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Resetting my laptop. Backup question.


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I’m backing up all the docs and pictures on my laptop so I can do a full reset as it has slowed down and is full of junk. With regards to the Windows 7 OS, do I have to back that up as well or will the pc just restore it? I don’t want to have it come back to life without an OS. Also, are there any other programs that I’ll have to backup and reinstall to get it up and running? Thanks in advance. M

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That’s a broad question...

 

If you do a full reset then EVERYTHING gets wiped, incl. Windows 7.  You will need a version on USB or disc that you boot from, and it does the format for you at the start so you get a clean install that way.

 

If doing a clean install then it’s best to get the latest drivers for your laptop now while you have internet access, especially the internet driver.  When you start fresh, you won’t have internet access UNTIL you install a driver...Windows 8 is different, it installs most drivers for you...

 

I just did a clean install of Windows 7 on a NUC I have as a HT computer, it flies again!  So worth it...

 

If you don’t have a bootable version of W7 and are now reluctant to do a clean install, then unfortunately you will always have junk on the system.  A clean install is the best way to go.

 

Remember to back up your browser bookmarks (Firefox, Chrome etc.).  

 

 

 

Edited by Kaynin
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That’s a broad question...
 
If you do a full reset then EVERYTHING gets wiped, incl. Windows 7.  You will need a version on USB or disc that you boot from, and it does the format for you at the start so you get a clean install that way.
 
If doing a clean install then it’s best to get the latest drivers for your laptop now while you have internet access, especially the internet driver.  When you start fresh, you won’t have internet access UNTIL you install a driver...Windows 8 is different, it installs most drivers for you...
 
I just did a clean install of Windows 7 on a NUC I have as a HT computer, it flies again!  So worth it...
 
If you don’t have a bootable version of W7 and are now reluctant to do a clean install, then unfortunately you will always have junk on the system.  A clean install is the best way to go.
 
Remember to back up your browser bookmarks (Firefox, Chrome etc.).  
 
 
 

Thanks mate. I’ll have a fiddle.

Cheers, M
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Guest Muon N'

Lappy's with Win7 usually have the factory image of the original Windows 7 with the brand specific extras on a hidden partition, that is what is used for the reset to factory state ect'.

 

Edit: oh, and no need to back up Win7, only your email address book maybe along with those things Kaynin mentioned.

The owners manual available on PDF normally from the makers site will have instructions for booting and restoring. You will need to re-install any programs that are not part of the OS and how it was set up as factory default, third party programs normally are integrated into the OS to some degree so not able to be backed up and used again in that way. You will need the disks or need to download them again, so security software like anti-virus and anti-malware, Office if you had that on there, favourite browser and multimedia players....ect'.

 

Some trivia....

There are a few levels of software on a PC, the lowest apart from those embedded in the CPU and a like, are the motherboard BIOS, these are in memory on the motherboard. These software instructions identify components and allow the boot process, and hold the hardware settings for the motherboard and it's components.

The next is the Operating System, it is the layer on where all other software resides when you install various things, including drivers which are software instruction sets to identify a piece of hardware and tells the OS how to interact with it.

 

The OS Itself has many different layers when you go into access and privileges, but that's a subject of itself.

Edited by Muon N'
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