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XP Reinstall - some thoughts - be prepared

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Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,

After only a few months I just did another XP reinstall today.  However I look upon it as a good thing.

First, what makes it easy.

a) First, I have the Dell CDs (two especially, one for the reinstall, one for drivers, there is a third unused with some utilities, I think its the crapware and the I-don't-care-ware).  So if you don't know what CDs you will use on a reinstall, figger that out and have them ready, even if it means making them with a utility or purchasing them from your puter maker. So I ended up with a totally clean install.

b) And I had used Double Driver to save the drives into a nice .exe file.  Even though I did not get onto the internet from the initial install, puzzling through the wizards, I simply copied over the double driver .exe from the usb and went to town. It pops up all the drivers, you can uncheck some (I took them all) and then installs. Worked beautifully, probably had some Ethernet driver or something for the Net and I went up right away (behind a router).  My screen control was right too, which is always a little kludgy right after a reinstall. (Shaky scroll bars and such.)

c) And I had UBCD4 CD at the ready before the install.  XP was not booting, I went into UBCD4 and simply copied most of my files to another drive on the USB using .. Free Commander,  which comes on UBCD (thanks FC).  Very simple.  So I knew nothing was lost, even if I might later puzzle out a couple of locations of data files and config files. Granted, theoretically you should have this saved nightly, but since 95%+ of the lockups are OpSys and only a small % are things like disk crashes (I made up the numbers) most of the time you will simply be able to do a copy. Of course it is good to have at least a recent backup, but no matter what, have the UBCD4 CD ready and you can likely back up right up to the instant.  (e.g. the days email).

These are the secret ingredients that makes for an iron puter chef, imho.  Sure I had some little glitch with the audio that I had to download the driver (so I will do a new double driver) and a minor glitch with a Nividia error which I downloaded the updated driver, but these were relatively trivial, especially once I was on the Net and I could search the error.  (Well I had another puter around to do that too, always handy, but did not need it.)

How much time is spent on an install compared to an early image? (e.g. one you did the day after the last install.)  Very little, if  you are doing other things at the same time.  Maybe an hour.  And the earlier the image, the cleaner you are and the more you can rethink what you want to install and how to lighten the system.  Also you will end up with the current versions of this and that.  And the earliest you can get is a full install.

Personally I think images are overrated.  When your system locks up it is time for a reinstall, not to go back to a cluttered system.  Just have a few tools ready and waiting.

1) UBCD4 for the final saves - if possible
2) Install CDs
3) Driver .exe - saved with Double Driver (superb) or a comparable program

Even things like Firefox extensions, I want to rethink now.  About the only "config" file I really will look for is the NoScript "ok" .. if I reinstall NoScript.  Since that is a big hassle, saying ok to all these pages.  Anti-virus and firewall, no problem at all with a few clicks saying "Trusted".

XP is limited on resources, even in the best world.  My goal now is to have two complementary XP systems (I used to have that) and divide up the activities a bit more.  Also I will be more careful not to put things into the startup groups in the future.  Especially services.  Ok, maybe one will be Windows 7, we shall see.

My main decision is whether I want to concentrate on Chameleon Startup or Startup Manager from Metaproducts for monitoring and changing this startup stuff (while I probably will use WinPatrol too I use that more for other functions).  I really wonder if these have the capability to go from startup folder to registry to no startup very easily and effectively.  And what happens when you tell these services that startup up that you don't want them to start by themselves.  I think that is where a few things lead to troubles.  And startup delays, or manual startups (I would like to be able to load 5-10 programs AFTER the initial bootup in a group, maybe use a script for that) can be a big help.  

Oh, and the only program install where I have to be a little cautious is email (Eudora), since I want to get the downloads happening soon and I have to put the filters and everything in the right place, copying over the full data file structure.  (I could use Zero Zipper ..  and start clean too, but not in this case, since the files are not huge.)  Oh, and I quickly brought over the Linkman .lmd file, since most of my PIM stuff is kept there.

Just thought I would share some thoughts.  An XP reinstall can be surprisingly easy, granted this was round 2 for me so the kinks were largely out.

================================

Adding a 4th component.

Know your installs, your serial numbers (even what release and maybe keep the installer if a paid version) and your passwords.  This can all be in a PIM , depending on your security setup.

And their are utilities that show you all the programs.  My method is to keep it orderly in the Start Menu and in folder names created during the installs (even if I delete the file, I keep the folder name) all of which will be on my backup.  Of course their are nuances with add-ons like browser extensions or if you do a lot on Total Commander, however nothing real difficult. I actually back up with FEBE and/or Mozbackup but that is more for porting to a new puter and can be superfluous since loading extensions up is very quick (unless you have many dozens).

Shalom,
Steven Avery

4wd:
Personally I think images are overrated.  When your system locks up it is time for a reinstall, not to go back to a cluttered system.  Just have a few tools ready and waiting.-Steven Avery (June 21, 2009, 06:08 PM)
--- End quote ---

Same here, even though I have the software, (both TIH11 and now HDMS2009), the only times I actually do an image is:
a) before a reinstall of the system;
b) after a reinstall of the system.

(a) - In case I forgot to grab the settings for a program.
(b) - In case I screw up installing something immediately after re-install.
(c) - When I want to test an OS on real hardware but don't have the inclination to build or drag out and connect another computer.

But since I use mainly portable apps, (a) is less of a problem due to them being all located on a separate partition/drive.

1) UBCD4 for the final saves - if possible
--- End quote ---

Prefer making my own PE environment, (BartPE/LiveXP/VistaPE/WinPE3), for this because I can include the tools I'm more likely to need as well as one's I have bought that will run from a PE.

2) Install CDs
--- End quote ---

Make ISO images and store them on an external drive, (or write to a DVD), along with Microsoft Virtual CD-ROM Control Panel - doesn't require installation and all your install discs are then in one place so there's no need to keep swapping discs.

3) Driver .exe - saved with Double Driver (superb) or a comparable program
--- End quote ---

nlite XP with the MassStorage and LAN DriverPacks included, plus any esoteric hardware for my particular computer - this gives me an OS disc that will install on pretty much any HDD interface and have a network enabled without installing any extra drivers.  Plus specifically tailored to my computer hardware.

Know your installs, your serial numbers (even what release and maybe keep the installer if a paid version) and your passwords.  This can all be in a PIM , depending on your security setup.

--- End quote ---

Kept in f0dder's fSekrit program and written to the external drive/disc along with the install programs.

EDIT: Added (c) to imaging since I'm in the process of doing it  :-[

Steven Avery:
Hi Folks,

Right, for the most part you are giving more techie ways to accomplish the same thing. nLite is a bit sophisticated, fSekrit sounds real good, UBCD4 I knew was fine and super-stable for what I want, understood that the Bart/PE tailored stuff  can accomplish more.  (And DriveImageXML works to restore under Bart/PE).  And I happened to have the Dell original CDs and I knew they work good so I ran with them, often you have to go the other ways.  The iso method though is neat.

If you do an image before a new install, are you actually using the config files from an "image" perspective, or are you using the image software as simply another way to accomplish the file-to-file copy ? (The type of copy I did with Free Commander).

My Eudora loaded without a hitch.  With some gigs of mail copied over. That is another reason I don't like image programs .. you are unlikely to have "todays mail" in the image.  I'd prefer to retweak settings than lose a half day's mail. Ok, granted, you are supposed to put the data on another partition.

For fun, before I loaded my Eudora mail back in I did the DriveImageXML, Macrium and Paragon images ... all freebies, after SP3, IE8 and some file manager and browser and very basic installs.  If for some reason I found myself in the same situation in a few weeks, I might try to save a couple of hours with this very early image.  I do not plan to make any more, now I switch to file-by-file of data only.

Shalom,
Steven

4wd:
If you do an image before a new install, are you actually using the config files from an "image" perspective, or are you using the image software as simply another way to accomplish the file-to-file copy ? (The type of copy I did with Free Commander).-Steven Avery (June 21, 2009, 10:59 PM)
--- End quote ---

Yes and no, I still copy across configs for programs that don't have some kind of import/export function but the image is a kind of safety-net.
I know damn well that I'll forget to copy some program's config file or some esoteric command/batch/program that I've long since forgotten where it came from....in that case, I can just mount the image and copy off what I've forgotten.
Normally, this image will have about a 6 month life span - if I find I haven't used it for the last 6 months, it gets deleted.  Possibly sooner if I'm sure I don't need anything in it.

My Eudora loaded without a hitch.  With some gigs of mail copied over. That is another reason I don't like image programs .. you are unlikely to have "todays mail" in the image.  I'd prefer to retweak settings than lose a half day's mail. Ok, granted, you are supposed to put the data on another partition.
--- End quote ---

This is where I prefer a portable application, (in my case, Portable Thunderbird), a single directory - copy it where you like, archive it to backup everything, no loss of where it was up to downloading mail if it's moved.  It's just so easy :)

For fun, before I loaded my Eudora mail back in I did the DriveImageXML, Macrium and Paragon images ... all freebies, after SP3, IE8 and some file manager and browser and very basic installs.  If for some reason I found myself in the same situation in a few weeks, I might try to save a couple of hours with this very early image.
--- End quote ---

You might find it easier to slipstream in SP3, IE8 and possibly a few of your basic installs.  nlite is just as good as doing simple things like this, as it is at getting into the nitty-gritty of removing half of your OS.

If nothing else, it will knock a good hour off of a re-install just by integrating SP3/IE8.

Addendum: I should mention that my images turn out to be rather small due to the way my drives are organised.  A typical image of the complete OS is about 4-5GB, (this is my current install that's been on here for about 12 months IIRC, and has all the programs I normally use installed), at maximum compression, so I can afford to have a few of them lying around.

TucknDar:
Great post. I'm working out how to best do a reinstall, too, so another helpful guide is great :) Thanks Steven

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