How can I view the last action in Win 11 before undoing, i.e. see what action that was?

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

Donk said:
So the backup is compressed, I assume.

Yes to all, and yes... at the default setting, Macrium and the other backup softwares, compress the backups about 50%.
You can change that easily. But I've found 50% compression is a good balance between speed and size.

If you need space to store your backups... since you are on a laptop, maybe an external SSD?

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/products/external-hard-drive/#m=12,32,38&rpm=0&sort=price&page=1

Donk · Feb 1, 2024

Note: With only 35GB on my Window's partition, my backups and restores take a bit less than 2 minutes each.

I didn't think it would be so fast (even with compression). So if the PC / Notebook did not start anymore you could restore the system within 2 minutes? From an external hard disk?

Including boot time... it takes me less than 60 seconds to switch between the Win 10 and Win 11 SSDs.

Pretty fast. From desktop to desktop. I have quite many programs open, so it would take much more time until they are closed (correctly) and restarted.

The UGLY side of my computer.

Why not put a cover on it? Because of ventilation and/or constant access?

The Cooler Master ATCS 840 full tower case. The world's coolest computer case...

I consider to buy me a PC (instead of a Notebook) because, among other things, it has much better or at least better performance for the same price (if that is right at all) for a Notebook. Maybe I should ask for advice which one to buy in another thread.

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

@Donk

Remember your original question in post #1?

In the Taskbar search box, type: Reliability History

It looks like this. When you click on the DOTS... it tells you what happened...

View Reliability History in Windows 11 Tutorial

This tutorial will show you how to view reliability history for your Windows 11 device. The Reliability Monitor provides a system stability overview and details about events that impact reliability. It calculates the Stability Index shown in the System Stability Chart. Reliability Monitor...

www.elevenforum.com

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

Donk said:
Why not put a cover on it? Because of ventilation and/or constant access?

I just took the covers OFF to take the pictures.
I always have the covers on.

Dimensions in inches...

Like theses pics.

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

Donk said:
I consider to buy me a PC (instead of a Notebook) because, among other things, it has much better or at least better performance for the same price (if that is right at all) for a Notebook. Maybe I should ask for advice which one to buy in another thread.

It's best to build your own desktop. That way there's no bloatware on the computer.

This will give you an idea. I left out the vid card, speakers and the monitor.
The CPU has a grfx part.
I put in a 1000W PSU, so you can get any vid card you want.

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/RcG7n6

Building a computer is pretty easy. It's like adult Legos.
All you need is a phillips screwdriver and an LED flashlight.

Donk · Feb 1, 2024

If you need space to store your backups... since you are on a laptop, maybe an external SSD?

Many thanks for the link. So these can be recommended. I backup a partition of the SSD and an external 20 TB drive to another external 20 TB drive. So I would do the Win backup the best to that one as well, I guess. But maybe I would need such an SSD as an external one to run (a second) Win on it and the portable programs.

I just took the covers OFF to take the pictures.
I always have the covers on.

Oh right, so the uglyness on one side inside does not matter.

It looks like this. When you click on the DOTS... it tells you what happened...

But it does not show the move and copy actions, etc., doesn't it?

It's best to build your own desktop.

But you cannot return it then within 30 days or so, or can you?

I do not have any idea of computers, but 1000 W sounds pretty much. Many thanks for the link.

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

Donk said:
But you cannot return it then within 30 days or so, or can you?

I do not have any idea of computers, but 1000 W sounds pretty much. Many thanks for the link.

Most of the parts have at minimum a one year warranty and can be returned or RMA'd

The 4000 series vid cards, use a LOT of power. I don't know if you game or not.
If you're NOT a gamer, or just play old games, you can get a cheaper vid card and power supply.
The speakers I picked are GOOD speakers (just ask @Edwin ).

The same with the monitor I picked (DELL Ultrasharp), they are very easy on the eyes. I have one myself.
Again, I don't know what "matters" to you.

Here's the same computer with... everything....

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/2y8LqR

It's a decent computer. On a scale of 1 to 10, it's about a 7 or 8, because it's an older generation (to save $$$).
I can build an 11 but it will cost a LOT.

For anyone else looking at these builds, you can change the country at the top left.

And here's one with ALL the bells and whistles, within reason....

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/dsxnMV

And yes.... it'll definitely run Crysis.

Donk · Feb 1, 2024

Most of the parts have at minimum a one year warranty and can be returned or RMA'd

Separate parts or the entire PC as a whole? Sorry, I meant the return within 30 days like e.g. Amazom allows, not the warranty.

No no, not a gamer.

I would connect the PC to an external amplifier with speakers, so the PC speakers wouldn't matter, I would say.

I would think something like:
At least 32 GB RAM
Quiet
Energy saving
Ca. 1 TB SSD
Only USB 3.x, not USB 2 connections, 3 or 4 or so

A computer with everything seems to be not that cheap, unfortunately. Thank you for the link.

I can build an 11 but it will cost a LOT.

OK, that must be a turbo quantum computer.

And here's one with ALL the bells and whistles, within reason....

https://de.pcpartpicker.com/list/dsxnMV

Yes, looks very good, I would buy two of them when I am a billionaire.

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

@Donk

The parts all have their own warranties. Some have much longer warranties.
Like the Seasonic power supplies have a 10 year warranty I believe.
Most vid cards are 1 to 3 year warranties... etc.
CPUs don't seem to break... ever, so whatever their warranty is... it doesn't really matter.
Most RAM has a lifetime warranty.

The best part about building your own is that if something ever does break... you only need to replace or RMA that part.
You don't need to "send in" the whole computer.

In the really expensive build, here are some warranties...

The RAM...

The power supply...

The vid card...

The DELL Ultrasharp...

The motherboard...

The CPU....

The Crucial NVMe SSD...

The Samsung SSDs...

To find most warranties.... just google the make and model and look at the Newegg.com result.
Scroll down the Newegg page and you'll see the warranty.

Myself and others, have been building our own computers for a long, long time.
When we say... "it's the smart move", we mean it.

Now, when you buy a prebuilt computer, most have a 1 year warranty.

Donk · Feb 1, 2024

Yes, if one knows what part is broken / not working as it should. If not one would not know what part to send, I would think. And without one part, mostly at least, I assume, you cannot use the PC anyway. So you could send it away anyway (with more effort, of course than for a single part).

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

@Donk

But if you absolutely insist on a... yuck... prebuilt... try this maybe...

Customize Daily Deal RTX 4080 Super Gaming PC

Daily Deal RTX 4080 Super - Intel® Core™ Processor i9-14900K - 32GB (16GBx2) DDR5/6000MHz Memory - MSI PRO Z790-P WIFI DDR5 Motherboard - 2TB ADATA LEGEND 800 GOLD Series (PCIe Gen4) NVMe M.2 SSD - Windows 11 Home

www.cyberpowerpc.com

Ghot · Feb 1, 2024

Donk said:
Yes, if one knows what part is broken / not working as it should. If not one would not know what part to send, I would think. And without one part, mostly at least, I assume, you cannot use the PC anyway. So you could send it away anyway (with more effort, of course than for a single part).

It's not that hard to figure out.

But check out post #51
And look very closely at what happens if you need to "send it in for repairs".

And remember, the parts in a prebuilt are NOT hand picked. They are the cheapest parts they can find.

Donk · Feb 1, 2024

But if you absolutely insist on a... yuck... prebuilt... try this maybe...

No no, actually I do not. Just some points coming to my mind. Thank you for the link.

Looks very fancy. For gamer obviously. Actually I thought of a much cheaper one. I now have an incredibly crappy Lenovo IdeaPad 3 17ABA7, the last dirt, for about 750 $.

It's not that hard to figure out.

I assume, it wouldn't for me, unfortunately. For example, this crappy Lenovo has one or more remarkable errors that have not yet been able to be located. Maybe the software or the hardware or both or else (if possible at all).

And look very closely at what happens if you need to "send it in for repairs".

You mean the so called Premium Warranty for 19 bucks?

And remember, the parts in a prebuilt are NOT hand picked. They are the cheapest parts they can find.

Guess, the parts of my Lenovo are even much cheaper.

x BlueRobot · Feb 2, 2024

Donk said:
So that means there were files being repaired?

Yes and no, it actually just "repaired" this file:

Code:

2024-02-01 19:52:20, Info                  DEPLOY [Pnp] Corrupt file: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\bthmodem.sys
2024-02-01 19:52:20, Info                  DEPLOY [Pnp] Repaired file: C:\Windows\System32\drivers\bthmodem.sys

It's a very common error message to see in your CBS log, always seems to occur with that exact driver as well. You might find more detailed information in the %systemroot%\Inf\setupapi.dev.log file. I wouldn't worry about it though.

Donk said:
Apparently something was actually repaired again.

That message is always shown, it means that /RestoreHealth switch completed successfully without any issues. If there were errors and it repaired them, then you should see a message similar to SFC.

Donk said:
I am wondering why there are obviously are corrupted files at all? Why do they break?

There's quite a few reasons: failing hardware such as: your hard disk and RAM; third-party disk cleanup programs; third-party defrag programs; third-party anti-virus programs; updates being disrupted and user error.

Donk said:
But how can files break as they are stored on a drive? Why do they just break?

Physics; data is statically held electrical charges, the medium which holds those charges will deteriorate over time which leads to data corruption. It's one of reason why everyone recommends that you take regular backups and then store them on a separate disk or in the cloud.

Donk said:
And even if they broke, why can't Win just automatically grab the last one that worked?

It does or at least tries to, although, it depends on what caused the corruption to begin with. Sometimes the files aren't corrupted but corruption in the registry makes it appear that way, it can also make it difficult for Windows to determine which file the "corrupted" file should be replaced with.

SFC and DISM errors aren't usually difficult to fix and more often than not, you can fix them without reverting to a repair install or even a clean install. Obviously, most home users will simply revert back to their last backup and then carry on, however, if that isn't a feasible option then examining the CBS logs is often all you need to do to find the error and repair it.

Donk · Feb 2, 2024

OK, so apparently only one file was repaired that was broken. But apparently the broken file had no negative effects (but it might have had that at some point if it had remained unrepaired).

I am wondering why there are obviously are corrupted files at all? Why do they break?

There's quite a few reasons: failing hardware such as: your hard disk and RAM

Failing because the hardware is really broken or because hard disks and RAM generally just fail, make errors even when they are working?

third-party disk cleanup programs

third-party anti-virus programs;

I do not use.

third-party defrag programs

So it's better to just only use Win's own defrag program?

Physics; data is statically held electrical charges, the medium which holds those charges will deteriorate over time which leads to data corruption.

Ja, aber es scheint so als gingen bei Win, also im Betriebssystem immer ziemlich viele Dateien kaputt aus anderen Gründen. But that probably comes from crashes, turning off the computer with the power switch (if it stops responding), etc.

As long as the system starts/is running (it probably wouldn't work without it), you should first carry out SFC and DISM (in that order), which always is risk-free. If that doesn't help, restore Win with a backup (if available, e.g. Restore Point or from Macrium), otherwise view the logs. If that doesn't work or if Win doesn't start at all, do a repair installation and, if unsuccessful, do a new installation.

x BlueRobot · Feb 2, 2024

Donk said:
OK, so apparently only one file was repaired that was broken. But apparently the broken file had no negative effects (but it might have had that at some point if it had remained unrepaired).

I don't think it was corrupted at all, it was likely just missing from the %systemroot%\System32\drivers folder so it was added back. I wouldn't worry about it.

Donk said:
Failing because the hardware is really broken or because hard disks and RAM generally just fail,

All hardware will eventually fail, due to natural deterioration, it is inevitable. You'll certainly know when that is the case because you'll have greater problems than just corrupt files.

Donk said:
So it's better to just only use Win's own defrag program?

Yes, if you really need to, but defragmentation isn't necessarily these days, it's a holdover from when everyone had hard disks. It's pretty much consigned to history like registry cleaners were.

Donk said:
As long as the system starts/is running (it probably wouldn't work without it), you should first carry out SFC and DISM (in that order), which always is risk-free. If that doesn't help, restore Win with a backup (if available, e.g. Restore Point or from Macrium), otherwise view the logs. If that doesn't work or if Win doesn't start at all, do a repair installation and, if unsuccessful, do a new installation.

Personally, I would only run SFC/DISM if you're having issues with Windows Update, enabling features or installing drivers. It's what they're mostly intended for. SFC/DISM are always risk free, Windows won't attempt to make repairs if it can't do so with absolute certainty, it will stop, fail and then write the errors to the CBS log(s).

Now, if you've identified that you've got issues via SFC or DISM, then are three options:

1) Restore using a system restore point or image backup like Macrium (Easiest and most recommended)
2) Perform an in-place upgrade which effectively serves as a repair install*
3) Review the CBS log(s) and attempt to fix the error(s) yourself; I wouldn't recommend this unless you know what you're doing, although, there is a few people amongst forums who do, literally less than 10.

If points 1 or 2 aren't successful then to do a clean installation which really should be your last resort.

*Note: If a repair install fails then it doesn't necessarily mean that the operating system is corrupt beyond repair.

Donk · Feb 2, 2024

I don't think it was corrupted at all, it was likely just missing from the %systemroot%\System32\drivers folder so it was added back. I wouldn't worry about it.

OK, no reason to worry. So it seems by "repaired" is meant "added" in the log.

Failing because the hardware is really broken or because hard disks and RAM generally just fail,

All hardware will eventually fail, due to natural deterioration, it is inevitable.

Click to expand...

That sounds scary. Thank goodness it obviously was not inevitable here up to now.

What I meant was actually: Failing because the hardware is really broken / deteriorated now (and I should get new one) or because hard disks and RAM GENERALLY just fail, make errors even when they are working as they should, as they are designed?

You'll certainly know when that is the case because you'll have greater problems than just corrupt files.

Oh, no, corrupt (own) files would be one of or the greatest problem for me (within IT) I could imagine, better lose all software / hardware (besides of the drives).