# Need to re-install Windows7, how do I keep my old files?



## El_Mayo (Apr 15, 2011)

Windows7 keeps blue-screening on me and I need to re-install
so i figure to keep my data it's either:

partition drive and dump files there
reinstall windows and check in windows.old folder
or at worst have to back EVERYTHING up and reinstall

Any idea how I would go about keeping my files on the same drive and reinstalling?


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## dark2099 (Apr 15, 2011)

How many files are you trying to back up?  And what kind of files?


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## mlee49 (Apr 15, 2011)

Partition if available.


Create a new partition and back everything up there then install the new OS on top of the old partition.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 15, 2011)

dark2099 said:


> How many files are you trying to back up?  And what kind of files?



errr dunno but it's ABOUT 400GB worth of music and videos



mlee49 said:


> Partition if available.
> 
> 
> Create a new partition and back everything up there then install the new OS on top of the old partition.



C: doesn't come up in DISK MANAGEMENT


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## Kreij (Apr 15, 2011)

Backup everything and then reinstall. That way if something goes horribly wrong your data will be in a safe place off the hard drive you are redoing.


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## digibucc (Apr 15, 2011)

windows old will save your program files folders, and your users folders with documents.  the program files will not be reinstalled, just copied for access.

what it WON'T backup is your appdata folder, which holds all your info for many programs - including Outlook, Firefox, and many videos games put saves there.  it is a hidden folder, and you need to back it up before hand.it can get large too, so if you don't have a usb stick you may still need to partition.

if you have no backups, be as safe as possible and get your entire user folder, and anything else you want onto a different drive.


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## Arctucas (Apr 15, 2011)

@El Mayo,

Sorry to hear about your troubles, but what you are going through is exactly why I got an external HDD to back up all the stuff I want to save. 

I generally re-install every 2-3 months.

Yes, I know that is not helping you now, but something to think about for the future.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 15, 2011)

digibucc said:


> windows old will save your program files folders, and your users folders with documents.  the program files will not be reinstalled, just copied for access.
> 
> what it WON'T backup is your appdata folder, which holds all your info for many programs - including Outlook, Firefox, and many videos games put saves there.  it is a hidden folder, and you need to back it up before hand.it can get large too, so if you don't have a usb stick you may still need to partition.
> 
> if you have no backups, be as safe as possible and get your entire user folder, and anything else you want onto a different drive.


oh good, it's mainly my downloads I wanna save, which is located in "C:\Users\Dipo\Downloads"
so according to what you said, those should be fine? 
I can backup the appdata folder onto an external/disc or something


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## digibucc (Apr 16, 2011)

El_Mayo said:


> oh good, it's mainly my downloads I wanna save, which is located in "C:\Users\Dipo\Downloads"
> so according to what you said, those should be fine?
> I can backup the appdata folder onto an external/disc or something



by memory alone i'm 99% sure.   this microsoft kb article says it is included though, so that would make me 100%



> Individual User folders
> Most personal files are located in the following location:
> drive:\Windows.old\Users\UserName
> This folder contains the following folders:
> ...



http://support.microsoft.com/kb/932912

edit: i'm assuming you mean the downloads folder windows creates for you - not one you created on your own?

if you made it, just move it into your documents folder.  it's a virtual move though, so it won't take any time to copy.


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## Kreij (Apr 16, 2011)

digibucc said:


> by memory alone i'm 99% sure. this microsoft kb article says it is included though, so that would make me 100%



Microsoft also released Windows ME and called it an OS. Just sayin' ....


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## digibucc (Apr 16, 2011)

Kreij said:


> Microsoft also released Windows ME and called it an OS. Just sayin' ....



just talking about that!

i agree, i wouldn't risk it on that, even though i am 100% sure it is supposed to be included.  even if it is, there are any number of problems to be had.

i used to get pretty risky with my data, but it's not worth the time you think you'll save.  you spend much more making it up.  now i have double redundant backups and an offsite 

i'm not being schizo, there's just 2 different questions.  will it save it and does that mean i should do it?  yes it will save it, but you should still back everything up.  

*400gb is quite alot of data to lose due to an accidental click of the mouse.*


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## Kreij (Apr 16, 2011)

@Digi : Agreed 100%.
Back it up off the computer or take the risk.
I have triple redundancy on my work networks and am still a little paranoid.
But that's the difference between a network manager and "some computer dude". lol


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## cheesy999 (Apr 16, 2011)

Kreij said:


> @Digi :
> I have triple redundancy on my work networks and am still a little paranoid.
> But that's the difference between a network manager and "some computer dude". lol



i have 200gb of files on my computer and 500gb of backup's, easist way is to copy the contents of the user folder over and then merge it back once the install has finished


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## Kreij (Apr 16, 2011)

Off topic.


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## Kreij (Apr 16, 2011)

Go for what you love to do Cheesy. I did and never regretted it.

On topic ... Backups are crucial to eliminate/mitigate data loss. Anything else is wishful thinking.


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## cheesy999 (Apr 16, 2011)

Kreij said:


> Go for what you love to do Cheesy. I did and never regretted it.
> 
> On topic ... Backups are crucial to eliminate/mitigate data loss. Anything else is wishful thinking.



ok now you've said that it seems like a bad idea after all

i use a program which gives me a timeline so i can see the state of all the files over time

i'd reccomend it now but i got mine free through a special offer so it would cost you money if you decided to use it, its good but not much better then free ones


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## El_Mayo (Apr 16, 2011)

digibucc said:


> by memory alone i'm 99% sure.   this microsoft kb article says it is included though, so that would make me 100%
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Yeah it's the one windows made 
I'll move all the stuff into "my documents" just to be sure ;D



Kreij said:


> Microsoft also released Windows ME and called it an OS. Just sayin' ....





digibucc said:


> just talking about that!
> 
> i agree, i wouldn't risk it on that, even though i am 100% sure it is supposed to be included.  even if it is, there are any number of problems to be had.
> 
> ...



All my music's saved on the ipod so that's safe
my external hard drive's being annoying though
not showing up in explorer til like an hour after I plugged it in >_>

also is there a point in backing up the appdata folder?
Would copying it back into my new installation do anything?


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## digibucc (Apr 16, 2011)

appdata holds save games, and your profile for firefox and outlook.  that's favorites, history, passwords, email.  a lot of video games put their saves there and not in the documents folder.

i wouldn't copy the whole thing, as it also contains per installation files, and you will want those new. so just copy the individual folders (like "Mozilla") for the apps and games whose settings you want to save.  definitely not the whole thing though.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

tried to do an "upgrade" (the one that keeps your files) and windows wouldn't lemme do it in safe mode

also the spyware is still present in safe mode when I use Chrome D:

I can't upgrade in normal mode because it CRASHES before I can
AND if I change the boot order to CDROM first, it boots windows7 INSTEAD of running the setup!


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## Eric_On_Web (Apr 17, 2011)

Boot from Win 7 dvd and then go for a restauration back up when you didnt had the spyware. Then regroup all your files you wanna save  and then at last do the upgrade stuff.

Take someone HDD throw it in your computer transfer the files to a folder you created on it. Unplug the backup hdd then format yours and reinstall win 7. then plug back the hdd and retransfer your backup folder.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

Eric_On_Web said:


> Boot from Win 7 dvd and then go for a restauration back up when you didnt had the spyware. Then regroup all your files you wanna save  and then at last do the upgrade stuff.
> 
> Take someone HDD throw it in your computer transfer the files to a folder you created on it. Unplug the backup hdd then format yours and reinstall win 7. then plug back the hdd and retransfer your backup folder.



How do I boot from DVD? I tried changing it in the BIOS but it just loaded the windows7 files from the disc instead


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## Arctucas (Apr 17, 2011)

@ElMayo,

If you have already copied all the data you wish to save to your external HDD, simply unplug the external HDD and do a format of C:\ and clean Windows install.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

Arctucas said:


> @ElMayo,
> 
> If you have already copied all the data you wish to save to your external HDD, simply unplug the external HDD and do a format of C:\ and clean Windows install.



I couldn't cos it kept crashing 
It's crashing before I even log in now

Should I just reinstall windows or format THEN reinstall?


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## Arctucas (Apr 17, 2011)

@ElMayo,

When you insert the Windows disc and start the PC, and the "press any key to boot from CD" prompt comes up, you *are pressing a key*, correct?


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

Arctucas said:


> @ElMayo,
> 
> When you insert the Windows disc and start the PC, and the "press any key to boot from CD" prompt comes up, you *are pressing a key*, correct?



ye ye I did that earlier
but it said I couldn't chose the "upgrade" option if i boot from the disc
i gotta start up windows normally
so if it doesn't work i'll have to do a normal reinstall and lose files


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## Arctucas (Apr 17, 2011)

El_Mayo said:


> ye ye I did that earlier
> but it said I couldn't chose the "upgrade" option if i boot from the disc
> i gotta start up windows normally
> so if it doesn't work i'll have to do a normal reinstall and lose files



But if you have backed up all the files you want to save to your external drive, what is there to lose?

You will need to re-install any applications, of course, but if you are not having success with any other method, I do not see another option.


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## silkstone (Apr 17, 2011)

if you re-install, you can save to a different named windows folder, and you should save most of your folders apart from "Users". If you have stuff in your Documents folder, then use somethink like a "Live CD" and cut the folder and paste it to a separate location.

Edit - That goes for any other folders you want to save too, including app data and the like. A live CD is a linux os that u can run off a CD/usb. so it has a full explorer type program.


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

just reinstalled and moved up to 64 bit
it saved all my files

;D


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## silkstone (Apr 17, 2011)

Grats. Now you get to use the full 4gb of ram too


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## El_Mayo (Apr 17, 2011)

silkstone said:


> Grats. Now you get to use the full 4gb of ram too



I kno rite! ;D
Might help in photoshop sessions 
Also some programs don't give the option to chose 64bit installers but they seem to work anyway
that IS normal right?


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## cheesy999 (Apr 17, 2011)

El_Mayo said:


> Also some programs don't give the option to chose 64bit installers but they seem to work anyway
> that IS normal right?



yeah, so long as their installed to program files (32bit) then they will run properly, and most will run properly anyway

You can actually upgrade all they way from windows 1 through to 7 and all of the programs still work, in fact you can get all the way through to XP before even one setting is changed


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## Eric_On_Web (Apr 17, 2011)

Press F2 i think . There is some features at startup of the dvd. It spins quite fast so be ready to read fast at the bottom of the screen


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