Is it OK to use system restore on an SSD?

Bree said:

Destroying your system is an occupational hazard for those that provide support here, especially when trying to recreate a user's reported problems



I think zbook meant that a system restore would be be the first option to use regardless of the type of the system drive, SDD or HDD.

Thanks Bree...reading it back I probably misunderstood what Zbook meant lol

sportsfan148 said:

Im thinking Macrium might be a step too far for me and maybe unnecessary. Although it is something I have considered before as I know there are many users like yourself on here that really recommend it. Also It would mean buying some sort of hardware to back up to. All I have are USB flash drives

Not necessarily, if you have the space for another partition (maybe by shrinking the C: drive) then you can use that to store a Macrium image. It's not going to protect you from a drive failure, but it's convenient for a quick restore. Allmost all my PC's have a Data partition set aside for that purpose.

For 'disaster recovery' I then image the whole drive (including the Data partition) to an external usb HDD. They are getting to be quite cheap these days.

Bree said:

Not necessarily, if you have the space for another partition (maybe by shrinking the C: drive) then you can use that to store a Macrium image. It's not going to protect you from a drive failure, but it's convenient for a quick restore. All my PC's have a Data partition set aside for that purpose.

For 'disaster recovery' I then image the whole drive (including the Data partition) to an external usb HDD. They are getting to be quite cheap these days.

Yeah I can see that it would be really useful for you. But in my case because I don't install loads of programmes and only a couple of games...a clean install using the Media Creation Tool is good and then only if absolutely necessary. Also the restore PC option in Settings/Recovery is another great option. In my case this is the order I use :- I would try System Restore first, if that fails I use Reset PC in Settings/Recovery. And finally if all else fails I would only use the Media Creation/clean install method as a last resort

sportsfan148 said:

... finally if all else fails I would only use the Media Creation/clean install method as a last resort

That option isn't practical for my two machines listed in my specs. They both have OEM pre-installed MS Office for which a) I don't have a key, and b) couldn't reinstall even if I did. Apparently OEMs had a special deal with MS that let them pre-install a trial version of Office then activate it if you paid them for it. But the key will only activate an OEM pre-install, it will not work with the retail Office media.

So a system image is essential if I want to keep using Office.

These are some methods that can be used to recover from boot failure:

system restore
reset save files
custom install
regback
clean install
backup image

Regback currently has a bug for Windows 10 and may still be useful for Windows 7, 8, and server.
How to restore Registry from its secret backup on Windows 10 Pureinfotech
Windows 10 bug prevents Registry backup creation - gHacks Tech News

Bree said:

That option isn't practical for my two machines listed in my specs. They both have OEM pre-installed MS Office for which a) I don't have a key, and b) couldn't reinstall even if I did. Apparently OEMs had a special deal with MS that let them pre-install a trial version of Office then activate it if you paid them for it. But the key will only activate an OEM pre-install, it will not work with the retail Office media.

So a system image is essential if I want to keep using Office.

@Bree

Even if you have the old Enterprise or Multiple activation versions of Office the latest updates convert these into some sort of different version which become "Un-activated" if you re-install Windows from Scratch on these new builds even if Windows itself activates without a problem. The serial numbers don't work either if you re-enter them.

The only way to maintain activation is via system restore or if using new insider build is to update from existing Windows builds rather than install from New / clean install.

You can install Office again if you have your original ISO - then you have to go through a load of updates depending on how old your ISO was. Note also before doing updates of Office if you install from ISO again ensure you set all your email accounts up properly as the new OUTLOOK email set up screens are really dreadful and only recognize things like gmail.com etc. You can get round this via the outlook app in the control panel but it's really fiddly and irritating.

Cheers
jimbo

jimbo45 said:

You can install Office again if you have your original ISO...

Unfortunately for OEM Office of my vintage you can't. Only the OEM can install it using the OEM Pre-instalation Kit. And even though I can extract the installed key, it is only valid for an OEM pre-install. It does not work with any available retail ISO.

Microsoft said:

OEM Microsoft Office and OEM Microsoft Windows software must be pre-installed onto the fully assembled computer system before distribution to a customer and it must be installed using the included OEM Pre-Installation Kit (OPK).

Device Partner Center

Bree said:

That option isn't practical for my two machines listed in my specs. They both have OEM pre-installed MS Office for which a) I don't have a key, and b) couldn't reinstall even if I did. Apparently OEMs had a special deal with MS that let them pre-install a trial version of Office then activate it if you paid them for it. But the key will only activate an OEM pre-install, it will not work with the retail Office media.

So a system image is essential if I want to keep using Office.

That definitely complicates things for you. I don't know if you've ever tried Apache Open Office. Its Open Source software so its free. Ive used it for years and its fully compatible with Microsoft Office documents, spreadsheets etc. Its excellent software. Ive never had any problems at all with it

sportsfan148 said:

...I don't know if you've ever tried Apache Open Office..

No, but I have (and use) Libre Office on my machines that didn't come with MS Office. I do prefer the MS product though, even the older ones. I have one investment spreadsheet that's been in continual use and development since I started it in Excel 95.

Bree said:

No, but I have (and use) Libre Office on my machines that didn't come with MS Office. I do prefer the MS product though, even the older ones. I have one investment spreadsheet that's been in continual use and development since I started it in Excel 95.

I think it just depends on what we get used to using. Ive used Microsoft Office myself several years ago and I was more than happy with it. Then when it was time to buy it again someone suggested Apache Open Office to me. So I gave it a try and Ive stuck with it ever since