Microsoft Windows 8 Has User-Friendly Reinstall Button

CommanderFrank

CommanderFrank

Cat Can't Scratch It
Joined
May 9, 2000
Messages
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Some of the new features on the upcoming Windows 8 OS will be welcomed while others will not. The new reinstall feature will be well received by most of its users. With the ‘no need for installation disc’ technology and simple and easy to use interface, this should be one of the more popular additions.

If you wanted to just perform a complete, fresh install of Windows, would you be able to find your original Windows install disc?
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I can reach my windows discs for both my systems from where I am sitting.

This is [H], isn't it? :)
 
If you wanted to just perform a complete, fresh install of Windows, would you be able to find your original Windows install disc?
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Yes. It's called a USB Stick and it's on my key chain. Oh I have it on ISO too.
 
Oh yeah. I can see this option getting abused QUITE easily.

Now instead of "Would you like this malware to nuke your filesystem" it'll be "Would you like us to wipe Windows out for you along with all your files?"
 
The quote you took from the article, yes, yes I could, all the way back to win98SE.

I also have these disks on ISO and slipstream as well.
 
I got the iso of my installations all stored on a backup hard drive and burned to disks.

This is stupid since the viruses will now know to target this install disk as well. So they will either disable it (via corruption) or install the virus onto it as well. Thus you will never get a clean install from it.
 
Project_Nightmare said:
I got the iso of my installations all stored on a backup hard drive and burned to disks.

This is stupid since the viruses will now know to target this install disk as well. So they will either disable it (via corruption) or install the virus onto it as well. Thus you will never get a clean install from it.
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If its encrypted and stored in the backup area it will be safe. Re-reading the article, this doesn't seem to be as a "one click and done" function either. This is just a way to start over fresh, like a manufacturer reset.
 
This will be bad for retail technicians like myself who charge customers $60-80 if not more (if you work at Staples/Best Buy etc) to reformat an OS. I have faith that the average user will still be too stupid to use this function and my gravy train will continue to flow.
 
What they need to do is have this present you with a list of your install programs, you put a check mark next to the ones you want to have automatically reinstalled post-refresh. When you first install an application, it could ask you "do you want to have the ability to reinstall this with refresh?" - saying yes would put the installs files on a designated drive/folder.
 
Viruses will just target the re installation files, so when you have a heavily virus infected machine you'll still want to use the CD anyway.
 
This will be handy, except most people will most likely think hitting option 2 will be better since it will "clean up" their files. Good luck on saving people from themselves Microsoft.
 
I still have my old Dos disks, and I know exactly where they are. I also don't have to reinstall Windows every 3-6 months like some people think is normal. This XP install is going on 5+ years and is still rock-solid stable. I also keep alternating backup images so if something catastrophic does happen all I have to do is reload from the backup and I'm up and running with minimal data loss. No need for this little feature for me. Besides, if the reinstall image gets corrupted by a virus or HD crash it's useless and you'll be digging out the Windows disk anyway.
 
I also don't have to reinstall Windows every 3-6 months like some people think is normal
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Impressive, considering you are using an 11 year old OS.
Do you just not use the Internet or not have it connected to your gateway?
 
Simmonz said:
This will be bad for retail technicians like myself who charge customers $60-80 if not more (if you work at Staples/Best Buy etc) to reformat an OS. I have faith that the average user will still be too stupid to use this function and my gravy train will continue to flow.
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Normally I would sympathize but i've seen way too many people taken advatage of by retail big box computer repair shops. One customer I remember in particular was charged $175 to clean out a virus and they didn't fix it. I charged them 50 bucks to clean it out properly and installed MSE for free. Most of my side work has been solely word of mouth and repeat business. Being honest as a computer tech may not be profitable in the short term but in the long term the calls keep coming in so continue to ride your gravy train while I mop up behind you :)
 
I still have my Pentium 3 Acer's driver disc and the Windows ME disc that came with it :D
 
Give me a call when MS decides that ALL programs running on their OS have to be run in a sandbox / virtual machine thus negating Origin's ability to scan my system...
 
night_2004 said:
Give me a call when MS decides that ALL programs running on their OS have to be run in a sandbox / virtual machine thus negating Origin's ability to scan my system...
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Just run BF3 inside a VM.. you'd be surprised how far GPU virtualization has come.
 
Red Falcon said:
Impressive, considering you are using an 11 year old OS.
Do you just not use the Internet or not have it connected to your gateway?
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I've have seen plenty of stable XP installs that are internet connected every day that are 5 years or older, you simply have to know what you're doing.

Yeah, kind of old news but it does point out that with all of the focus on Metro and tablets there's a lot more to Windows 8.
 
Xeth said:
Just run BF3 inside a VM.. you'd be surprised how far GPU virtualization has come.
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This has me interested. Quick Google search doesn't show anything useful (yet). Got any tips or recommendations you can PM me?
 
night_2004 said:
This has me interested. Quick Google search doesn't show anything useful (yet). Got any tips or recommendations you can PM me?
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vmware, and xen allow you to pass through the graphics card inside of the VM.
 
I recall there being a similar news article on H a month or so ago mentioning this feature. Or perhaps I'm just losing my mind :p
 
Im sure viruses will be able to find a way into this install.

Disk is will still be most secure option.
 
It would be better if they added a feature that stopped the OS from deteriorating over time, so users didn't have to reinstall it every 6-12 months...
 
So who's idea of a "restored and pristine" installation of Windows will I discover when I run this feature on your average notebook? Microsoft's, or the OEM's?

The number one reason for reinstalling Windows (at least as far as I'm concerned) is to completely nuke the OEM's Windows installation, which is invariably infested with unwanted junk that boarders on malware, and configured so sub-optimally that you wonder what's wrong with your supposedly new and whizz-bang hardware. OEM's and their partners aren't going to be happy if end users can wipe their subsidised shit with the press of a button, so I guess I'll be keeping installation media very close to hand.
 
Oh, yeah. Blow away the OEM's restore partition in the process. Reclaim the space, and forever be rid of the possibility that that garbage will ever be reapplied.
 
night_2004 said:
Give me a call when MS decides that ALL programs running on their OS have to be run in a sandbox / virtual machine thus negating Origin's ability to scan my system...
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I was really against it doing that too...then I constructed this faraday sheilding from sheets of aluminium and it was fine after that. When you say "system" you mean your program files folder for EA games, right? It's just some sensationalist nonsense some moron who doesn't know how lots of other programs work invented for attention. :p
 
JimmiG said:
It would be better if they added a feature that stopped the OS from deteriorating over time, so users didn't have to reinstall it every 6-12 months...
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I guess you're not running Windows 7?

The only way I can possible think of an OS 'deteriorating' is if you're installing all sorts of software and not uninstalling them. Windows runs great but it's the software you download that are the causes of issues, not the operating system.
 
If the OS is going to be reinstalled without a CD, then there's going to be a partition on the HD taking up space with a copy of Windows. Then when you have a problem, HP/Dell/whatever will have you hit the magic reset button.

Anyone here that knows how to pop a CD into their PC won't be impressed with this feature. Customers who keep visiting virus infested porn web sites are going to find this feature no different then a Quick Restore CD that used to come with PCs. Only except now it's streamlined and takes up hard disk space. Space that could be used for more porn.

This is just a great way to fix 80% of the problems customers have with their PC, but at the cost of user data. Settings, applications, and files will be lost from this. I could reinstall Windows for every problem I run into but I'd spend hours if not weeks getting my PC working the way I want it to.
 
I can already do this with Acronis True Image by having it create a hidden boot image which is accessible from boot up time with a function key so still don't need Metro, thanks for trying though.
 
kontact said:
I can already do this with Acronis True Image by having it create a hidden boot image which is accessible from boot up time with a function key so still don't need Metro, thanks for trying though.
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Will that work with Acronis True Image Home 2009 as well?
 
ManofGod said:
Will that work with Acronis True Image Home 2009 as well?
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It should. You create a boot CD in the windows installation and then boot to that. There is an option to create a Secure Zone and that is the option to do as I said.
 
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