We often preach here about the importance of having a good backup plan in place. Here is an example of another reason for having backups:
I fired up my computer today and immediately encountered a weird problem. My mouse pointer had a small rotating circle next to it non-stop. I tried a bunch of troubleshooting steps including disabling every single startup program and all non-Microsoft services, but the problem remained.
However, I knew that I have great backups, including one from less than an hour earlier. So, I started uninstalling programs with reckless abandon and finally found that the problem was resolved when I uninstalled the "ASUS Framework Service". But, in the meantime, I had uninstalled like a dozen other programs. No problem! Did a quick restore of my C: drive backup and then uninstalled ONLY the ASUS Framework Service. Problem solved.
The point? Backups are great not only for data loss or corruption, but you can go hog wild on your Windows installation and start yanking stuff out and modifying things with not a worry in the world because you can simply restore your backup afterward. In my case, this saved me a ton of time.
I fired up my computer today and immediately encountered a weird problem. My mouse pointer had a small rotating circle next to it non-stop. I tried a bunch of troubleshooting steps including disabling every single startup program and all non-Microsoft services, but the problem remained.
However, I knew that I have great backups, including one from less than an hour earlier. So, I started uninstalling programs with reckless abandon and finally found that the problem was resolved when I uninstalled the "ASUS Framework Service". But, in the meantime, I had uninstalled like a dozen other programs. No problem! Did a quick restore of my C: drive backup and then uninstalled ONLY the ASUS Framework Service. Problem solved.
The point? Backups are great not only for data loss or corruption, but you can go hog wild on your Windows installation and start yanking stuff out and modifying things with not a worry in the world because you can simply restore your backup afterward. In my case, this saved me a ton of time.
My Computers
System One System Two
-
- OS
- Win11 Pro 24H2
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Manufacturer/Model
- Self-built
- CPU
- Intel i7 11700K
- Motherboard
- ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
- Memory
- 64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
- Graphics Card(s)
- No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
- Sound Card
- Integrated
- Monitor(s) Displays
- HP Envy 32
- Screen Resolution
- 2560 x 1440
- Hard Drives
- 1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
- PSU
- Corsair HX850i
- Case
- Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
- Cooling
- Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
- Keyboard
- Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
- Mouse
- Logitech MX Master 3
- Internet Speed
- 1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
- Browser
- Edge
- Antivirus
- Windows Defender
- Other Info
- The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.
Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
-
- Operating System
- Win11 Pro 23H2
- Computer type
- Laptop
- Manufacturer/Model
- Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
- CPU
- Intel i7-1255U
- Memory
- 16 GB
- Graphics card(s)
- Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Sound Card
- Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
- Monitor(s) Displays
- 13.3-inch IPS Display
- Screen Resolution
- WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
- Hard Drives
- 2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
- PSU
- USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
- Mouse
- Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
- Keyboard
- Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
- Internet Speed
- 1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
- Browser
- Edge
- Antivirus
- Windows Defender
- Other Info
- WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor