A backup file is generated to capture the current state of a computer. The computer state may be restored to the computer in a hybrid manner at a later time by accessing some files and/or data included in the backup file and downloading other files contained in a list in the backup file. By listing some files rather than including the actual files in the backup file, the backup file may be generated faster and require less processing and memory resources. When the computer state is restored, secondary files and computer state data contained in the backup file are installed to the computer. A list of primary files in the backup file is accessed, each primary file is retrieved from one or more remote publishers over a network, and the retrieved primary files are installed.