Win 8.1 – After Refresh your PC

Because the Win 8.1 did not start, even if I tried all kind of solutions, I arrived to Refresh your PC from blue troubleshooter boot screen as seen here:
https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/UploadFile/6cde20/enable-boot-logging-in-windows-8/
I used the Win8.1 installation files on USB stick to do that refresh, which in the end solved the problem.
The main consequence is that I lost the list with the programs previous installed and of course their settings too.
1) What can I do now to recover those programs and their settings?
Is the only solution to use a dedicated recovery software that scans the SSD and tries to find the previous installed programs? If yes, what software do you recommend?
I have now on my desktop a .html file/list with Removed applications done by Windows during Refresh your PC time.
Program files folder are empty now.


2) The Windows folder is around 11GB now.
Is that normal?
What size should it be after new install?
Is 11GB size similar with a new installation or is it bigger because contains some files and settings from previous install?
But I have Windows.old folder. It is around 25GB.
I found next article:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/17125/windows-8-restore-files-old-folder-upgrade
How would that help?