Windows Backup Tips Manual

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WHITSON GORDON (

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2/12/13 8:00am(http://lifehacker.com

/5983652/how-to-

do-a-clean-install-



and-tweaks)

How to Do a Clean Install of Windows WithouLosing Your Files, Settings, and Tweaks

(http://lifehacker.com/5983652/how-to-do-a-clean-install-of-windows-without-losingyour-files-settings-and-tweaks)

There's nothing like a fresh install of Windows to clear your mind, but it

comes at a cost: you have to set everything up again, just the way you like

it. Here's how to reinstall Windows, migrate your important settings, and

leave the clutter behind.

You don't have to regularly reinstall Windows (http://lifehacker.com

/5435523/you-dont-need-to-regularly-reinstall-windows-heres-why) just to

keep things clean, but that doesn't mean you'll neverhave to do it again.

Maybe you just bought or built a new computer, or maybe you didn't take

care of your computer as well as you thought and you have to do a clean

install. Maybe you just want to wipe the slate clean for that new, fresh

feeling. A clean slate is nice, but it also means you're going to spend the

rest of the weekend setting up all your old programs, settings, and system

tweaks, half of which you've probably forgotten because you set them up

long ago. Here, we'll go through some tips on how to back up your most

important settings and tweaks, and restore them on your new system.

0 annotations Hid

Like 849

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Part One: The Preparation

Before you reinstall Windows, you're going to want to go through all your

stuff and back up the programs, settings, and tweaks you want to take wi

you. Here's what we recommend.

Step One: Export a List of Your Programs

Before you do anything else, it's handy to have a list of all your currently

installed programs so you know what settings to back up, and which

programs you want to reinstall later on. The easiest way to do this is with

CCleaner (http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner) (a program everyone should

have installed (http://lifehacker.com/5815256/what-kind-of-maintenance-

do-i-need-to-do-on-my-windows-pc)). Just open it up and export a list of

your programs:

Save the file in your Dropbox or on a USB stick so you have it after you do

your clean install.

Step Two: Back Up Your Windows Settings

Open up CCleaner (you can do this quickly by right-clicking the

Recycle Bin and choosing "Open CCleaner" from the menu).

Head to the "Tools" section in the left sidebar.

Click the "Save to text file" button in the bottom right-hand corner, a

choose where you want to save it.

1.

2.

3.



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Next, you should back up any Windows settings you can so you don't have

to do too much tweaking after you reinstall. The best way to do this is with

Windows Easy Transfer, Windows' built-in migration program for just such

occasions. It can back up app settings too, but it's not very good at it, so we

aren't going to use it for that today.

To start it up, just open the Start menu (or screen) and type Windows Easy

Transfer. When it pops up, you'll get a description of what it can do. Click

Next and choose an external hard disk or USB flash drive for your files. Tell

it that tihs is your "old" PC, and it will scan your users for items to back up.

Click Customize to tweak the selection. In this case, we recommend

unchecking everything and just backing up "Windows Settings," though you

can use this to back up your documents and files too (see below).

Step Three: Back Up Your Documents and Files

Before you reinstall Windows, you'll obviously want to back up your

documents, music, movies, and other files just like you always would. I

usually just copy these to an external drive or move them with Windows

Easy Transfer as described above, though if you back up your computer

regularly (which you should), you can always just restore them from your

backup later on as well.

Step Four: Back Up Your Program Settings

Next, you'll want to back up all the settings you've worked so hard crafting

on each of those programs (at least the ones you plan to keep). Different

programs store their settings in different places, but here are the main

places you should look:

Your AppData Folder: This folder, located at



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5/12

and scroll down to the program in questionin Fences' case, under

Stardock\Fences

. Right-click on the program's folder in the registry and choose Export to

back it up.

Games: If you play any games, the above tricks should work, but we

recommend using a program like GameSave Manager(http://www.gamesave-manager.com/) to make the process infinitely more

simple. It'll search for games on your system, find where their save files are

stored, and back up everything for you.

Again, different programs will store settings in different places, so if you're

unsure, do a bit of research before you start. If a program has the ability to

"export" or "back up" its settings to a file, that can be handy as well.

Once you find the folder(s) in which a program stores its files, copy that

folder to your Dropbox or a USB stick. I also like to put a text file with that

folder indicating the path to where it was stored. For example, if I were to

back up Pidgin's settings, I'd back up the

.libpurple

folder in my AppData and the

Plugins

folder in Pidgin's Program Files. I'd then create a text folder that noted

where each of these two folders came from, so i know where to put them

when I restore them later on.

Repeat this process for each of your important programs, and you should

have everything you need to reinstall them later on without losing your

settings. This sounds like it'll take awhile, but it shouldn'tit only took me

a few minutes to back up all the important settings from my favorite

programs.

Step Five: Create .Reg Files For Your System Tweaks

If you're an intense tweaker, you've probably edited the Windows Registry

to enable some awesome under-the-hood power-ups (http://lifehacker.com



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/5700084/top-10-registry-tweaks-that-power-up-windows), like hiding items

in Windows Explorer (http://lifehacker.com/5535350/hide-pre+populated-

items-in-windows-explorers-sidebar) or speeding up the Windows taskbar

(http://lifehacker.com/5571861/lose-the-taskbar-thumbnail-delay-

in-windows-7-with-a-registry-hack). The easiest way to back these up, says

Justin Garrison (http://1n73r.net/), is to save a .reg file for each tweak in

your Drobpox or USB stick. That way, whenever you reinstall Windows, you

can just double-click on your .reg files to install those tweaks instantly.

Most of your tweaks probably already have .reg scripts floating around the

net, so do some Googling to see if someone's already created one. If not,

you can always do a little research and create the file yourself

(http://www.windowsnetworking.com/kbase/WindowsTips/WindowsNT

/RegistryTips/Registry/Understanding.REGfiles.html) too.

Part Two: The Restoration

Once you've got everything backed up, it's time to reinstall Windows. Insert

the Windows installation disc and boot up from it, or use Windows 8's Reset

option in the settings to start from scratch. Once you've got a freshinstallation of Windows, it's time to restore all your stuff.

Step Six: Restore Your Windows Settings

Before you do anything else, it's a good idea to restore those Windows

settings we backed up earlier. Reopen Windows Easy Transfer on your

fresh install, plug in your USB drive with your saved transfer files, and this

time choose "This Is My New Computer." It'll restore your Windows

settings and your user account that you backed up, along with your

Windows settings so you don't have to find them all again.

Step Seven: Reinstall Your Programs

Next, it's time to reinstall all your programs. This can take awhile, but you

can speed up the process with a few tools:

Ninite: Ninite (https://ninite.com/) is still one of our favorite tools for

installing programs quickly. It doesn't have every program out there, but



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it's a great start. Just check off all the programs you want, and Ninite will

create an all-in-one package to install them in one fell swoop. Be sure to

check out the Lifehacker Pack for Windows (http://lifehacker.com/5924859

/lifehacker-pack-for-windows-our-list-of-the-best-windows-apps), too, which

has its own custom Ninite installer for our most recommended programs.

Chocolatey: If you're more of a command line geek, Chocolatey

(http://chocolatey.org/) is a handy utility that brings Linux-style package

management to Windows. With a few well-placed commands

(http://lifehacker.com/5942417/chocolatey-brings-lightning-quick-

linux+style-package-management-to-windows), you can install a ton of

programs at once, bypassing the need for all those separate installers.

Again, it doesn't have every program imaginable, but it does have quite a

few to get you started.

Portable Apps: If you're tired of downloading installers all the time, you

might want to try using portable apps instead. Portable apps essentially let

you carry all your programs and settings over to another computer with no

installation required. You'll still have to search out each app yourself, but

after you do it once, you'll never have to do it againevery clean install

from here on out will be much quicker because you'll already have half

your apps ready to go. Check out our guide to portable apps

(http://lifehacker.com/5890856/kick-windows-installers-to-the-curb-go-

portable-for-a-considerably-more-awesome-windows-experience) for more

information.

Once you've installed the bulk of your favorite programs, you may need to

open up that text file we got from CCleaner earlier to pick up any

stragglers that aren't in Ninite. Install whatever you want, and when you're

done, move onto the next step.

Step Eight: Restore Your Documents and Program Settings

Once you've reinstalled your favorite programs, you should restore your

documents, music, movies, and other files (in case any of your programs

depend on themlike iTunes, for example). This should be pretty easy: just

restore them to the same place they were before (e.g., put your music back



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in

C:\Users\yourusername\Music\iTunes\

, or wherever you had it located).

Do the same thing with the app settings you backed up earlier. Open that

folder and restore the folders to their original locations in

AppData

or

Program Files

(in the case of AppData, you should overwrite any files that are already

there). When you start that program, it should inherit all your old settings

and it will be like you never left!

Step Nine: Restore Your Registry Tweaks

Lastly, restore any registry tweaks you had. That means double-clicking on

your .reg files that had app settings or Windows tweaks stored inside, and

redoing any registry tweaks that you couldn't put into a .reg file.

Remember, you may need to restart the program in question (or restart

your computer altogether) for the registry tweaks to take effect.

It seems like a long and drawn-out process, but you'd be surprised. I had all

my settings copied over in a few minutes, and was up and running with

most of my favorite programs not too long after reinstallingit's much,

much faster than setting everything up from scratch. Of course, if you like

setting everything up from scratch, feel free to do that too. This is just a

great compromise between doing a fresh install and keeping all your

settings that you don't want to set up again.

Discuss

44 discussions displayed because an

author is participating or following a

participant.

2 additional replies awaiting review.

Author is participating

IrishCheerioLadd (http://i

What's the point of doing a fresh

install if you literally install

everything you had on it

previously? At least don't backup

the

registry

. 2/12/13 8:24am (http://lifehacker.com/whats-the-point-of-doing-a-fresh-install-if-you-literal-465273458)


Bassmaster22 (http://bas

Great article, Whitson. Will co

in handy for sure. I'll be build

PC soon, and I was wondering

you could help me with some

I want to build it all on my ow

component by component. Th

is, I just bought Windows 8 as



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funonemanand 8 others...

kasakka (http://kasakka.

Agreed. I'd rather spend a few

hours setting up all the programs

so I know they're clean rather than

hauling around all the crap that

was in the machine

before

. 2/12/13 8:32am (http://lifehacker.com/agreed-id-rather-spend-a-few-hours-setting-up-all-the-465273462)

Whitson Gordon (http://w

As I said in the article, it depends.

Maybe you're moving it all to a

new computer. Maybe some old

programs are being wonky and are

still lying around, but you want to

take the important ones with you.

It's not always about being 100%

clean

. 2/12/13 8:34am (http://lifehacker.com/as-i-said-in-the-article-it-depends-maybe-youre-movin-465273468)

1

download, so I'm not sure how

manage to install it without

uninstalling it from my curren

first. Can I somehow get the I

burn it to a CD, installing it on

new PC, and just activating th

license later? I'm not sure how

works.

Thanks

! 2/12/13 8:16am (http://lifehacker.com/grea


Honestly, I still haven't figure

out either. I think the best op

if you have a Windows 7 disc

around somewhere, install th

first and then upgrade to Win

8. I'm sure there's an easier w

but it would take long enoughme to find it that it ends up be

faster to just do the darn upg

At least that was my recent

experience. Maybe someone e

has

suggestions

. 2/12/13 8:35am (http://lifehacker.com/hone

wildmaiden (http://wildm

You can use the download to

bootable media, I used a 4GB

flash drive. The problem you'l

into is that you probably only

purchased an upgrade license

you won't be able to install it

clean hard drive. What worke

me was to install my OLD har

drive in the new computer, al

with the SSD I wanted to use

allowed the Windows installe

see that I had a previous

installation of windows, but it

let me choose the new SSD as

install location.

I wasn't able to activate my c

online because I had installed

the old computer. I had to cal

phone number, but it was all

automated. You rattle off a se


I'd argue no, because a phone is a

much simpler device than a

computer. But Windows does make

the process needlessly complicated

doing the same thing on OS X or

Linux would be a fair amount

easier, since all settings aregenerally stored in the same

place

. 2/12/13 8:33am (http://lifehacker.com/id-argue-no-because-a-phone-is-a-much-simpler-device-t-465273467

oneshot719 (http://onesh

That's true, I can agree to

that

. 2/12/13 8:53am (http://lifehacker.com/thats-true-i-can-agree-to-that-465273480)

Chip Skylark of Space

The Dude (http://the-dud

I hate iTunes, especially for this

reason. I always forget & have to

login and deauth all activated

computer(s

) 2/12/13 8:18am (http://lifehacker.com/i-hate-itunes-especially-for-this-reason-i-always-for-465273457)

Author is participating503 reading: Author is participating

oneshot719 (http://onesh

Is it bad that it's easier to wipe and

restore apps+data on an android

phone (non-rooted) than it is to do

the same on a windows

box

? 2/12/13 8:32am (http://lifehacker.com/is-it-bad-that-its-easier-to-wipe-and-restore-apps-data-465273461)


Moon (http://keithb1.kinj

If it helps at all, I never did th

of steps, but I read about it, a

I've always trusted FL's judge

about these and other Window

matters. I was a subscriber of

newsletters for a long

time

. 2/15/13 2:53pm (http://lifehacker.com/if-it-

ament001 (http://ament0

Something to also remember is to

deactivate software in your old

install before taking the plunge. If

you forget to deactivate something

like iTunes the previous install will

count against your activation

total

. 2/12/13 8:12am (http://lifehacker.com/something-to-also-remember-is-to-deactivate-software-in-465273450

Jamie (http://wolfcrane.k

Do you have a guide to windo

or does this pretty much appl

also?

What about creating a window

update disc with the service pon it?

unfortunately, my Toshiba Sa

laptop didn't come with a rein

disc, I think it is on a separate

partition, and I did create a re

disc when I first bought it.

5/24/13 7:07am (http://lifehacker.com/do-yo


VERY good point! Thanks for the

tip

. 2/12/13 8:33am (http://lifehacker.com/very-good-point-thanks-for-the-tip-465273466)


This guide should work fine w

Windows 7. To add the servic

packs, look up

"slipstreaming.

" 5/24/13 7:11am (http://li fehacker.com/this-



Thanks

! 2/12/13 9:26am (http://lifehacker.com/thanks-465273493)

TruthRainsAgain (http://tr

" The easiest way to do this is with

*CClearner* (a program everyone

should have installed)." *TYPO

its

CCleaner

* 2/12/13 8:52am (http://lifehacker.com/the-easiest-way-to-do-this-is-with-cclearner-a-pro-465273477)

nukeboy (http://nukeboy.

Ermahgerd...CClearner

! 2/12/13 9:01am (http://lifehacker.com/ermahgerd-cclearner-465273483)

2 participants

fierce134 (http://raiderbo

Has anyone here ever tried F

Langa's non-destructive reins

method? My parents' comput

desperately in need of a fresh

start, but if this method work

that'd be great cause they ha

much junk to back up. Anyone

this with success?

https://windowssecrets.com

/top-story/win7s-no-reformat-

nondestructive-

reinstall

/ 2/12/13 9:37am (http://lifehacker.com/has-

BerniceJenkins (http://be

All that is talking about is the

"repair install". Its nothing ne

all. But yes they do work for t

most part. But its not a fresh

install. its a repair

instal

l 2/12/13 5:17pm (http://lifehacker.com/all-th

SBM_from_LA (http://sb

If you create image backups... then

it would be a smart idea to create a

backup right after you perform a

clean/new install of Windows. What

you should do is first install all

your drivers and key programs..

then do the backup. Over years,

I've noticed some programs will

NOT install properly on a fresh

install or after installing a bunch of

updates in a row.

In addition to the AppData folder,

don't forget to also include

ProgramData. Also remember that

some programs will not work with

this type of backup. If you copy

over the hidden files, programs like

Rosetta Stone will give you an

error message.

Here is another great tip/hint for

keeping your backups simple.

Install your Program Files and

Games onto a separate partition.

On my computer, I created a folder

on another hard drive that I callProgram Files. I install all my

games there and programs that

don't require the speed of my SSD.

By doing this, I keep my main

windows partition small and that

allows my backups to usually take

less than 5 minutes. It also

preserves my data in the event my

O/S partition crashes or fails to

boot. If I need to reinstallWindows... most programs that

were installed on a different

partition will still work... all you

have to do is create another

shortcut to the program... and copy

back your appdata/programdata

files.

I also use a program called Vista

Game Explorer Editor that allows

me to use my own Box Art for all

1 participant

escapefrmyonker (http://

if you need a

professional(geeksquad?) to d

clean install, your probably h

no idea what lifehacker, howt

and any of the normal link he

. 3/04/13 7:18pm (http://lifehacker.com/if-yo

S e

CareyB (http://careyb.kin

Not even nearly complete, an

really is the hard way, but thi

good article to demonstrate w

you should have a pro do it. A

don't expect it ALL to come b

That's so time consuming it's

cheaper to buy another comp

As an aside, the current Easy

Transfer tool built into the sy

(download for XP) does a pret

good job. Here are the steps.

1. Make the backup file with

Transfer on the old computer,

put it on some removable me

some kind

2. Do the fresh install, and ins

the programs you need on the

computer

3. Connect/insert the media y

previously created, and doubl

click the Easy Transfer file yo

created previously. Follow the

instructions.

NOTE: If it doesn't work how

expected, blow back the comp

to a virgin state again, and re

HINT: Stop tweaking. Learn t

way the OS wants to do thing

stick with that, unless it's eas

back up, and reinstall the

tweak

. 2/14/13 5:44am (http://lifehacker.com/not-e

Five Best Airlines for

noti (http://noti.kinja.co

Several people are 'justifiably'

griping that this should not be

necessary. And though there is a

tiny mention of using 'Windows 8

Reset', I am not sure at all that this

refers to the easiest way which has

been incorporated into Windows 8

that allows you to 'Refresh' your

PC and restore it to the original

installed glory without removing

Metro apps or changing basic

settings and folder associations.

Rather than explain it all myself,

I'll just post the link to a 'Dummies'

article on the New Windows 8

Refresh feature.

http://www.dummies.com/how-to

/content...

(http://www.dummies.com/how-to

/content/how-to-refresh-

your-computer-running-windows-

8.html)

Basically, though, it is only about

four mouse-clicks to get your

Windows 8 OS

refreshed

. 2/12/13 1:22pm (http://l ifehacker.com/several-people-are-justifiably-griping-that-this-should-465273518)

Lo


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HotBBQand 2 others...

of like 70 characters (no joke) and

then the robot on the phone asks

you how many computers you

installed that copy of Windows on.

Say "ONE!" and you're good to

go

. 2/12/13 9:15am (http://lifehacker.com/you-can-use-the-download-to-create-bootable-media-i-us-46527

my games since windows does not

have any way of changing box art

images... and yes, it works on

Windows 7 and it's free,

too

. 2/14/13 6:59pm (http://lifehacker.com/if-you-create-image-backups-then-it-would-be-a-smart-465273575)



f 12 06/23/2013 08


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