Whenever I talk to someone about restore/recovery/backup it seems to be a misnomer.

Some people say recovery and some people say restore and when ever it's talked about it seems to be elusive or wrong!

Also, I believe sometimes a backup ends up meaning just your own documents?/bookmarks.

Windows 10 uses a word reset and upon trial it has reset my operating system with all my text/source code for example intact.  It also replaced all the original factory installed programs.  I am happy! 

Now I wonder what Back up using File History : Back up your files to another drive and restore them if the originals are lost, damaged or deleted is.  What exactly is the word file, is it programs, is it bookmarks, is it text and code files?  Can this backup reset our computers?  And how do we start the OS if it's not booting right?  Another drive, can this be USB?

I'm beginning to think maybe it's best to just do clean installs upon failure!

Interestingly,

Josheir

3 hours ago, Josheir said:

now I wonder what Back up using File History

It stores each instance/snapshot of the file when you modify it and stores them on a external drive.

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2974385/windows/how-to-use-windows-10s-file-history-backup-feature.html

12 hours ago, Josheir said:

I'm beginning to think maybe it's best to just do clean installs upon failure!

Different people and groups have different preferences.

Organizations usually find it easier to wipe development machines and download everything fresh from their own servers. This has several good side effects. Machines can be easily wiped and restored if something goes wrong (like a nasty virus or ransomware), developers can clean up if something goes terribly wrong, and when new machines are purchased they can quickly be brought into service with everything the project requires.

Individuals on personal machines usually don't want to wipe the machine with a clean re-install because so much personal stuff is on the machine and it is difficult to ensure all of it is backed up. Something may be missing, install disks may be lost or damaged, software keys may be lost or unusable, servers for old software may have been shut down. It is a bigger risk and usually more effort to wipe and do a clean install.