Windows 8 Refresh and Reset Options Explained

Yes, this will be interesting to test.

The ability to quickly create a current image of your hard drive, without a 3rd party app, also sounds useful.
 
And I thought Microsoft made strides with including comprehensive repair tools on the boot CD. This is even better. It'll be easier to guide people on how to reset or refresh their computers over the phone.
 
This will be wonderful for repairing computers of the 'less technologically inclined', so to speak.
 
Wonder who is going to sue them for that patent infringement! ;)
 
There will always be some people that have mental blocks that still won't be able to use simplified tools like this without hand holding (at the least), but for casual users that are having problems, this makes it so they can even take the plunge and try to start over without forking over mounds of money.
 
I'd always kinda wondered why cell phones and tablets had a "hard reset" option (something like a key combination that resets the handset to factory) but desktop PC's didn't. This'll probably come in very handy for over-the-phone fixes.
 
[not sarcasam]I love this form look how the coments are actually about the article[/not sarcasam]
You go to other forms and get: Windows is bad!1! This is an awful feature!1! No one will ever use this!1! People should stop using windows and start using Linux!1!

It's great to live in a forum where people can actually appreciate good features! I'm done talking off topic...
 
Nice change, though I still resent the fact that they are trying to change our terminology from programs to apps. Apps are the stupid little things I run on my phone..Not what run on a full blown PC.

This will make supporting Win8 for the average user quite a bit easier over the phone. Though it won't affect me as I will likely be skipping win 8 as it doesn't offer any meaningful upgrade over 7.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Nice change, though I still resent the fact that they are trying to change our terminology from programs to apps. Apps are the stupid little things I run on my phone..Not what run on a full blown PC.

This will make supporting Win8 for the average user quite a bit easier over the phone. Though it won't affect me as I will likely be skipping win 8 as it doesn't offer any meaningful upgrade over 7.
Click to expand...

I was thinking this same exact thing as I read. Apps Apps Apps. Watch out, Apple might try to sue again because you are infringing on their coined terms.

Seriously though, I'm really tired of the phone/app/app market craze. They make shit storms of apps for everything (most of them are crap cash-ins for impulse buyers) and a lot of them don't need to be made.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Nice change, though I still resent the fact that they are trying to change our terminology from programs to apps. Apps are the stupid little things I run on my phone..Not what run on a full blown PC.

This will make supporting Win8 for the average user quite a bit easier over the phone. Though it won't affect me as I will likely be skipping win 8 as it doesn't offer any meaningful upgrade over 7.
Click to expand...

With everything I've read so far regarding Windows 8, even though there will be traditional programs that take a while to install, it really seems like Microsoft is catering the next Windows OS to the average-Joe/Jill consumer whose level of computer knowledge isn't that high.

Take for example my friend's in-laws. They have not updated Windows XP in three years, drivers were never updated or installed (graphics were in 8-bit mode), and they had 5 viruses because they didn't bother to update/pay for Norton updates. I spent a good hour or so on that computer fixing it. Thankfully my friend paid for my time and effort.

If Microsoft can achieve the following then they will be successful in Windows 8 with the majority of casual and less-technical friendly consumers in the PC market:
  • Auto-installation, hassle-free installation of drivers and updates without user intervention.
  • Auto-updating of software and antivirus software (MSE notably).
  • Ability to reset the computer to a working state with limited user intervention as mentioned in this article.
  • Ease of installation of programs through smartphone-like applications (WinRT seems to be an indication of this change on the desktop PC front).
  • Ability to put the computer to Sleep than Shutdown, and fast startup and boot times. Windows 8 Dev Preview defaulted the computer to Sleep mode from the get-go instead of a full shutdown which required 5 steps to do.
There will probably be traditional options for users more knowledgeable in computers, but it honestly does look like Microsoft is going to make the desktop PC more accessible to all consumers from the less-technical friendly ones all the way up to users like us on [H].
 
Uhh, I hope it's saving it on some media that's not connected to the computer. Otherwise, viruses will just infect the recovery file and then it's pretty much useless.
 
I hope i am wrong but its looking like Windows 8 is going to suck worse then Vista :rolleyes:
 
^ this^

Metro + Apps... no sir, don't like it. They seem to want to make my PC into a big cellphone.

But the biggest worry I have about Metro is the design is so drastically different from all past versions of Windows, I foresee getting allot of phone calls, from older family members, asking how to do even the simplest things.

On-topic: This feature does sound useful, but as someone pointed out, what safeguards are there to keep a virus from getting into the backup image?
 
blitzkommando said:
This will be wonderful for repairing computers of the 'less technologically inclined', so to speak.
Click to expand...

Problem is, most corporations are just now moving to windows 7.

It will be 2014 or so before any major moves to 8 will occur. And I think CTO's are gonna want to see a LOT of field testing and that 8 proves itself before they touch it.

Personally, I got this creepy WinME/Vista feeling about 8. I sure hope I'm wrong.
 
Dekoth-E- said:
Though it won't affect me as I will likely be skipping win 8 as it doesn't offer any meaningful upgrade over 7.
Click to expand...

So none of the following are meaningful?
- Same (or lower) system requirements as Windows 7.
- Faster boot times.
- Memory deduplication.
- Integrated drive pooling.
- Integrated Hyper-V.
- Integrated antivirus.
- Integrated USB 3.0 support (Windows 7 doesn't comer with USB 3.0 drivers).
- Built-in ISO mounting.
- Multi-monitor aware taskbar.
- Multi-monitor aware desktop wallpaper.
- Easy factory-reset.
- System-wide SkyDrive integration.
- Roaming settings (preferences sync between Windows 8 devices).
- ARM support.
- Overhauled on screen keyboard (much improved over the Windows 7 OSK).

Seems like a pretty massive upgrade to me :eek:
 
Still one big huge problem with all of the above, it still has that stupid Metro stuff, i don't care if the OS can suck me off, i cant stand that horrible UI, going to be sticking with Win 7 until Win 9 comes out :p
 
Once again Microsoft has re-invented something that's been available for 10+ years and ends up with something that isn't nearly as good as third party solutions like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows XP, which is now 10 years old, has the ability to re-install without wiping out you data, settings and installed programs. I know because I've done it several times over the years for various friends/relatives. See: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897
 
Captain_Antoneil said:
Once again Microsoft has re-invented something that's been available for 10+ years and ends up with something that isn't nearly as good as third party solutions like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows XP, which is now 10 years old, has the ability to re-install without wiping out you data, settings and installed programs. I know because I've done it several times over the years for various friends/relatives. See: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897
Click to expand...

I can't wait to see your OS. it should be so fucking awesome.





:rolleyes:
 
I'm glad they're finally making a built in tool for making a bootable recovery usb stick. I used some command line shenanigans to make one for Win 7, and it's been ridiculously useful.
 
Captain_Antoneil said:
Once again Microsoft has re-invented something that's been available for 10+ years and ends up with something that isn't nearly as good as third party solutions like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows XP, which is now 10 years old, has the ability to re-install without wiping out you data, settings and installed programs. I know because I've done it several times over the years for various friends/relatives. See: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897
Click to expand...

Did you see the last page on the article?

"Screen Nineteen
With a final, fully normal reboot, you're done. Your copy of XP should be as good as new, but with all your previously installed hardware, software, and user configuration data undamaged!"

19 screens!!?? Do you really expect to walk people through that process easily over the phone? Do you expect people who aren't very technical to figure that out?
Are you saying the new system doesn't seem just a little better?
 
Unknown-One said:
So none of the following are meaningful?
- Same (or lower) system requirements as Windows 7.
- Faster boot times.
- Memory deduplication.
- Integrated drive pooling.
- Integrated Hyper-V.
- Integrated antivirus.
- Integrated USB 3.0 support (Windows 7 doesn't comer with USB 3.0 drivers).
- Built-in ISO mounting.
- Multi-monitor aware taskbar.
- Multi-monitor aware desktop wallpaper.
- Easy factory-reset.
- System-wide SkyDrive integration.
- Roaming settings (preferences sync between Windows 8 devices).
- ARM support.
- Overhauled on screen keyboard (much improved over the Windows 7 OSK).

Seems like a pretty massive upgrade to me :eek:
Click to expand...

Yup, a lot of upgrades to the OS. Thank you for that list. Some of those additions I'm looking forward to that I've highlighted in yellow.

Captain_Antoneil said:
Once again Microsoft has re-invented something that's been available for 10+ years and ends up with something that isn't nearly as good as third party solutions like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows XP, which is now 10 years old, has the ability to re-install without wiping out you data, settings and installed programs. I know because I've done it several times over the years for various friends/relatives. See: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897
Click to expand...

pgaster said:
Did you see the last page on the article?

"Screen Nineteen
With a final, fully normal reboot, you're done. Your copy of XP should be as good as new, but with all your previously installed hardware, software, and user configuration data undamaged!"

19 screens!!?? Do you really expect to walk people through that process easily over the phone? Do you expect people who aren't very technical to figure that out?
Are you saying the new system doesn't seem just a little better?
Click to expand...

Yup, hence what I mentioned in my last post-- it's really an indication that Microsoft is steering the OS towards a more casual, user-friendly OS for those users not willing to sit through something like 19 screens or several screens of installing a program or software. Ask your average-Joe/Jill computer user if they want to follow those instructions and sit through 19 screens/several screens to do what Windows 8 will do in much fewer steps and fewer clicks. Believe me, having done computer tech support and repair as a side job, the majority of my customers will not want to sit through that or install another program like Norton Ghost to do something similar. And, they do not have the patience OR knowledge to do this themselves including upgrading or installing a larger hard drive or something that involves opening up the computer.

These are the kind of people that I think Microsoft is marketing and developing Windows 8 for. Not the kind of people who sit at their computers discussing hardware upgrades on [H] and the several flavors of overclocking and intricacies of new hardware here. We are the minority whether we like to admit it or not. And, we don't contribute to the majority of the income Microsoft gets yearly. They're looking at the average-Joe/Jill user sitting at home, flicking away on their smartphone or the corporate drone sitting in a cubicle who cares more about updating Facebook statuses and what's on Netflix or Youtube, and rather want a simpler way to e-mail or do whatever they do on their smartphone on their desktop PC.

That's Windows 8 in my opinion. That right there is what is getting a lot of hate towards the OS regardless of the many changes listed above that is coming with the OS as well.

It's doing away with the old (Windows 7 and earlier) and simplifying it. The WinRT and applications ("apps") is another indication of that. Programs that start up in mere seconds regardless whether the user has an SSD or not. Programs that install in seconds with little user intervention.

Are the changes good? Well, that's up to the user to decide.

I like some of the changes but not all of them such as the start screen and the 5-steps-to-shutdown-the-PC, and how everything gets listed in the start screen including program shortcuts to their respective webpages and uninstallation shortcuts.
 
Captain_Antoneil said:
Once again Microsoft has re-invented something that's been available for 10+ years and ends up with something that isn't nearly as good as third party solutions like Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image.

Windows XP, which is now 10 years old, has the ability to re-install without wiping out you data, settings and installed programs. I know because I've done it several times over the years for various friends/relatives. See: http://www.informationweek.com/news/windows/operatingsystems/189400897
Click to expand...

You do realize that the repair option in XP rarely worked well, right? I'd say it works ~50% of the time and that is being very generous. Does it save from bad virus infections? No. Does it save from corrupt system files and registry? Rarely. Quite often you DO need to reinstall some software after a repair as well. So no, this is quite a bit different than XP.

This will almost take away the need for factory restore partitions (which I always delete anyways) It'll come in handy when you want to give a family member or friend your old computer and want to remove any personal info on it. I'd be interested in trying it.

I personally just make my own customized setup, sysprep it, and then use WDS to capture and deploy it to my computers. Works real nice.
 
Oh, here's something Steve should add to the Frontpage news:
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/...rage-for-scale-resiliency-and-efficiency.aspx

Storage pools for Windows 8.

Originally found here: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/05/microsoft-details-windows-8s-new-storage-spaces-feature/

It's like Windows Drive Extender but more tightly integrated with NTFS, and seems very similar to Linux' Logical Volume Manager (LVM) and in some ways ZFS (maybe).

Looks like a good feature to have in Windows 8.
 
s0eViL said:
Still one big huge problem with all of the above, it still has that stupid Metro stuff, i don't care if the OS can suck me off, i cant stand that horrible UI, going to be sticking with Win 7 until Win 9 comes out :p
Click to expand...
You do realize you can switch back to the Windows 7 start menu, right?

That removes the majority of metro from the operating system, and makes it look a lot like Windows 7 (with improved explorer, task manager, etc).
 
VRMan said:
Wonder who is going to sue them for that patent infringement! ;)
Click to expand...
We know they'll have to strip it out for the EU due to "anti-competitive practices", but yeah, this'll probably be thrown at them in the as well. Sadly, the ones to suffer would be the nontechnical people calling the hell desk, and moreover the poor hell desk workers.
 
Just the ability to not have to reboot anytime you install an app alone should be worth it.
 
So if they are starting to call programs 'apps', will the British English version of Windows 8 call them appes ?

Waiting for the Geek Squad to offer "Refresh your PC" services for $99 now... along with a $1 off coupon of their gold-plated Monster USB cables
 
What was so hard about getting someone to install user files to a different drive and doing a format? Takes even less time to get up and running again with how fast Win7 installs. I must be old school.
 
s0eViL said:
Still one big huge problem with all of the above, it still has that stupid Metro stuff, i don't care if the OS can suck me off, i cant stand that horrible UI, going to be sticking with Win 7 until Win 9 comes out :p
Click to expand...

And yet every desktop program runs on Windows 8 with keyboards and mice just like it does in Windows 7. Metro is a necessary charge to keep Windows relevant beyond businesses. Keyboards and mice aren't going anywhere but they just don't represent the future of computing.
 
How many times could you have used something like this in the past?
Click to expand...

In all honesty, at least for me, nearly never... I have for several years now done weekly backups of all my systems and thus I think they would be far more beneficial in nearly every situation. I'm not really a fan of doing any sort of system reset and I haven't since my first install of Windows 7... So much shit I have to get right to get things how I want it.
 
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