When you have a computer with W7 you can format it and return it to the factory settings as if you had just bought it. But if that is not what you want, you can go back a step and have all the programs installed from a certain point.
These tools are native to the Microsoft operating system.. Although it is not an easy task, you can restore the OS without any problem and you will not run the risk of losing all your important data.
In the following paragraphs we will explain the step by step so that you get an optimal result and so you can have a team that works like new. In addition, we will talk about whether it is convenient to keep these days Windows 7 and what about the license when you format the PC.
Restore vs. Format What are the differences between each method?
When you buy a computer you will have managed to observe that your device has the Windows operating system installed and some applications that are necessary for the hardware to function. As time goes by, you start adding programs so that you can work with the PC. For example, you install Microsoft Office and Photoshop, among others.
Once you decide to format your computer, you will return it to the same state it was in when you bought your computer. That is, you will have included the Windows operating system and then the programs that are used to manage the physical components. After this action you will have to incorporate the software again that you use to work
Instead, when you perform a restoration what you are doing is telling your computer that you want to have all the data and programs that you had installed at a certain point since you bought it.
So with this action you should not reinstall all those software that you were putting on your PC after SO. In this case, the example would be that you can have all the Microsoft Office and Photoshop files without having to do anything new.
When is it more convenient to restore the W7 operating system than to format it?
From what we have discussed above we can conclude that it is more convenient to restore a system in the following situations:
- If your computer doesn't work relatively normal. That is, when you see that the conflict that it has to process the information that you request is not much, you can decide to restore at a certain point since you will avoid the loss of all the data.
- When you have detected that the PC is malfunctioning after you've added a program to it. In this way you can establish that the restore point is prior to the installation of this software and everything will continue to be perfect on your PC.
- In those cases where you have a lot of important information on the team and you think it's easier do a restore to have to save all the data and then format.
- You may have software licenses that you use only on your computer and you may lose them if you uninstall and format your computer.
- When you consider that it is safer to restore the team from a certain point. This means that if you do not know exactly what is the problem that caused your computer to malfunction, you can choose as previous steps to format, do a restoration.
Steps to restore my Windows 7 PC and format it without losing files or applications
The steps you will need to do to restore your PC that has a Windows 7 operating system are:
Save all important information
This step is not necessary to do it on a mandatory basis, since you can recover the data without any problems after you finish the process that we will indicate. But it is convenient to make a backup of what you consider necessary for your work or study.
In this way you will be safe and you can restore your computer without fear of being wrong:
Start Windows in Safe Mode
- With this step you ensure that if your computer malfunctions due to the existence of a virus, you can prevent the malware from running. You will also be able to determine that, if you start your computer, the problem is in a specific drive or file.
- To do this step it will be necessary to restart the computer by clicking on the Windows icon and choosing the option "Restart". When it is starting, you will have to press the key "F8" to access the menu.
- Choose the first option, "Safe Mode", and then press "Enter".
Eliminate suspicious files and programs
What you should do now is manually delete all the files that you think may be causing damage to your computer. If you do not have answers on this point, you will have to continue with the next step.
Click on “The last known good configuration”
In the boot menu, you must choose the option that we mentioned in this step so that you can access the configuration of the drivers.
To do this task you must take into account that there must be no removable disk placed on your computerIn other words, you must remove the DVDs, flash drives and any other with an HDMI or USB connection other than the monitor, keyboard or mouse.
When you have done all this task, you must click on "Enter" to run the function to find the best known configuration.
Analyze the files on your computer
To be sure that you will not have internal conflict on your PC, you will have to review all the files that the operating system left installed with the process you did. In case you see one that may be suspicious you will have to delete it manually.
Will I lose my Windows 7 activation license and restore my computer?
When you perform a restoration of your computer from a certain point or do a hard reset and set all the values as they were in the factory, you will not lose the Windows 7 license.
This is because the operating system has a code to activate the software which is unique and belongs indefinitely to the same license.
By this we mean that once you have all the work done, in accordance with what we mentioned in this article, you must enter the alphanumeric PIN that you have in the box of your computer or on a sticker pasted on your computer.
Microsoft's support for Windows 7 has ended. Is it convenient to continue using this operating system?
Currently there are new versions of the Windows operating system. In other words, Microsoft provides support for updates and security patches to version number 10. Thus, for some time now, the company of Bill Gates has ended the support of W7.
As a consequence, the computers that have this OS installed do not receive security patches., so the systems you have to defend against viruses, worms and any other type of malware they are vulnerable.
Therefore, all Windows 7 PCs are very easy to hack by intruders.