Windows 8 and 8.1: Better backups in everyday office life

Photo: Kirill_M, Fotolia

Windows backups are indispensable in many office environments, but they have some pitfalls: You only need them in an emergency, but if there is a fire, there are often no up-to-date data backups at the start. If they are created manually, sloppiness quickly creeps in. Automated backups, which back up important data at regular intervals, avoid this dilemma. Software manufacturers charge dearly for their backup tools, but Windows 8 and 8.1 come with useful backup solutions out of the box. And these tips will make them even better.

"Refresh" office PC with all programs

An incredible number of things can be important for smooth everyday office life, depending on the size of the company and the sector. Starting with functional furniture, stationery, filing systems through to printer materials and heaps of office technology. All you need to do is take a look at a virtual office department store like Otto Office. However, the Windows PC remains the linchpin of most work processes.

When Windows runs incorrectly in everyday working life, it costs time and nerves. Sometimes work comes to a complete standstill. But there is a fairly straightforward solution in such tricky situations: With the Refresh PC" function you can easily reinstall Windows 8 if it causes problems. All personal files, installed apps and settings are retained. So you have a fresh Windows again, but save many hours of setup time.

However, Windows 8 does not take into account installed programs such as Outlook, Word or Elster. You normally have to reinstall them all - which also takes a lot of time. But with the following trick, you can adjust the refresh function so that all programs are retained when restoring.

This is how you proceed:

1. install all programs that are to be included in the image. You will also need a few gigabytes of free hard disk space, preferably more than 5 gigabytes. Then create a folder, in the example with the name "WindowsImage" on drive C:. Note: It is of course safer to save the image on an external hard disk or a network hard disk.

2. type "Powershell" on the tile interface. In the search window, right-click on "Windows PowerShell" and select "Run as administrator" in the context menu. In the example, enter the command "recimg /createimage C:windowsimage". "C:windowsimage" stands for the path to the folder created in step 2. Press "Enter". The image is now created, which takes quite a while. The message "The recovery image has been successfully created and registered" will then appear.

3. once this is done, type the command "recimg /setcurrent C:windowsimage". This defines the image you have just created as a refresh source. You can then close Powershell.

4. if you want to install the image, open the "PC Control Panel" with the key combination "Windows" + "i". You will find the refresh function in the "Update/Restore" menu.

Note: If you want to use the "normal" refresh function again, enter the command "reimg /deregister" in Windows Power Shell. You can then delete the "Windowsimage" folder.

Use the integrated backup function - even under Windows 8.1

With Windows 8, it is possible to create complete system backups without additional software. A simple solution, especially for work computers. In Windows 8.1, however, this useful function seems to have disappeared. But Microsoft has not removed thembut simply well hidden. Under Windows 8.1 it can now be called up as follows:

1. start the "Control Panel" via Windows + X.

2. then type "File version history" into the search field at the top right and then click on "File version history".

3. in the next step, click on "System image backup" at the bottom left. A wizard will open. Then you just need to select where you want to save the backup. There should be at least 33 gigabytes of free space on the drive.

4. click on "Next" and "Finish". Windows then creates a complete system image including all data, operating system, programs, drivers and registry entries.

The option to create automated backups at regular intervals has actually disappeared. The option to exclude certain folders from the backup has also been removed. Reason: Microsoft relies on the refresh function for Windows 8.1 (see above).

Article image above: Kirill_M, Fotolia