Chapter 7. Configure system and data options

In this chapter, you’ll learn about system and data recovery options as they relate to the exam. Most of these tasks are performed by using wizards, and thus won’t require too much instruction. They are covered on the exam, though, so you’ll need to work through all of the wizards when instructed to do so here. You might already be familiar with many of the objectives, including but not limited to performing a device driver rollback, configuring System Restore, and recovering files from SkyDrive (which is being renamed OneDrive).

Objectives in this chapter:

Objective 7.1: Configure system recovery

System recovery involves, as you might guess, recovering from system failures. System failures can be caused by unstable device drivers and failed hard drives or by buggy or compromised third-party software, among other things. Sometimes resolving these problems is as simple as rolling back a device driver or using System Restore to return to a more stable date. When that doesn’t work, you can let Windows apply automatic repairs. As you’ll learn here, there are other recovery features available, including safe mode and boot logging, along with other familiar recovery options. You can also use a recovery drive you’ve created to resolve startup problems.

Objective 7.2: Configure file recovery

Users must be able to recover files and folders when they become unavailable due to corruption, data loss, computer loss, and so on. There are many ways to achieve this. Home users might opt to run a simple backup program that stores data on an external drive; large corporations likely have users store their data on data servers and have an employee who is responsible for backing up and securing that data. Somewhere in the middle are a couple of other options: using SkyDrive and File History. These are the two backup options covered on the exam.

Chapter summary

The Windows Recovery Environment offers many options for recovery, including restore, recycle, safe mode, command prompt, Automatic Startup Repair, System Restore, and more.
You can create a recovery drive to help you recover from any future startup issue.
Device Driver Rollback, MSConfig, WBAdmin, VSSAdmin, FhManageW, Enable-ComputerRestore, Recimg, and others are tools administrators can use to troubleshoot computers and manage restore options.
Refresh and recycle are two ways end users can quickly restore their PCs to stability. Refresh keeps personal files but removes third-party applications and add-ons, and recycle (or reset) returns the computer to factory standards.
SkyDrive and File History can both be used as backup options, as can creating a system image backup. The best way to protect yourself is to use a combination of options.

Answers

This section contains the solutions to the thought experiments and answers to the objective review questions in this chapter.

Q:	1. You are having problems with a hardware device installed inside your computer. You try to roll back the driver, but the option to do this is unavailable in the device’s Properties dialog box in Device Manager. What is the problem? You cannot install or roll back drivers for internal hardware. The driver was updated but is configured by its creator in such a way that it cannot be rolled back. The driver was not updated, and the problem is due to something else. If the option to roll back the driver is not available, you need to opt to uninstall it.
Q:	2. You are creating a recovery drive. Which of the following is true with regard to the USB drive you select for storing the data? The USB drive must be at least 1 GB in size. If the USB drive has data on it, that data is safe. Any USB drive must be formatted before you start the Recovery Drive Wizard. None of the above.
Q:	3. You restart a computer, and it immediately has an unexpected error and reboots. On reboot, this happens again. What will happen the third time? The Windows RE environment will open. Windows will begin automatic repairs. The computer will boot into safe mode. The computer will shut down. The computer will boot to LKGC. The computer will boot into System Restore mode.
Q:	4. You perform a push-button reset from PC Settings by selecting Restart Now under Refresh Your PC Without Affecting Your Files. Which of the following folders are not disturbed on C, the local drive? (Choose all that apply.) C:\Users\<your user name> C:\Program Files C:\Windows C:\PerfLogs C:\MyPersonalDiary (a folder you created on the C drive)

Q:	1. Which of the following is true regarding files and file backup and restore using SkyDrive? (Choose all that apply.) You can use the Recycle Bin from SkyDrive in Internet Explorer to recover recently deleted files. You can use the Recycle Bin from the SkyDrive app in Windows 8 to recover recently deleted files. You can recover deleted SkyDrive files using File History. You can recover previous versions of files in SkyDrive in Internet Explorer.
Q:	2. Regarding File History, which of the following is true? (Choose all that apply.) You can use a USB flash drive or a network drive to save File History data. The default setting for when to save copies of files is every two hours. The default setting for the size of the offline cache is 5 percent. The default length of time to keep saved versions is six months.
Q:	3. What command-line utility can be used to clean up File History versions? Vssadmin FhManagew Enable-ComputerRestore Wbadmin
Q:	4. What is the most likely problem you’ll have if you accept all of the defaults associated with File History when you set it up? You won’t have access to all of the files you work on in a day because they won’t be backed up often enough. The size of the offline cache configured for files is too small, and you’ll run out of cache space too quickly. The drive you use to save File History data will eventually become full, and you’ll have to manage the problem that arises because of this at a later date. Event logs created by File History will eventually cause the computer’s hard drive to fill, and you’ll be required to delete old logs.