Reinstalling Vista

[jmparsons]

My installation of Vista SP1 has started to act funkier than usual and
I want to start fresh.

I have good disk image using True Image, I don't have system disks--
just the recovery partition in my Toshiba laptop.

I am not completlely sure I have all my installation disks for the
many applications I have installed

What is the most efficient way to reinstall Vista without losing
drivers, applications or configuration information?

Joe Parsons

 

[John Barnett MVP]

If you have a full Acronis True Image backup of when the computer was
working well then use your Acronis backup. I normally keep two copies of my
Acronis backup. The first is a backup of when I originally clean installed
Vista (so obviously it is over a year old). I use this rather than doing a
clean install. Okay this copy will need considerable updating, but once
updated, another copy can be made, after adding any further applications (or
updates of applications). At least this way you don't have to spend hours
simply re-installing everything. The second Acronis backup copy is, usually,
no more than a few weeks old (a month if I've been too busy to make the
backup). This is used if I am simply having problems and want to get back to
a working system.

If you really want to clear everything out and start again but you only have
one Acronis copy then a clean install is necessary (but i only recommend
this as a last resort simply because of the time factor and the need to
install all applications, drivers, etc.)

Rather than go down the clean install route, as I've said, if your backup
copy restores you back to a time when your machine was working faster than
it is now, use the Acronis backup.

--
John Barnett MVP
Windows XP Associate Expert
Windows Desktop Experience

Web: http://www.winuser.co.uk
Web: http://www.silversurfer-guide.com
Web: http://xphelpandsupport.mvps.org
Web: http://vistasupport.mvps.org


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My installation of Vista SP1 has started to act funkier than usual and
I want to start fresh.

I have good disk image using True Image, I don't have system disks--
just the recovery partition in my Toshiba laptop.

I am not completlely sure I have all my installation disks for the
many applications I have installed

What is the most efficient way to reinstall Vista without losing
drivers, applications or configuration information?

Joe Parsons

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signature database 3945 (20090318) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

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__________ Information from ESET Smart Security, version of virus signature database 3945 (20090318) __________

The message was checked by ESET Smart Security.

http://www.eset.com

 

[jmparsons]

If you have a full Acronis True Image backup of when the computer was
working well then use your Acronis backup. I normally keep two copies of my
Acronis backup. The first is a backup of when I originally clean installed
Vista (so obviously it is over a year old). I use this rather than doing a
clean install. Okay this copy will need considerable updating, but once
updated, another copy can be made, after adding any further applications (or
updates of applications). At least this way you don't have to spend hours
simply re-installing everything. The second Acronis backup copy is, usually,
no more than a few weeks old (a month if I've been too busy to make the
backup). This is used if I am simply having problems and want to get backto
a working system.

If you really want to clear everything out and start again but you only have
one Acronis copy then a clean install is necessary (but i only recommend
this as a last resort simply because of the time factor and the need to
install all applications, drivers, etc.)

Rather than go down the clean install route, as I've said, if your backup
copy restores you back to a time when your machine was working faster than
it is now, use the Acronis backup.

Thanks for the quick reply, John.

My image file is very recent, and contains whatever is causing my
system to misbehave. I'm still up and running, but there are
irriatations.

I was thinking about doing a full backup (not a drive image), then a
system state backup. Then I'd Recover from the hidden partition,
update to Vista SP1 and reinstall from the backup, followed by the
system state restore.

Would that be a waste of time?

Thanks again.

Joe Parsons

 

[Mark Adams]

Thanks for the quick reply, John.

My image file is very recent, and contains whatever is causing my
system to misbehave. I'm still up and running, but there are
irriatations.

I was thinking about doing a full backup (not a drive image), then a
system state backup. Then I'd Recover from the hidden partition,
update to Vista SP1 and reinstall from the backup, followed by the
system state restore.

Would that be a waste of time?

Thanks again.

Joe Parsons

Joe, I think that would be a waste of time. When you reinstall from a
backup, it wipes everything out that was there before. If you recover from
the hidden partition and update to SP1, all of that will be erased by the
full backup. All the corruptions contained in the fresh backup will simply be
reinstalled. Since you also suspect that your Acronis image contains the
problems, your best bet is to copy your data to outside media, recover from
the hidden partition, update to SP1, reinstall all of your applications,
restore your data from the external media then take a fresh Acronis image.
Before you do this, consider trying to fix your issues without a reinstall.
Maybe someone here can help if you relate what type of problems you're having.

 

[jmparsons]

Hi jmparsons, welcome to the board.

Have you try to repair by restore the system to and earlier restore
point before it acts funky?

If didn't help, you can try system recovery to restore your system to
the original state as when you first got the computer.  There should be
and option shows up in a few seconds when you start up the computer.
This is good as fresh reinstall but save lots of trouble.  Before you do
anything please backup all important data.  

I can't identify the time when the peculiar behaviors started, but it
may have been two or three weeks. I'm not sure I have a restore point
that early.

I was hoping there was some wizardry where I could get to a fresh
install state without having to reinstall every single app and
reconfigure everything.

Then, once I'm done with that, I'll work on workd peace and a cure for
cancer.

Joe Parsons