[IMAGE] Everything that happens during a Refresh is spelled out on the screen when you perform the Refresh ... that "Apps [Applications = Programs] you installed from discs or websites will be removed", so that shouldn't been much of a surprise.  (Apps - as in th Metro "tile" apps - can only be obtained from the Windows Store, so when it speaks of apps installed from any other source (disc or websites) it can only be talking about anything else installed on the computer.) As for your personal files, they should have all remained intact UNLESS, of course, you chose Reset instead of Refresh.  Reset will remove ALL apps and ALL data. If you performed a Reset, then the best course of action is to restore your files from backup (hoping you were performing this important function).  If not, then you may need to attempt to use an "undelete" program to try to retrieve those files.  Sending the drive to a recovery expert might be preferable (although expensive) to retrieve the files. Most apps you purchase from websites will give you the ability to log into your account to obtain the software and keys.  Office, Avast, and System Mechanic should not be problems at all.
OH NO! I am newly up from my 10 year old Gen 3 XPS running Windows XP Pro.  My new Dell is an 8500 XPS running Windows 8. Recently browsing caused a deluge of what "I" thought of as annoying 'apps'.  Please forgive my stupidity as age and MS have made things tough for me to stay out of trouble with new terminology. This morning was a disaster.  I'm used to running things from my Windows desktop.  All those 'apps' that have collected in the months since using my new Dell were seldom visited on the other side of the 'windows key'.  Then in the wee hours of the morning I plugged in a USB jump drive to transfer some files. The new XPS informed me something was wrong with this device.  It could not repair the fault and repeated attempts at other USB ports had the same results.  Now the serious problems blew in: I was fooled by the innocent sounding term 'refresh'.  "This would get rid of all recent clutter, those 'apps' like browser tools bars, and their ilk!  After all: I just created several new Restore Points to back me up.  What could go wrong?"  The length of time the 'refresh' process took caused a bit of concern.  But the final outcome...major software purchased as downloads, including Office 2010 Pro, Cyberlink PowerDVD 13, Iolo System Mechanic 11 Pro, Avast Pro, had been blown away along with what I had viewed as those annoying little 'apps' that swarmed in with every web page I visited.  The other stuff: games, etc,  gone - were a minor annoyance in comparison. "Refresh" blew away data such as my Outlook e-mail and Word documents.  TO my additional horror: gone also were ALL previous 'restore points'.  I may have confused new terminology as 'apps' for 'programs', but the fine print did not mention that.  The Office 2010 downloaded files 'seem' to be there, but the setup file was disabled too. Can anything be done to 'un-delete' anything?  To complicate my problem: all my on-line purchase records were all neatly organized with Word 2010 - in 'docx' files that my older  copies of Word cannot read. Any or all suggestions are welcome.
"Refresh" Argh! Where did everything go!