Ray Saitz: Restore or repair when computer disaster strikes?

Nothing lasts or works forever, and that’s especially true of your computer. In time the Windows operating system might malfunction, your ancient computer could get annoyingly slow, or the hard drive might fail entirely.

Repairing or restoring a defective Windows operating system or replacing a hard drive is a time-consuming and usually expensive job, but with some care and guidance you might be able to perform the job yourself. Luckily, Windows has built-in tools which will either attempt to repair your system or reinstall the Windows operating system, and Microsoft has a website with a list of numerous disasters that could befall your Windows 11, 10 or 8.1 computer with suggestions for what to do (https://tinyurl.com/3wh4a3vj).

The critical factor is whether or not your computer will boot to the desktop or crashes before even getting that far.

If it will boot up then you’ll find the tools to fix it by clicking on the Start button, opening Settings, and in Update and Security click on Recovery in the list on the left. Choose Reset This PC and pay attention to the two choices.

One option will be to reinstall Windows but keep the files in your Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads and Video folders. It will also retain your account info and system settings which will eliminate the tedious process of setting up the computer from scratch.

The other choice is to delete everything on the computer and reinstall Windows. This is what you will choose if you are selling, gifting, or donating your computer since all of your personal files, settings, passwords, and logins will be permanently deleted, but the computer will still have a functioning operating system.

In either reset option you will usually get the choice to reinstall Windows using a version saved on the computer or downloading a fresh version of Windows from Microsoft. Use the version on the computer to restore it to its factory settings along with all of the trial versions of products and ads, or choose the download option to just get Windows without the factory installed apps.

Be aware that in both cases all of the programs or apps that did not come with the computer will be deleted and you will have reinstall them along with…