Windows 7 reinstall article ... lost?

[barney]

Folk,

Recently I was about to read an article (Google RSS feeds) about Windows 7 reinstall.  The title implied reinstallation w/o loss of data or installed software.  Unfortunately, I was called away before I could read or save it, and I failed to mark it as unread.

I've searched the RSS feeds, as well as checked the PC World site - which I thought was its point of origin - to no avail.  Anyone, perhaps, have a reference to it?  Have a friend I consider in need of a reinstall, but she's adamant that she is unwilling to lose her current configuration or application installations.  I'd like to be able to point her to this article, but I simply cannot find it  .

Anyone have a pointer to it?  Please?

[Carol Haynes]

Don't know where the article is but I think what is being described is a repair installation (like you used to be able to do with Windows XP). There was an aritcle in a recent Windows Secrets newsletter. See http://windowssecrets.com/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-nondestructive-reinstall/

Most people think you can't do this in Windows 7 but you can. It only works if you are reinstalling the same version of Windows 7, eg. Home Premium 32-bit, and you need a Windows 7 installation DVD to do it.

All you need to do is run the installation from the DVD and use the upgrade option. This will install the DVD version over the top of the installed version without affecting installed programs or data.

As always get a full backup of your system first in case anything goes wrong.

Two problems I forsee:

1) OEM installations are preactivated and mostly don't come with original media - if you use a pure MS DVD you may have activation issues afterwards because you will need a license key. There will be a license key sticker on the machine but you may have to activate by phone - or in some instances the key itself may not work.

2) If your system is hosed before you run the upgrade installation you may find issues inherited after the upgrade because it will carry over any application issues and probably any registry issues - probably best to do a clean install instead.

[barney]

Milady Haynes,

You are a lifesaver  . 

1st problem doesn't exist - it's a straight DVD, direct from MS, install, no OEM stupidities to deal with.

2nd item could be problematic, but that's always a tossup.  At least, she'll likely keep most of what she's got - and in some cases cannot replace, due to defunct providers, ancient versions to which she's attached, and the like.  Pointed her to a few old version Websites, but they don't keep everything (damn it!)

BTW, the article you quoted was exactly the one I was seeking ... I'll pretty much trust Fred on most anything he has to say ... been followin' 'im fer years 

'Preciate the comeback  .

[Carol Haynes]

So long as you have a good backup problem 2 isn't really an issue - give the upgrade install a go and if it doesn't help then you've lost nothing but perhaps an hour wasted!

If it appears to work just make sure you scrutinise the event manager for 'invisible' problems!

[barney]

Yeah ... well ... scrutinize is not something she does well ... unless it's some guy wherever she happens to be.  She's young, nubile, impressionable - a fair hand at a PC, but her interests ... wander, shall we say?

She has a backup system, some off the wall thing.  However, my own experience with backups started in the early DOS days.  Don't recall if it was 2.1 or 3.0 that had a backup system that worked.  Well, the backup worked just fine.  Problem was with the restore, as it didn't.

Funny thing, I've used a number of backup systems over the years, and restore has always been the problem.  And some of these were well-written, acclaimed, commercial, industrial systems.  That failed to restore.  Can't count the number of times I've backed up, re-everythinged - format, partition, install - and had the restore fail because the hardware was not the same configuration as it used to be.

Right now I'm using Syncless and SyncBackSE, neither of which I'd trust with my life, nor even with my gonads.  There're also a few images floating around, but experience has led to trust of none of them.

Frankly, I'm not convinced that a true backup is possible or practicable.

However, that aside, my young lady has:

• backed up her system
• reinstalled Win7
• suffered no apparent losses

She thanks you very much for such an expeditious resolution to her issues.

(Yeah, I know that's fast, but she has a gaming-capable system, one which I envy very much.  Sometimes it'll do things faster than I can thimk of 'em  .)

[Carol Haynes]

Er. Barney - what was that all about - was it supposed to be in another thread?

[Curt]

Reply #4 made perfect sense to me. The problem was never Barney's computer, but his girlfriend's.

[Carol Haynes]

Sorry - too little sleep - my brain hurts duhhhh