Windows 8: Restore factory settings

The new rumour surrounding Windows 8 is that it will come with a function that allows you to reset the computer to default factory settings.

While Microsoft has remained silent on the subject, rumours are spreading about their Windows 8 operating system. At this time, Microsoft has confirmed only a single thing about their future operating system - support of ARM architecture processors.

For the rest, everything is to be taken with a grain of salt. This is for example the case with the Windows 8 user interface which could offer an experience on multiple levels depending on the installed hardware, with an interface to closely resemble that found on Windows Phone 7 for older or slower hardware configurations.

Another interface will be dynamic and intelligent so that it can adapt to the users working habits. The icons and shortcuts will for example adapt to different user scenarios to accelerate daily tasks (automatic creation of a shortcut when this is deemed necessary). An interface with powerful 3D graphics will only be made available to 64 bit configurations that come with at least 170 MB of video memory.

An applicative infrastructure will allow you to make a link between native Windows applications and those currently run from the web. Code named Jupiter, is will support Silverlight applications encapsulated in autonomous packages (.appx). Another rumour doing the rounds is that there will be an App Store for Windows 8.

At the beginning of the year, Win7China raised the possibility of having a restore function to bring the computer back to a working state in less than 2 minutes, without the user needing to insert a CD, with only a small amount of hard drive space required for this function. The same site also tried to make their claims more credible by publishing a screen capture of Milestone 2 in Windows 8.

The restore possibilities on a Windows 8 computer also have it that you will be able to take the system back to a previous date – undoing all programs and drivers installed since then, while leaving the files (documents, photos, music...) unchanged. Besides this restore, another option will allow you to restore the computer to factory settings. Could this be the end of the road for formatting and reinstalling your computer?

This reset back to the original configuration will erase all programs that the user has installed, placing the computer back to the default Windows settings. The created user accounts and personal files will be kept.