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Reinstalling Windows Checklist

6 comments

Posted by Editor on Jan 19, 2010 in Featured, PC Repair Guy | 6 comments

One of the most common operations a PC repair guy carries out is reinstalling Windows. I decided to create a checklist for myself and others so we don’t forget anything critical during the process. Check out my other posts dedicated to PC repair professionals…

Quick checklist

For those of you who just need a quick checklist without all the details and blabber, here it is:

  1. Backup all your files/documents/pics (obviously)
  2. Make a note of all registered software
  3. Backup the drivers!
  4. Save your license key, make sure you have the right CD’s
  5. Reinstall away
  6. Restore your drivers
  7. Restore your software (and use Ninite)
  8. Restore your files

Detailed checklist

Step 1: Backup all your files/documents/pics/etc. (obviously)

This goes without saying…Another optional step here would be to create a GHOST backup image just in case anything goes wrong or you forgot something. This is especially important for PC repair guys who are working with other’s computers.

If you don’t have a secondary drive big enough to store all your data, consider creating a new partition and copying all of your data over with Unstoppable Copier.

Files to remember to backup:

  1. Email program files and settings
  2. Your browser’s settings/history/bookmarks
  3. The Windows Fonts folder (especially if you’re a designer)
  4. Any other program’s settings that you want to preserve

Step 2: Make a note of all registered software

Here’s a good time to take stock of all the software on the PC. Taking a quick screenshot of the Add or Remove Programs window can help you remember which software you need to reinstall afterwords. You should deactivate all licensed software, or if that’s not possible, save the serial/key and call up their customer support later.


Step 3: Backup the drivers!

This is a critical step which many people forget, much to their dismay later on. I recommend using Driver Max, found here at http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/

Warning: Some jerks have set up a website at drivermax.com which comes up as the first google search result, but this is NOT the correct free driver backup software I am referring to. It is located at http://www.innovative-sol.com/drivermax/

Step 4: Save your license key, make sure you have the right CD’s

Generally if you have the CD’s that came with your manufacturer/vendor, as well as the product key (which you can get with Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder), you’re good to go. You may have to call up Microsoft to activate again, but that may not be a big deal. You also may want to try reinstalling windows without activation, but this may not work, so ALWAYS have a Plan B.

Reinstall XP without activation

AS FAR AS I KNOW, THERE IS NO WAY TO REINSTALL XP WITHOUT ACTIVATION! I have tried the method of saving the “wpa.dbl” file, but it did NOT work numerous times. If you guys ever had any luck with any other method for reinstalling xp without activation, tell us in the comments.

Reinstall Vista without activation

Someone over at this forum has posted an excellent guide to reinstalling Vista without activation. I’ve heard it works. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=120228

Reinstall Windows 7 without activation

My Digital Life, a crappy tech blog (which has some useful stuff sometimes) famous for ever-trying to hijack search engine results with ad-filled pages, has a guide to reinstalling Windows 7 without activation. http://www.mydigitallife.info/2009/09/24/how-to-backup-and-restore-windows-7-and-server-2008-r2-activation-status-activate-offline-on-reinstall/ . Beware, I haven’t actually tried it out, if any of you had any luck, give us a shout in the comments.

Step 5: Reinstall away

Go ahead and pop in the CD and follow the prompts. Enter your key (unless you used one of the “re-installation without activation” methods above). You may have to call Microsoft to activate.

Step 6: Restore your drivers

Using driver max, you can restore all your drivers from the previously created backup. If you are unable to do so, you may have to restore SOME of the drivers manually with Device Manager.

On the other hand, here is some insightful commentary from stillaftermath on reddit:

If possible, I highly recommend downloading new drivers, as opposed to reinstalling the old ones, if you can be spared the time to do so. Backing up and restoring has three problems – One, you may be restoring the very problem you’re trying to get away from. If a machine is blue screening, lagging, or wonky, it’s just as possible for it to be from a driver issue as it is to be from crapware or whatever you’re trying to escape. Two, if upgrading from an older version of Windows, you may need newer drivers, or there may be a different set specifically optimized for the new OS. Three, Vista, and particularly Windows 7, are quite good about downloading new drivers at the first update check, which happens automatically at first boot. You might very well update to the newest ones and then downgrade them by restoring your backup copy when you get back from the Wii, coffee, or impromptu sexual encounter that distracted you when you got tired of watching the file copy bar during installation.

Thanks, stillaftermath. You’re right. Always look for driver upgrades as well. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still backup your drivers, as it may turn out that those are not available on the web, or are a pain to look for & download, so backing up is still important.

Step 7: Restore your software

I highly recommend using Ninite to quickly reinstall commonly used software like Adobe Flash, Microsoft Security Essentials, VLC, etc.

Here are the software you need to remember to reinstall:

  • Anti virus (such as Avira or Microsoft Security Essentials)
  • Anti spyware (may not be necessary, consider Spyware Terminator)
  • MS Office and other mission critical programs
  • IM software
  • Firewall (I recommend Comodo Firewall)

Step 8: Restore your files

That’s it!

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6 Responsesto “Reinstalling Windows Checklist”

  1. Benjamin Flesch says:
    January 19, 2010 at 7:35 pm

    Nice Checklist. This should help novice users a lot, thanks for clarifying this kind of stuff for them :-)

    reply
  2. Bob Smith says:
    January 19, 2010 at 9:33 pm

    I NEVER install without doing a Ghost backup.

    reply
  3. adam jones says:
    January 20, 2010 at 12:56 am

    one of the things that i backup before reinstalling windows for my folks is the Fonts folder.

    reply
  4. Pranav says:
    January 21, 2010 at 6:58 am

    Also add a step to create a non-administrator power user for day-to-day usage. Restrict access to important directories such as Windows and Program Files for this user. This single step, borrowed from Unix philosophy, has kept my unguarded system virus-free for more than 2 years now.

    reply

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