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System refresh

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micker377

micker377

Technical User
Jan 15, 2003
3,864
US
Starting to have a few glitches with Win 8.1. Running slow.
Checked memory, System Restore, hard drive (fragmented), Malware Bytes, Spybot, all of the usual.

Decided to do a "Refresh". Made a system back-up (Windows would never screw up!), and ran "Refresh". Got a message that files were missing - "insert media"!

Since I started with Win 8.0, and upgraded as I went along, I have NO media for 8.1! Tried the Win 8 CD, but "Wrong Media".

How do I refresh with no media available?

Win 8.1 (up to date)
1 Terabyte H.D.
8 gig mem.
 
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"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.
 
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Thanks goom - I'll give it a try later. I was hoping to avoid all of this, but I guess it's the old "Welcome to the world of Windows."!!!
 
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Most new machines come with a recovery partition allowing you to go back to the time of purchase, you will have to check your user guides (or the manufacturer's Web Site) for instructions. Choosing that path requires you to save all valuable data first. Unfortunately upgrading to Windows 8.1 may lose such Recovery Partition.



These options are built-in to Windows 8 also.



How to restore, refresh, or reset your PC



Windows 8.1 Update Leaves OEM Owners With Broken Restore Function


Warning! If You Upgrade to Windows 8.1 Through Windows Store, You May Loose The Ability to Refresh and Reset


Update to Windows 8.1: FAQ








How to create a system image to refresh your Windows 8 PC


How to create a custom refresh image in Windows 8
 
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Just did a Toshiba laptop that came with 8.1 for a customer. It was in very poor condition as the owner had let his antivirus expire a month or so, I fought it for a while but no use, did a Windows refresh keeping the rest intact & it worked well. Just had to install a load of updates & any added programs but the owners files were all there just as they were. so a good outcome.[bigsmile]
 
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I'm sure a lot of PC techs would rather that the knowledge of a Windows 8 refresh did not permeate into customer brains!!! Lost business.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.
 
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O.K. D/L the M.S. install program. Comes up to "input key". Input the key, and get an error message that the key is no good! Used a program to get the key from Windows. That IS the correct key that is registered with Microsoft! Tried typing it in, and copy/paste from listed key. Same number - same "won't work"!!!

Any ideas?
 
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Something to look forward to: starting in Windows 9 it sounds like monthly patch burdens will be replaced by monthly irreversable "point release" version updates instead.

Probably will invalidate your install media for recovery purposes even faster.
 
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Can you use your Windows 8 DVD to reinstall Windows 8 to another Partition? If you get it installed you can use Windows 8 to save any remaining valuable data from Windows 8.1 before upgrading via the Microsoft Store the new Windows 8 to Windows 8.1.

Good luck with that if it works!


How to clean install Windows 8


Windows 8 Upgrade: clean install possible?


How To Clean Install Windows 8 Pro Upgrade
Start a Clean Install Using an Upgrade Licensed Copy of Windows 8 Pro




How to Dual Boot Windows 8 with Windows 7

Dual Boot Your Pre-Installed Windows 7 Computer with XP (Windows 7 and 8 are pretty much the same instructions)
 
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Well, I broke down and called MicroShaft today!

Their response was that the Key that is in my registry is from my original Windows 8 install. Installing 8.1 did not change it! So, the only solution is to reinstall Windows 8, wipe out everything, and upgrade to 8.1 over again!

I think I'll just wait for Win 9 to come out, and hope that it puts in any "missing" DLL's and necessary Windows files that are "missing"!

I'm NOT going to wipe out three years of data!!!
 
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I'm NOT going to wipe out three years of data!!!
Click to expand...
Do you not have backup?? Because if you did, a reload of windows/restore of data wouldn't be a big deal.

If you don't have backup, you're living dangerously. Fair warning for the next problem which might be a HDD failure.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.
 
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I have plenty of system back-ups. (Macrium Reflect) The problem is that they are "deficient" too! If I reinstall Windows, and then restore a system back-up, it will just overwrite the fresh install! As for a regular Windows Sys Restore - I already did that, back to the oldest I have (8-1-14), to no avail.
 
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You should have a separate pure data backup because a "system image backup" is great for restoring the entire system, but you need to have daily?? (frequency according to your needs) data backups so you can restore data very easily. Personally, I recommend Mozy or another online backup so all your data doesn't go poof in the event of a fire/flood/tornado/end-of-world scenario. I'd personally rather have NO image backup and multiple data backups. A system is easy to reload. Data is not easy to recreate.

You get multiple versioning of files that way too in case you screw up a file and keep backing it up for a week. You can still go back to a pre-screwed up version.

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.
 
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micker,
I agree with Goom that it's a good idea to keep smaller data backups as well that you're updating frequently, but when you only have full system backups, there is another option. Instead of overwriting your fresh install, restore the backup onto a separate hard drive. Then you can simply attach it as a secondary drive to pull data off. If it's a laptop, you'll want to invest in a USB-to-SATA adapter. Many good ones can be had for less than $30.

-Carl
"The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty: it's twice as big as it needs to be."

[tab][navy]For this site's posting policies, click [/navy]here.
 
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linney:
So does my Macrium, but WHICH files are missing? All SFC says is that "files are missing"! How would I know what to copy over?
 
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You mean your "system image backup" restore left the system missing files according to SFC? SFC should take care of it for you as long as the missing files are windows files and not data files. What about this link: Link

"Living tomorrow is everyone's sorrow.
Modern man's daydreams have turned into nightmares.
 
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goom:
I made my last "system images" after this started.

Link: apparently doesn't work with 8.1. Running from CMD prompt (as administrator), the instructions for "diskpart" just gives a description of diskpart!
 
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Are you aware of the DISM command run from an Elevated Command prompt. You might like to look into that as an option too.


For Windows 8 see the paragraph, "Use Deployment Image Servicing and Management to fix Windows Update errors".



"Use Deployment Image Servicing and Management to fix Windows Update errors" is a expandable live link on that article's page.



Use Deployment Image Servicing and Management to fix Windows Update errors

1.Open an elevated command prompt.



Windows 8 – Elevated Command Prompt




2.Type the following commands. Press Enter after each command (allow the command to complete, it is a lengthy process, maybe up to an hour) .


DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Scanhealth


DISM.exe /Online /Cleanup-image /Restorehealth


3.Close the command prompt, and then run Windows Update again.


How to Use DISM to Fix Component Store Corruption in Windows 8/8.1 and Windows Server 2012


CheckSUR: System Update Readiness Tool to repair Windows Update


[FIX] Repair Your Windows 8 Using DISM Commands






How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7, or Windows 8.



How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program generates in Windows Vista





See "Cannot repair member file file details".

"This entry indicates that the file content does not match the operating system definition for the file. In this situation, the SFC.exe program cannot repair the file."

How to analyze the log file entries that the Microsoft Windows Resource Checker (SFC.exe) program generates in Windows Vista



See "Step2: If the System File Checker tool cannot repair a file."

Use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7




Use the System File Checker tool to repair missing or corrupted system files
 
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O.K. back to the fight!
It seems that I don't need a refresh. After a couple of days of study, I found that the main "slow" problem is when I am online - waiting for pages to load, and interruptions while background pages "update".
I first tried I.E. - it was better (not as many hang-ups), but still enough to bother me.
So I installed Chrome. I don't like the layout of Chrome - but NO hang ups! Now to find WHAT in Firefox is slowing down the reloads!
Also, in Firefox, I could no longer view You-Tube - or even respond to THIS site! I would have to "View in I.E." to do either. Chrome does both just fine!

I guess I'll start with F.F. in "clean" mode, and start putting my "add-ons" back in until I find it!
 
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