Creating recovery media and backups

Recovery after a system failure is only as good as your most recent backup.

1.After you successfully set up the computer, create HP Recovery media. This step creates a backup of the HP Recovery partition on the computer. The backup can be used to reinstall the original operating system in cases where the hard drive is corrupted or has been replaced.

HP Recovery media you create will provide the following recovery options:

●System Recovery—Reinstalls the original operating system and the programs that were installed at the factory.

●Minimized Image Recovery—Reinstalls the operating system and all hardware-related drivers and software, but not other software applications.

●Factory Reset—Restores the computer to the state its original factory state by deleting all information from the hard drive and re-creating the partitions. Then it reinstalls the operating system and the software that was installed at the factory.

See Creating HP Recovery media on page 74.

2.As you add hardware and software programs, create system restore points. A system restore point is a snapshot of certain hard drive contents saved by Windows System Restore at a specific time. A system restore point contains information that Windows uses, such as registry settings. Windows creates a system restore point for you automatically during a Windows update and during other system maintenance (such as a software update, security scanning, or system diagnostics). You can also manually create a system restore point at any time. For more information and steps for creating specific system restore points, see Windows Help and Support. From the Start screen, type h, and then select Help and Support.

3.As you add photos, video, music, and other personal files, create a backup of your personal information. Windows File History can be set to regularly and automatically back up files from libraries, desktop, contacts, and favorites. If files are accidentally deleted from the hard drive and they can no longer be restored from the Recycle Bin, or if files become corrupted, you can restore the files that you backed up using File History. Restoring files is also useful if you ever choose to reset the computer by reinstalling Windows or choose to recover using HP Recovery Manager.

NOTE: File History is not enabled by default, so you must turn it on.

For more information and steps for enabling Windows File History, see Windows Help and Support. From the Start screen, type h, and then select Help and Support.

Creating HP Recovery media

HP Recovery Manager is a software program that offers a way to create recovery media after you successfully set up the computer. HP Recovery media can be used to perform system recovery if the hard drive becomes corrupted. System recovery reinstalls the original operating system and the

74 Chapter 11 Backing up, restoring, and recovering