- Adding Devices in Windows 8.1
- Connecting to Wireless Networks
- Managing Your PC Power
- Transferring Files
- Recovering Your Windows 8.1
Recovering Your Windows 8.1
We all know—only too well—that computers sometimes have their off days. Things slow to a crawl. Your apps hang up. Programs aren’t launching the way they should.
If you’re having problems consistently, Windows 8.1 gives you a tool that can make things better quickly and easily. Now, instead of crossing your fingers and rebooting—or perhaps arbitrarily choosing a Restore Point and hoping your journey back in time will fix the trouble you’re having—you can use Windows Refresh to simply refresh your Windows 8.1 installation without wiping away any files or settings. Or, if necessary, you can reinstall Windows 8.1 and return your computer to its pristine, out-of-the-box state.
Refreshing Your PC
If you find that a few of your apps aren’t working the way they should or your computer has been behaving unreliably, you can refresh your computer to restore the program files and settings to their original state without losing your files, media, and settings.
- On the Start screen, display the Charms bar.
Tap or click Settings.
Tap or click Change PC Settings. The PC Settings screen appears.
Select Update & Recovery from the list on the left.
- Tap Recovery. Windows 8.1 displays three options.
- Click the top Get Started button if you want to refresh your PC without losing any of your files or data.
- Click the second Get Started button to reset your PC to the factory settings (which means that your files and data will be wiped clean).
Click Restart Now to boot Windows from a USB drive or DVD or to restore your files from a system image you’ve previously saved.