re-installing Windows

January 9, 2011 11:56 AM

Reinstalling Windows 7.

My Windows laptop has slowed down a lot. I want to do a fresh install of the OS.

I am currently creating a disk image on an external hard drive.

What, exactly, do I do after the disk image has finished? Any site/links/etc. that you can point to me to that explains how to do a fresh install of the OS would be great.

And, please, spare me the "Just install Linux!" and "Get a Mac!" comments.

posted by dfriedman to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

If you have written the disk image to the external hard drive, just boot up with the external drive attached. Your computer will recognise it, boot from it and you can then proceed to reinstall. That is, assuming you have created an image of the Windows Install Disc?
posted by dougrayrankin at 12:14 PM on January 9, 2011

Unless things have changed, I don't think a disk image will help; after all, the image will be of your hard drive at a point in time where the OS is messing up. I think you're better off just moving your data to the external and then reinstalling.

Also, do you have your Windows 7 CD/DVD? Reinstalling should be as easy as booting off the CD/DVD. I've never installed 7 yet, but every Windows install disc prior had a "format HD and reinstall the OS" option.

Also: I suggest you download driver installers now rather than later. Windows has become a lot better about this, but you don't want to miss a critical driver and then have to go to a friend's place to download it to bring it home. If you bought your computer from Dell/HP/wherever, you should have a disc with the drivers on it. Otherwise, you can get older ones from Dell/HP/wherever website and newer ones directly from the maker of your hardware.
posted by griphus at 12:17 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

The only thing your backup is good for is recovering your personal data files -- which is a big thing, of course.

But for everything else, the OS and your apps, you're going to need original installation disks or files. You start by reinstalling the OS using the original installation CD or DVD, and then you install your apps one by one.

You can't just copy them from the backup e.g. their home directories in c:/program files. There may be files stored elsewhere that are required and there's no easy way to find that out. But even more important is that just copying their installation directories doesn't make the changes to the registry that are needed by most apps.

Nuking from orbit is sometimes necessary, but it's a last resort because it usually takes a long time -- hours, maybe even days.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 12:47 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

To add on to Chocolate Pickle's great advice: make a list of all the programs you use regularly and/or download their install files and move the list/the installers to the external. It'll make re-installing everything a little easier.

If you've customized Firefox, use FEBE to create a backup of all your settings -- history, addons, themes, etc. -- so you can easily get it back to the settings you prefer.

Here's another, much better one.

Here's a recent LifeHacker guide on OS reinstallation. It's not great, but it should answer some questions.
posted by griphus at 12:54 PM on January 9, 2011 [1 favorite]

(Uh, that link to "another, much better one" was meant to go after the LifeHacker guide.)
posted by griphus at 12:54 PM on January 9, 2011

By the way, if you have any application from Adobe, you need to uninstall it or otherwise deregister it before you start the nuke process. If you don't, then your new attempt to install counts against the pitifully tiny count of total times you're permitted. Deregistering the apps increments the remaining count by one.
posted by Chocolate Pickle at 2:30 PM on January 9, 2011

Two useful applications before you wipe your computer:

Double Driver. Use it to backup your drivers onto a USB stick. When you've re-installed Windows, point it at the USB stick when it doesn't recognise the hardware. Means you don't have to faff around with re-downloading drivers and the (often horrible) installers that go with them.

Magical Jelly Bean KeyFinder. Use it to find out what the serials are of your installed software.

And one after you have wiped your computer:

Ninite. Use this to install a large number of applications quickly and easily. Select apps, download install, double click and go away for a while.
posted by mr_silver at 2:28 AM on January 10, 2011 [1 favorite]