people.:smile:


As such, you may want to take the time and create 2 backups. One is operating system only (bootable) and another is the whole, current, system.


Sorry not expert at all. But hope this adds little more to what you know.


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