On 31/05/2020 13:33, rhkra...@gmail.com wrote:
On Sunday, May 31, 2020 07:39:13 AM Joe wrote:
The Windows reset option is reinstallation, and always has been. For
the last few versions, the installation medium is a partition on the
hard drive, and it can be invoked from within Windows or from a BIOS
startup key.
From the peanut gallery: there is (or was?) that other function, not sure of
the name (maybe including a phrase (or concept) like "go back"), by which you
could take a snapshot of your system and then revert to that condition later.
I never used it (I was gone from Windows before it came along), I don't know
the correct name (or if it changed over the years), whether it still exists,
and whether it affected the system programs, the user's data files, or both (or
maybe it was selective).
As with any system 'backup' utility, you need space/storage. Just how
much depends on how you go about achieving your aims. Then there is
time. How much time to record the state you are in and how much time to
revert to that state.
With MS Windows, system restore can be enabled on any drive (default is
the system drive) but it's not foolproof in restoring (though pretty
good by MS standards) and it takes up valuable (on small ssd) space on
the drive.
With linux (debian) you could just create an image (using dd for
example) of the drive in order to restore it at a later date.
However, with debian, if you want to revert to a pristine state, what is
easier or quicker than doing a re-install? Just retain (or obtain) a
copy of the original install media. It doesnt get much quicker than a
barebones netinst of debian.
--
Michael Howard
