How And What To Backup When Reinstalling Windows 7
Oct 14, 2012
I decided it was time to perform a clean installation. I just got my computer last year and I've never done it before. I have 2 hard drives, each 1 TB. My primary hard drive is partitioned. The first 882 GB is the Local Disk. It has everything on it, the OS, programs, data, etc. The other 48.8 GB has the Windows 8 pre-release installed on it. My secondary hard drive is used for backup. I use the default Windows backup program. I'm currently performing a backup and I plan on creating a system image after that. Once those finish, I'm going to partition my primary hard drive again for the new installation. How much space do I need to give Windows 7 on a partition?
I was also wondering what to do after reinstalling Windows. Do I restore from the system image? I thought reinstalling Windows then restoring would defeat the purpose, wouldn't it? Also, what do the backups and system images cover? Should I just manually copy my programs and data to the internal backup hard drive? I just that that moving programs from where they installed then moving them back might mess some things up. I read somewhere that it would be smart to reinstall all programs. I wouldn't mind doing that, but there's one that concerns me. I'm a PC gamer and I use Steam. My Steam folder is almost 200 GB, please tell me I wouldn't have to download all my my games again...
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Aug 23, 2012
When you wish to recover your system using this utility, do you use the Windows program at desktop or the rescue disc I created from the program?The reasn I ask is because I used to have better luck using Acronis' disc rather than the program and wonderd if the same applied here.Also, does the backup remove the existing one so that you only have one at a time or can you have more than one.
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Nov 1, 2010
Is there a way to use Windows Backup to backup to a network drive?
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May 8, 2011
I backup 100GB of data with Windows Backup and over the time where I do all my backups there is like only 30GB of data which changed from those 100GB and also new files were added. Now my external drive is full. When I now delete the very early backup, the first one where the 100GB of data was saved, will it delete then ALL those 100 GB, or will it just delete the previous versions of the files which were modified AFTER that time, which are in this case the 30GB I talked about? Because otherwhise I would then have in the end an uncomplete, messed up backup.
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Aug 8, 2009
I currently use Vista Ultimate. I am preparing to move to Windows 7. Is it possible to restore files from Vista Backup and Restore Center to Windows 7 after a clean install?
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Dec 7, 2010
I'm using Win 7 Pro and want to schedule several backups to my NAS. With Win XP, I was able to schedule multiple backup jobs, which makes things easier since I have 116 GB of data. I like to backup my documents, email files, etc. every week, but my photos, MP3s, etc. don't change as frequently so once a month is fine for that. Not surprisingly, the media collection takes much longer to backup, which is another reason I try to separate it from my "regular" backup.Unfortunately, Win 7 backup only seems to allow one backup job to be scheduled, which seems awfully limited. Am I missing something? Are there other free backup utilities that would work better, or do I need to shell out some cash?
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Apr 13, 2012
Currently my PC is set just they way I like so I thought I'd do a backup, the idea being that should something go wrong then I can just use that backup (on DVD's) to do restore my PC to the 'now' settings.
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Oct 19, 2011
Windows 7 Backup always stops around 58% when it tries to backup "Boot (C" What should I do?
Windows Sicherung bleibt stehen bei 58% bei Systemabbild von "Boot (C" wird erstellt.
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Nov 25, 2011
I bought a brand new Samsung QX411 two months ago. It's a great computer. Problem is, it got hit with a nasty virus that was pretty much completely debilitating, so I took it in to Best Buy (mistake), and they told me the best thing would be just reinstall Windows 7, and everything would be great. Well, I did, and now I am stuck. I reinstalled, but I did not realize that literally nothing would be in place. I am not completely naive: I did save all of my important files, folders, music, etc. So it's not that I have lost my data and am now crying "woe is me." Instead, I have basically a blank Windows 7 and nothing is there. I can't connect to the internet, because it is telling me that I don't have the necessary hardware (I know I do, but still). A basic summary would be this: I have no idea what to do after properly installing Windows 7. I want to get it as close back to normal as I can, but I don't know how to start.
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Jul 13, 2012
I recently built a new computer system that contains my old HDD, which I transferred from my previous PC. The old copy of Windows 7 that was already installed didn't work in the new PC, as expected. Instead, I have a new copy of Windows 7 available that I need to get on the HDD. But I also need to deal with the old Windows copy. I've already transferred all of my personal files from the old copy onto a portable HDD for safe keeping. What I plan on doing is reinstalling the new copy of Windows 7 onto the PC's HDD to be used in the new computer. I was able to acquire the new Windows 7 version for a really cheap price from my college.
So now I either have to format my HDD so that the new Windows 7 can work properly while keeping the old/useless version out of the way, or wipe the old Windows 7 from the HDD completely. Should I keep the old Windows 7 on the HDD and just never use it, or would that conflict too much with the partition used by the new version? If they do conflict, how should I go about removing the old Windows 7 partition? dealing with the HDD and OS seems to be one of the most annoying parts of a PC.
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May 7, 2011
I have bought a Lenovo Ideapad about 6 month ago with Windows 7 Home Premium.I now want to Re-Install Windows and delete my whole data. In Short, I want it to be Completely Clean.I Dont have My Windows CD to do That, But I have a Key Below My laptop and its Genuine.
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Dec 7, 2010
I mistakenly purchased a 32 bit version of windows 7 pro which was on OEM. Now I am going to purchase the 64 bit version OEM software again and format my hard drive and reinstall the 64 bit OS on my PC.
My question is now that I will be using the 64 Bit version, can I re-use my 32 bit OEM on a completely different PC as it will no longer be installed on my PC?
If so do I have to uninstall it first or will a simple wipe off the hard drive deactivate the 32 bit key? Also is there a cheaper option to purchasing the OEM software again, such as upgrading from 32bit to 64bit?
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Dec 11, 2010
I've recently purchased an SSD and would like to utilize it as a boot drive. I am happy with my configuration and would like just to install Windows 7 on the SSD and use it to boot -- with all other hardware and drives remaining without change.
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Jan 5, 2013
So I've been using my new laptop recently and discovered its hybrid hard drive contains an SSD. And boots up windows in seconds. This has caused me to want to buy an SSD for my desktop (my real gaming machine). The trouble lies within reinstalling windows and backing up.My desktop currently has two hard drives. Both 1tb each, one is full. And the other is barely used up. If I were to buy an SSD for my desktop. Would it be possible to reinstall windows (OEM) onto my new SSD? How would I do this? Also I've never backed up before (terrible I know and I want to start now!). However my family does own a 1tb external HDD. How much of my 1.2tb of data could I backup, and how would I do it? I've got loads of games and whatnot installed I don't want to lose.
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Nov 22, 2011
I'm currently running windows 7 64 bit on my current system. I am just after buying a new pc and want to install my OS on my new SSD. I'm going to keep the old raptor HDD for my new system also (the raptor HDD currently has the OS on it)
1. Can I install windows to my SSD using the same product key yes?
2. How can I/whats the best way to completely remove the OS from the raptor HDD and just use it as a storage device..I want to use the 120GB SSD for the OS & some of my games - (Origin & Steam)
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Dec 30, 2012
I just installed and activated OEM Win 7 on an HDD. Changed my mind and want to purchase an SSD, place Win on that, and use my HDD for everything else. Will I still be able to install Win or am I too late because I activated it?
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Aug 9, 2011
I created an image using the Microsoft Backup and Restore tool in Windows 7. I saved the image on a network shared folder.I then went to the Advanced Recovery Methods in Windows to restore my image...that I just created. It restarts the computer and goes into recovery mode, I point to where the image is located, I entered the network credentials and it give me an error. "The Specified network resource or device is no longer available. (0x80070037)"
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Dec 3, 2012
Any simple backup program that is capable of backing up large files incrementally by splitting the file and backing up only changed parts of the file? The files I'm talking about are files that get altered by appending stuff at the end of the file, e.g. log files or mailbox files, so it's generally possible to split a new version of the file at the exact point where the old version stopped, purely by file size.
Specifically, I want to back up Thunderbird and SeaMonkey mailboxes without having to create additional subfolders within those programs. I understand that if something had changed near the beginning of the file, then the whole file will have to be backed up, unless the backup program is capable of some very clever searching, but mostly the files will change only by having data appended to it.
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Jan 31, 2013
I'm not sure this is the right forum for this question, but then again: lots of people seem to have comparable problems, so here goes:As my 3-year old netbook was getting very slow, I decided to get rid of all the junk at once by completely reinstalling the OS (Win7 starter). Now, there is a very easy way to this with the Recovery Manager (as described in the support papers on the HP site), but that didn't work for me. This may wll be due to a faulty HD; I've no way of testing it as my C: drive is now reformatted. So what next?I was not completely unprepared; earlier I made:- a USB-stick with the 'HP USB Recovery Flash Disk Utility' (HP45774). The stick does contain, I think, all or almost all of the contents of the recovery partition. (NB: you need a 16Gb stick and this is a trick you can do only once.
- a recovery CD on an external CD drive, although without a 'disk-image' as by then the system had grown much too bloated already. (should have done that straight away after I'd bought it, although I'm a bit at a loss as to what storage medium would be used).These two means should surely be enough to restore the thing to factory settings? However:- The memory stick should be bootable, but isn't.- Booting from CD works, but the Recovery Manager can't seem to access the diskimage on the usb-stick. (Although, when I call up a command prompt, one of the other options, it is readily available.)So I don't really know what to do now. I'm thinking of two options:1. In one forum thread it was said that the stick thus made 'often' or even 'usually' isn't bootable, as it should be. The advice was to make it bootable, using EasyBCD. That's easier said then done, I found; no luck so far.
The stick does contain a boot directory, bootmgr etc.; it clearly is supposed to be bootable.)2. Following the advice in other threads, I downloaded the whole 1.7Gb WAIK, just to get hold of imagex.exe, which i then put on the memory stick. As the bootable 'recovery CD' does provide a command prompt, I could, supposedly, 'apply' the image base.wim, which is also on the stick, to 'drive D:' (under these circumstances, that's the main partition). But as there's lots of other stuff on the stick (like FactoryUpdates), I'm afraid it will be a lot of hassle installing computer-specific drivers and stuff.
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Feb 26, 2011
I want to buy a new laptop. The problem is that new laptops come with a tonne of crap on them and I want a clean install of Win7.What would I need to get this clean install?Would I need to *cough* acquire an OEM edition of Win7?
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Jul 21, 2011
I installed Windows 7 on one of my computers. I have another computer running Vista. Can I uninstall Windows 7 on my first computer and then reinstall Windows 7 on my other computer?
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Jul 21, 2012
I reinstalled Windows. When it was done, the internet disappeared! It says "Not connected - No connections are available". I try to troubleshoot it and it says to install a network adapter driver. My router is Linksys WRT54GS and my modem is ubee.
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Sep 14, 2011
I had multiple BSOD's on my laptop, i had to reinistall windows 7 because it could not boot up. After reinstalling and adding all drivers I got another blue screen.Please find attached the dmp file.
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Jul 24, 2012
i reinstalled windows 7 64bit a few weeks and since then ive been having startup problems. BSOD, restart during welcome screen, freeze on starting windows screen etc.need to know if its a simple fix or should windows be reinstalled or is it a hardware issue?
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Apr 17, 2011
Windows 7 Home Premium X64 keeps re-installing the same existing USB drivers every time I plug in an USB device. This means every time I plug in my Wireless mouse, my printer, scanner, external hard drive... and so on I have to wait minutes before I can start using the device. Also, it does not just re-install the drivers from the hard disk, it does a lengthy check via windows update before it installs anything.
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Dec 28, 2010
Used RT Seven Lite to slim down windows, but may have done a little too much in terms of removing Windows services (RasMan, etc.). Is there a way to reinstall the Windows components?I did try to manually create the services using sc create and trying to duplicate the service from another box, but so far it hasn't worked out that well
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Aug 20, 2010
I am running Vista basic and Windows 7 ultimate on my pc and i was just wonder how can i reinstall Windows 7 while keeping vista and not changing anything on my C: drive ( which vista is in ) while just getting rid of Windows 7 and putting a new Windows 7 over that same hard drive ( hard drive D: ) . Is there any way of doing this and without causing any problems to vista, my pc and not having conflict's ?If so can you please tell me how to do it step by step?
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Dec 8, 2011
I got windows 7 pro 64-bit though my school for only $30. It said it was only an upgrade. I also purchased the backup disc.BUT I downloaded the .ISO, wiped my drive, installed it, and it activated just fine, no errors.Now I just reinstalled it on a different hard drive, and its giving me the error that it is an upgrade only. This is using the same product key that worked before. I did this on another friend's new build and it gave the same error. I talked to a representative that said I should not have been able to install in the first place.I tried calling to activate, but when it gets to the product key, it will not recognize the numbers or letters when I try to type or say the key.I used the number 1-866-234-6020. I am getting nowhere on the phone.Can I get this product key activated for a full version anywhere? Any specific numbers I have to call?I have a disc of XP retail version lying around. Can I install that and upgrade using my backup disc
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Apr 14, 2012
Just reinstalled Windows 7, walked away from the PC during the re-installation and it appears that a second partition was created in stead of overwriting the old partition. How can I start up the PC and delete the old OS? Or should I just re-install Windows 7 again and be at the PC when it goes through the steps?
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Nov 4, 2012
Recently I decided to reinstall windows 7 without wiping my hard drive, but I ran into a problem. Everything was going smoothly until it reached the transferring data and settings. It went up to 72% and hasn't changed for an hour. If I try and close it down it simply says that it can leave the PC in an unstable state.Here is an image of what I'm seeing: and the number hasn't changed, and it is always changing from please wait to Transferring files imgur: the simple image sharer
Specs:
Windows 7 home Premium 64bit
6570 (amd radeon)
I5 2400
8gb of RAM
600W power supply (for future upgrades)
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Nov 8, 2012
I'm Just the other day when i cut on my computer it wouldnt boot so i tried to restore it to a earlier time but it wouldnt work so i tried to restore to factory setting and it wouldnt do that either now i get a message telling me to restart installation cause windows couldnt be completed can someone please help. I have a ACER ASPIRE computer which windows was pre-installed and i have no disc. The disc i created dont work i put it n anotha computer and it said it was blank.
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