Reinstall Windows without losing data

This article will talk about preparing for a complete reinstallation of the Windows XP or Windows 7 operating system, reinstalling the OS and formatting the hard drive. It is the reinstallation of Windows with the destruction of the old operating system, formatting the hard drive, the correct reinstallation, which allows you to bring the computer to its original state, the state that the computer had when it was purchased and the operating system was first installed. An important point in such an OS reinstallation is saving all useful information from the computer and reinstall Windows without losing data.

A complete reinstallation of Windows may be necessary if the operating system is damaged and your computer or laptop refuses to boot. Reinstalling the operating system is necessary if the computer slows down, programs run slowly, or the computer often freezes. All these symptoms can be caused by viruses, severe fragmentation of files on the hard drive, incorrectly installed or malfunctioning programs, and errors in the operating system registry. It must be said that the symptoms listed above may not disappear when you reinstall Windows, since they may well be caused by other malfunctions in the computer. But, as a rule, reinstalling the OS helps cure them. If after reinstalling the operating system and completely formatting the hard drive, the symptoms do not disappear, then the computer malfunction lies in its hardware, and in order to fix it, you will have to diagnose the computer components and most likely replace the faulty part.

So, before reinstalling the operating system, it is necessary, as a rule, to save valuable information from the C drive to another medium that will not be formatted when Windows is reinstalled. It must be said that formatting a hard drive completely destroys the information on it, so it is imperative to save data from drive “C” to any other storage medium. It should also be noted that by default the operating system is usually installed on the “C” drive, but this does not always happen. But, be that as it may, valuable data must be saved from the system disk, a disk that will be fully formatted, a disk where the new operating system will be installed. Reinstalling the Windows operating system without losing data, this is the correct installation of the OS, which should be carried out by any emergency computer service.

It’s good if you have two hard drives on your computer or one, but divided into two logical drives, then the necessary information can be saved to a second drive, which will not be formatted during the installation of Windows. If there is no such disk in your computer, then the data can be written to a DVD/CD disk or to a removable hard drive. If there is not much data, then you can get by with a USB flash drive. All these manipulations with data on the computer are possible if the operating system boots, but what to do if Windows does not boot at all?

If your the operating system does not boot or the computer freezes at boot time, then you can try booting Windows in safe mode. In safe mode, some drivers and supporting programs for Windows are not loaded and therefore it is quite possible that the computer will be able to boot. To enter Windows XP Safe Mode when passing the BIOS test, press the F8 key several times and press it periodically until the Windows Advanced Boot Options Menu window appears. In this menu you can select the section to boot Windows in safe mode - “Safe Mode”. After loading Windows XP, copy the necessary data. For Windows 7, proceed in the same way.

Selecting Safe Boot Mode in Windows 7

If such a scheme does not work, then you can remove the hard drive from the system unit and connect it to another computer, and then copy the necessary information. This option is suitable if you know how to remove a hard drive and you have a work computer where this drive can be connected. If this is not possible or you don’t want to bother with removing the hard drive, then there is another way to copy data.

You can always try booting your computer from a Live CD.. A Live CD is an external storage medium on which the operating system is already installed. The data storage medium can be a CD, DVD or even a USB flash drive. To make a Live CD or Live DVD, you need to download the boot disk image and unpack it, using, say, the Nero program, onto a CD or DVD blank. The image must be unpacked onto a CD, and not just copied as a file - this is important! In the Nero program there is such an item in “Nero StartSmart” - “Burn image to disk”. Use this item to burn a Live CD image to an empty disc. After creating a boot disk, just insert it into the DVD drive and set the BIOS to initial boot from DVD. On most computers, booting from DVD is set to boot from DVD in the BIOS by default.

So, the important data has been saved, now you need to check whether there are drivers for the computer being restored. Drivers are a necessary thing for the operation of computer devices. Simply put, drivers are small programs that are constantly located in the computer’s memory and help more complex programs use various computer devices, for example, games use a video card or sound card, various applications use a network card. Without correctly installed drivers, your computer will not function at one hundred percent, even after a complete reinstallation of Windows. The drivers may be on the CD that was in the box with the computer or laptop when it was purchased. If the drivers are lost, you can always download them from the website of the manufacturer of your laptop or motherboard. If your computer has a built-in sound and video card, then just download the driver for the motherboard. It will contain a complete set of drivers for all built-in devices. If the video card is structurally separated from the motherboard, then you need to download a separate driver for it.

To see what components are in your system unit, just disassemble it and look at the names of the manufacturers and the names of the components directly on them. The list of installed devices can be viewed in the “Device Manager” directly in the Windows operating system itself. You can install a special program that will provide complete information about the installed devices on your computer. The last two methods are only possible before reinstalling the operating system, since they use already installed drivers to determine what hardware is in the system unit. Of the special programs, “Everest” is quite suitable; it provides a complete report on the installed devices on the computer.

Finding drivers before installing Windows useful in that you will immediately find out whether they are available for the operating system you are installing, since manufacturers do not always supply drivers for all operating systems. This is especially important if you are going to install Windows 7 instead of Windows XP, which was previously installed on your computer. You may not find suitable drivers for old components and, accordingly, installing Windows 7 on an old computer becomes pointless, since the computer will not be able to function one hundred percent.

Most people who use their computer as “you” do not know how to reinstall Windows 7. This article will carefully outline how to do this. And most importantly, do it correctly and without losing important information.

You need to start by understanding whether you need to reinstall your operating system or not. Since reinstalling Windows 7 takes some significant time and requires knowledge.

The need to install the latest copy of the OS appears in the following cases:

The computer is slow;

Most programs give an error and do not start;

Some programs do not work correctly;

The computer is very loaded with viruses and completely cleaning it is very problematic;

The system does not boot and a “blue screen of doom” appears;

The download stops at a black screen with a flashing underscore. Although, in this case, as in the case of the “blue screen of doom,” you need to find the cause and try to remove it. If you can’t remove it or find the cause, you can try reinstalling Windows;

Some significant failure that prevents you from fully working at the computer;

And almost everything else that creates great challenges in operating a computer.

So, you have found your problem in the above list of cases. Then you better reinstall Windows 7.

The procedure for preparing to boot the latest OS occurs differently depending on whether the ancient system is running and whether you can copy files. If this is possible, then copy all the files you need to a flash drive or another local drive. You can also transfer the necessary information to an optical disc.

If your operating system does not boot at all, but displays a “blue screen of doom” or a dark screen and then silence, then first try to reconnect various devices in the system unit. There may be a problem at the hardware level.

But maybe you're just better off reinstalling Windows 7 and not having to suffer with your devices. If, as stated above, the system does not boot, and the information on the computer is important to you, then you need to remove the hard drive and take it to someone and copy the data. After which you can safely install Windows.

To reinstall Windows 7, you need a disk with this operating system. If you don't have one, you can buy it at the store or borrow it from friends.

Turn on the computer. Insert the disk with a copy of Windows 7 into the drive. Reboot the computer. Later, depending on your motherboard, press the F12 button to bring up the Boot menu. In the menu that appears, select the drive and press the Enter button. After which the computer will start booting from the optical disk, and not from the hard drive.

You will be asked to agree to the license. Then, select the local drive on which you want to reinstall Windows 7. As a rule, this is drive “C”. If you have copied everything you need, then format it. If copying did not work out, and the data is very necessary, then do not format it. But in this case, there will be a mess on the local drive “C”, which will have to be cleared up later. The “C” folder will be created, and your brand new Windows will be in it, and not in the root folder, as you are used to.

You will also be asked to specify the keyboard input language and set the date, or more precisely, the time zone in which you live. All. Click “install” and wait.

After some time, the brand new Windows 7 will be installed. Since this is not “XP”, but “7”, here all the drivers for your devices will be installed themselves. Now take out the disks with the programs and start installing the software that suits you.

Reinstalling (updating) Windows is performed on top of the installed operating system without formatting the system partition. This saves your files and settings, as well as installed programs and their settings.

As a rule, this method is recommended in cases where all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although in modern Windows this is a completely acceptable solution from a technical point of view. Often, it leads to the goal much faster than dancing with a tambourine.

Windows 10 owners automatically and quietly go through this process every time a new build is released, i.e. once every six months (insiders - much more often).

Windows Recovery Tools Comparison Chart

Due to the variety of Windows recovery tools, I have prepared a comparison table. In it you will find a brief description of recovery methods and the mechanisms of their operation, as well as links to detailed articles about each of the means.

Reinstallation process

The process is identical for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. You will need an installation disc (download) and a product key (Windows 7 and 8.1 only, as Windows 10 allows you to skip entering the key).

To reinstall the operating system using this method, you must log in to it. Upgrading 32-bit Windows to 64-bit is basically impossible.

Step 1 - Start reinstallation

Insert the installation disc and run setup.exe, and then in the window that opens, click the button Install.

Step 2 - install updates

Windows will prompt you to download the latest updates - it is logical to install the updated system. Of course, an Internet connection is required.

If you choose to download the updates, the download progress will be displayed in the next window.

Step 3 - Select Installation Type

Once the updates are downloaded, the system will reboot and the installation process will begin. Once you accept the license agreement, you can select the license type.

• Update- This is an installation on top of an existing system. Wherein are saved your settings and data, as well as installed programs. All system parameters (for example, service configuration) are reset to standard settings, as with a new installation of Windows.
• Full installation- this is a clean installation with formatting of the system partition, or installation on another partition of the hard drive. Wherein are lost all your data and programs.

The upgrade uses Data Transfer Tool.

It saves:

• all your files and folders
• programs and their settings
• user accounts and settings
• Internet settings
• email settings
• contacts and messages

All files are saved to the same partition where the operating system is installed. During the reinstallation, a series of folders are created, in one of which Easy Transfer places these files. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

Then all this data is restored to the installed system, and the temporary folders are deleted. But before you see the desktop, you'll need to go through the standard user settings process called OOBE (Out of Box Experience) - creating an account, setting language preferences, etc.

Upon completion of the update, you will have a clean Windows, which, however, retains your files, user preferences, programs and their settings. Once you have verified normal operation, you can

If you want to reinstall Windows 7 without losing data, then this article is for you. Also, if you want, then read the article by following the link.

In this method, we will not format the disk, but simply update Windows to its original state on an already installed system. All files and important documents will remain safe and sound. The method is also suitable if some problems with the operating system cannot be solved.

Now let's start reinstalling while saving the data.

Installation

First, insert a boot disk or flash drive with Windows 7. Go to My computer and from there we open our disk or flash drive with Windows. We are looking for a file there Setup.exe and run it, in the window that appears, click install.

If an error occurs that the current version of the operating system is newer than the one we want to install, then in this case the setup.exe file must be run with compatibility.

Now you need to go to control Panel and select item recovery. Click on advanced recovery methods.

We are offered two recovery points:

1. Recover using an image created earlier.
   
2. Reinstalling the system using the installation disk.
   

When launching updates from the panel Backup and recovery the system will ask you to make a backup copy, and then it will reboot, and then the system will boot from the installation disk.

Installing Windows 7 updates

During installation, a window should appear where we will be asked to install updates for Windows; for this you need Internet access. You don't have to download updates, but it's still recommended.

Windows 7 installation type

Now you need to select the installation type, there are 2 options:

Update– where all files and settings will be saved, everything else will be reset to default.

Full installation– this is an installation from scratch, with full formatting of the disk and no saving of parameters and files. This option does not suit us in this case.

We choose the first option.

In this way, we saved all the data and reinstalled the system. Everything should be saved: music, movies, installed programs, accounts, tabs in your browsers, etc. The transfer can take a long time; the more files on the computer, the longer the transfer.

Also, after all the procedures, you must enter the Windows 7 key and set the regional data.

Everywhere they write about how to install the system, but few have written. I did it and fixed it, read it.

If you are reinstalling Windows due to problems with the OS, then take the time to save the most important data on another disk partition or on a flash drive so as not to lose them if problems arise.