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My computer has been acting strange lately, so I want to refresh it. While I understand that things such as stuff in my Program Files folder is nuked, I want to keep some of it. Is it possible to do this without doing a backup of the things I want to keep?

When I say that my computer is "acting strange", I mean that it won't open any executables (that require administrative privileges). Additionally, when attempting to uninstall Norton Internet Security, it got stuck because the installer needed to be elevated. It's not that these applications don't open, and it's not that they don't elevate correctly too; its that the tasks are visible in Task Manager, and are not hanging, but don't show up (visual-wise). Therefore, since System Restore needs to be elevated, that is not an option. I was thinking of using the Refresh option in the metro Control Panel, but need to back up my stuff first. I know that I can do this by Creating a Backup Image, but it appears to be stuck at 10% in Creating Image. The folder created in C: is empty.

Oliver Salzburg
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2 Answers2

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If you click "Get started" to under the "refresh" heading, the first bullet point says "Your files and personalization settings won't change", so yes, you can keep all your stuff while refreshing Windows. It will uninstall your non-Windows Store apps, which might be what you need in this situation.

K.A.Monica
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I solved it! If you move all your stuff that you want to keep to a different drive (such as D:), then Windows will not erase it with the refresh.