If you have troubleshooted computers in the past (or present), either for a paycheck or as a hobby, you've more than likely performed a complete system recovery or full reformat. The question is, "When is the right time to perform such a procedure?" Do you usually hit a special road block before considering the reformat or do you use that method the first chance you get to save you any headaches? The reason I'm exploring this issue is due to how so many so called 'professional' technicians out there who love to use this method to repair all of their clients computer systems. Although it gets the job done in most cases, it can mean a lot of headaches for the end user if the communication isn't there. I'll take to look at the issue as both a technician and as a end user.
Say What?
If you aren't familiar with what a system recovery or system reformat is, well, basically it is similar to giving your computer a complete fresh start. By that I mean performing one of those procedures will erase your hard drive and that includes your operating system, documents, photos, music, applications and pretty much everything else you got stored on it. With a factory system recovery, you are allowed to restore your entire computer to the state it was when you first turned it on the day you bought the system home from the store. Remember all those commercial applications and all the other crapware that plagued your system? Well, they all return once again to bug you when you perform a system recovery. With a manual operating system reformat, you get to start the computer again with a bare bones install of the operating system as if you installed it for the first time. The former usually applies to systems you bought from the store and are from big name PC manufacturers like Dell, Sony, HP, Toshiba and Gateway. The latter option applies to users who most likely have a custom built PC and have purchased a retail version of their operating system of choice.
Please Get to the Point..
Alright, so while most technicians and other veteran users already know this stuff, for the casual readers out there, you'll want to pay close attention because although you may not think of it, this could affect you dramatically especially if you pay others to have your PC troubles removed. In the computer technician field, performing a complete system recovery or reformat is similar to admitting defeat (although this is not always the case as you'll see later on). When you bring in your computer to a technician, you obviously have a problem with the system and want it repaired. As the technician, you might have one or an array of problems to tackle depending on the situation. The problem could range from a simple driver reinstall to a full blown virus and malware infected system. By invoking a system recovery or reformat, you can usually fix the problem because you're basically starting from scratch! Everything gets wiped out and you get a fresh start. The question is when is the right time to perform such a delicate procedure? The answer to that question isn't as simple as one might think.
The Problem
As with a lot of things, fixing computers is like an art. Everyone has a different skill set and knowledge to work with. So, that means that many technicians have their own 'style' when it comes to troubleshooting computers. Some take it more seriously than others and it is this note that everything revolves around. I take computer repairs very seriously, no matter how small or big the problem is. I take my time to troubleshoot and research the problem, take caution before installing or removing anything and do a lot of testing to see if the solution implemented really works or not. For many others however, everything revolves around a system reformat. Why? Because this is the easy way out of a problem. Like I said earlier, performing a system reformat will wipe out everything, which will most likely include the problem itself. As you can see, it is very tempting to immediately pull out the 'reformat' card once someone comes to you with a computer problem. In fact I am sure that a lot of computer repair companies out there which heavily rely on the 'reformat' procedure to get the majority of their systems fixed. Usually, they will also charge you an arm and a leg to perform the procedure. In a way, you really can't call this computer repair but if you look at it from another angle, it can be labeled as such because technically, they got the computer fixed and more than not, the computer problem is no longer persistent. I don't want readers to think that I'm against the reformat procedure because that's certainly not the case. It has saved my butt more times than I can remember but I consider doing so only as a last resort and this is where everything gets a bit more blurry.
How it Affects Technicians
A lot of techies love to perform a simple system recovery because it could be one of the easiest solution. For more thorough technicians, it could also mean it is also one of the most painful one's as well. It is easy in a sense that no troubleshooting or researching of the real problem is involved. Simply nuke the computer and start over. It is one of the most painful solution in that you need to make sure most, if not all, of the user's data is backed up. One important piece of advice I can give is to always communicate with your clients! It's really not that hard to go over some of the important details that goes with performing a system recovery to the end user. I mean it is their computer at the end of the day so they have a right to know exactly what it is you'll be doing with it once it is in your hands.
How it Affects Users
One of the biggest headache that comes with a full system recovery or reformat is backing up your data. Everyone uses a computer differently than the next person and so when you perform a reformat, you better know what data you consider important and where it is located! If you fail to backup important data, you can expect to never see them again. This is the point that I can't stress enough. Whether you are bringing your computer to a local mom-and-pop repair shop or to a big name company, you better make sure that if they do have to perform a system recovery, they need to notify you first and if possible, get your consent. It surprises me how so many times a hot shot technician just goes ahead and performs the reformat without notifying the client first. You can already imagine how the user will react once he/she gets the computer back. Sure the computer is fixed and whatnot but now you are missing some or in worst case scenario, all of your data. If you didn't keep a backup copy, you can kiss everything goodbye. The technicians excuse: "Because your computer was really screwed up and it was the only way". You laugh but trust me, I've heard it one to many times. If you find out that they will be performing a full system recovery, you better ask them how they plan on backing up and restoring your data. Sometimes, a technician will assume that you store data in the default folder locations like My Documents, Pictures, Music, Downloads, Desktop etc. If you store data elsewhere, you better let them know about it. To minimize the damage (if any), please do yourself a huge favor by backing up all of your important data prior to bringing your computer to a computer repair technician if possible. If you can't boot to your operating system, you can create a simple Linux rescue CD following the instructions here. Hell, if you can at least create and boot into that Linux rescue CD, I'm sure you'll be able to perform a system recovery yourself!
So When is the Right Time to Perform a Reformat?
This issue certainly needs to be looked at on a case by case basis. As the computer user, do you want to to have a fresh start? This means having to install and configure all of your applications once again. On the bright side, if your computer was behaving strangely, a system recovery might be the cure. There are times when a computer is infected so badly with malware that it doesn't make sense to not perform the recovery and reformat. Even if you could get rid of the malware on the system (or so you think), can you honestly trust that system again? I'm not as paranoid as to suggest a full blown system nuke everytime your computer catches some piece of malware but it's just something to think about. As a technician, you have to ask yourself (honestly, hopefully) if there are any other methods or solutions to the problem besides performing the recovery. Are there any workarounds? Have you talked to your client about the risk of performing a full system recovery/reformat?
At other times, a system recovery or reformat might not be the best option. If a technician can repair the main problem at hand, then doing so can usually avoid the reformat route. Not to be rude or anything but if the first solution you think about is to simply reformat a computer without even looking into the problem, you're either pretty lazy or not well versed in the art of computer troubleshooting. Of course I'm taking to other technicians here and not to the average people. If we simply spend some time to actually dig into the problem, a lot of times we can save the computer without having to erase everything.
In the End...
I know this has been a long read but I really wanted to get some stuff off my chest and be able to explain it to you folks in the best way possible. Some stuff I said probably didn't even make any sense but I thank you nonetheless if you have read this far! Performing a system recovery and reformat is not a shady practice and even casual users do it from time to time. The problem I have is when users actually spend money to have someone simply perform the procedure without doing any prior troubleshooting. As a casual user, you really need to think hard the next time you bring your computer in to a repair shop (no matter how small or big the company is). Is that all they'll be doing to your computer? How much are you paying them to do that? Could you have simply done the procedure yourself and save a bunch of money? Performing a system recovery is very simple as most of the newer computers you buy in the stores have the system recovery data stored on a hidden partition on your hard drive. You simply need to press a specific key during computer bootup to invoke the restore process. Did you just pay a computer technician $200 just to do that? Hopefully not.
