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Recovering or restoring your version of Windows

Sometimes if your computer isn't working well the best way to fix the problem is to restore your computer to its factory supplied state. Computer manufacturers provide a Recovery CD/DVD which will wipe your hard disk and restore the original version of Windows, with other original software and settings. Any documents, photos, and other personal data is removed (make sure you keep a backup copy of your personal files first!).

When to use the recovery CD

  • Your computer doesn't start up any longer (it starts to load Windows and then fails)
  • You have had a virus on the computer which you can't remove, or can't be certain whether or not it is completely removed
  • Your computer has just got slower and slower as it has accumulated unnecessary software and other cruft over time

How to get the CD

If you can't find your original recovery cd then telephone your computer manufacturer, who will send you a replacement. They may make a small charge of about £15 to £30 to cover postage and handling. Don't borrow a friends CD. You need a CD for an identical model of computer, or the recovery won't work well.

Sometimes manufacturers don't supply a CD, but they supply the contents of the CD on a special hidden partition on the disk, and also supply a recovery CD creation tool you can use to record your own CD.

How to use the CD

Using the recovery CD itself is pretty easy. This recovers your version of Windows to the state it was in when you first got the computer.

  1. Make sure you have a backup of all your important personal data and documents somewhere else, as the CD will wipe your hard disk!
  2. Put the CD in your computer, and shut it down. Turn it on again. Look carefully for a message which pops up briefly which will say something like "press F12 for boot menu". It's F12 on Dell systems and many other computers, but might be a different key on yours.
  3. Choose to start from CD in the menu.
  4. Follow the instructions on screen. IT could take an hour or two to copy from the CD to your hard disk, but you can leave the computer to get on with it.

Now get your computer up to date

This actually takes longer than using the recovery CD, but is very important.

  1. Install Windows Updates
  2. Use Ninite.com to install as a minimum the following applications: Everything under 'Runtimes', Adobe Reader, Microsoft Security Essentials, and MalwareBytes.  The most important of these is the Anti-virus application Microsoft Security Essentials.
  3. Install Secunia PSI as this checks for, and assists in the installation of, applications that require updates.
  4. Copy your personal data to your hard disk from your backup copy