How to save data when reinstalling the system. Preparing to Reinstall Windows: What Should I Keep? folders created when reinstalling windows 7

Are you ready to reinstall windows?

If you see that the computer is terribly infected with viruses, or constantly slows down, or is buggy, then it's time for you to rearrange Windows. Moreover, it is better to install windows with formatting the system disk ... And where will all your accumulated information go?
All your information will be completely destroyed during reinstallation!
Unless, of course, you pre-write Your files to an external hard drive or flash drive.
Let's think together where you have valuable information on your computer that you need to save:

1. Favorites or bookmarks favorite browser: If you do not save them, then after reinstalling the system you will simply lose links to your favorite and important sites ... Of course, in each of the Internet browsers, those browsers have import-export, but it is much easier and faster to just copy the folder or a bookmark file to a flash drive and then, after installing windows, just copy the bookmarks back from the flash drive to the same browser folder...
Where are the saved browser bookmarks and how to find them?

In Windows XP, browsers store their bookmarks at the following addresses:
Internet Explorer: C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Favorites
Google Chrome: C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Local Settings\Application Data\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Bookmarks
Mozilla Firefox: C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\\*PROFILE NAME*\bookmarks
Opera: C:\Documents and Settings\*USERNAME*\Application Data\Opera\Opera\bookmarks.adr

In Windows 7, browser bookmarks are located at:
Internet Explorer: C:\Users\*USERNAME*\Favorites
Google Chrome: C:\Users\*USERNAME*\AppData\Local\Google\Chrome\User Data\Default\Bookmarks
Mozilla Firefox: C:\Users\*USERNAME*\AppData\Mozilla\Firefox\Profiles\*PROFILE NAME*\bookmarks
Opera: C:\Users\*USERNAME*\AppData \Opera\Opera\bookmarks.adr

2. copy "my documents" By default, the system saves all your documents in this folder. If you created folders for documents outside this folder, say in the root of drive C? Remember what you saved where and also copy the documents to a USB flash drive or hard drive.
path to "My Documents" folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\*PROFILE NAME*\My Documents for XP
C:\Users\*PROFILE NAME*\My Documents for Windows 7

3. Do you have all your passwords saved? After reinstalling windows, you will have to re-enter all your passwords at least once in the browser in order to get into li.ru, social networks, and your mail account. If you have wifi access, check if you have a password for it. First make sure that all your logins and passwords are saved outside the hard disk... and only then reinstall the system!

4. driver or recovery partition If you have a laptop and you have not lost the factory DVD for it, or have you saved the recovery partition at the end of the laptop's hard drive? There are no problems... All hardware drivers will be automatically picked up by the system when restoring Windows from a backup...
But if you do not have the ability to automatically restore the system? If you need to install Windows on a computer from a licensed or pirated disk of the operating system? You just need to create an archive of hardware drivers in advance - and after reinstalling the system - these drivers can be installed in a couple of minutes in two or three clicks.

5.copy desktop As a rule, people store a lot of information directly on the desktop - why don't you prudently copy the "desktop" folder to a USB flash drive?
The path to the folder:
C:\Documents and Settings\*PROFILE NAME*\XP Desktop
C:\Users\*PROFILE NAME*\Desktop for Windows 7

6.saving Internet access settings

In Windows 7, Internet settings are located at Start - Control Panel - Network and Sharing Center - Change adapter settings. The Network Connections window has an icon that is named Local Area Connection by default.

If the settings were made by the Internet provider, he could give the network its name. Right click it and select Properties. Select the line “Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)” and click the Properties button.

If the switches are in the Obtain IP address automatically and Obtain DNS server address automatically positions, then close the window. And then you can not read this item of settings at all - it means that your Internet will be configured automatically after reinstallation!

If the fields IP address, Subnet mask, Default gateway, Preferred DNS server and Alternative DNS server are filled in, then you must definitely rewrite these data and save.

7. prepare distributions After reinstalling windows, you will need to reinstall almost all programs from scratch on your computer ... Answer your question ... Do you have all the source codes for installation programs? Prepare distribution kits of frequently used programs in advance or copy

PS Do not forget to remove the USB flash drive or external hard drive with saved information before reinstalling windows

Let your computer be in order!
And stay healthy...

The first thing you need to do is prepare for it. All data from the system disk will be deleted. This is usually drive (C:). And if you do not want to lose any important data or possibly saves from games, then before reinstalling Windu, save the whole thing to a USB flash drive or other disk.

Now I will describe the most important data that you need to remember to save before you reinstall the system.

1. Just important files

If you ever kept on disk (C:) important files(photos, documents, and so on), then you need to move them to other disks. The same goes for the desktop. From the desktop, you need to move all the files to another location, since everything that lies on it will be deleted during reinstallation !!! In general, we "search" the system disk for important files.

2. Bookmarks from browsers

Almost every user today surfs the Internet using various browsers (Google Chrome, Mozilla, Opera, etc.). However, most often it saves important sites in . If you have a lot of these same bookmarks in your browsers, then make a backup copy and save it to a USB flash drive or other disk. After reinstalling Windows and reinstalling the browser, they can be easily restored.

In addition, if you do not want to mess with the backup, you can enable . To do this, you will need to register and all bookmarks will be saved in the "cloud". Thus, it will be possible to access your bookmarks from any device (computer, laptop, phone, tablet) and at the same time not be afraid to suddenly delete the browser itself.

3. Game saves

if you love computer games, then before reinstalling the system, do not forget to copy all saves. They are usually stored on the system drive in the Documents folder. It will be very sad if you went through some game, and then forgot about saving and reinstalled the system. Move the saves to another drive, and after a new installation of the game, this save will be put in place.

4. Data from other programs

In addition to saving games, data from other programs may be stored on your computer. For example, I am learning in the program " Keyboard solo"and I have my own account there. So, I make a backup copy every time! Otherwise, I will lose all progress if I reinstall Windu.

You may have other programs where some data or settings are stored. Think about it!

5. Internet setup

Go to the official website of the Internet provider and make sure that there is detailed instructions for setting up the Internet. You must also have a username and password for your online account. You will need this data to set up the Internet in a "newly installed" Windows.

This does not apply to those users who have a WI-FI router installed at home. You don't have to set up anything. It will be enough to find your own to it using your password!

6. Remember the list of programs

Usually on our computer there are several dozen programs. So, in order not to install the program "when I remember", but to install them all at once, we need to know the list of these programs. Go to Start - Control Panel and open section Uninstalling programs.

Here you will see all the programs installed on your PC.

You can remember this list, write it down, or, it will be much more convenient!

7. Saved passwords

Just like bookmarks, passwords can be stored in browsers or other programs. For example, I recently wrote an article about saved passwords in Google Chrome. It turned out that some do not know that your passwords can be stored in this program if you click the Save button when authorizing on sites.

Also called an update, it is carried out over the operating system, excluding the formatting of the system partition. At the same time, user files and settings are preserved, and installed programs and their settings are not affected.

To perform a reinstallation of the operating system, you must log in to it. You will need:

installation disk,
- product key,
- free space in the system partition of the disk (no less than required by the Users folder in its root).

Reinstalling Windows 7 can be started from the installation disc directly or from a Control Panel item such as Backup and Restore. You need to click at the bottom of the main window the link "Restore system settings or your computer", then - "Advanced recovery methods".

These methods include:

Restoring the system from an image created in advance using the backup function;
- reinstallation of the system, which immediately indicates the need for an installation disk.

The process of creating a system image for subsequent recovery is described in the article "". Here we will talk about reinstalling the system - this process in the graphical interface of Windows is called updating. From the installation disk, a new Windows 7 is installed over the existing OS without formatting the system partition. This method is usually recommended when all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although from a technical point of view this solution is quite acceptable.

If you start the update process from the Backup and Restore control panel item, Windows 7 will remind you to back up your files before installation and prompt you to do so immediately. You should not refuse this offer. After the backup is completed or if you refuse it, you will be prompted to insert the installation disk into the drive and reboot.

However, you can start the update in another way - you just need to insert the installation disk and run setup.exe, and then click the "Install" button in the window that opens.

Windows 7 in this case will prompt you to download the latest updates, after which it would be logical to install the updated system. Of course, you need an internet connection.

If you decide to download updates, the download progress will be visible in this window.

Upon completion of the download of updates, the system will reboot and installation will begin. After confirming the license agreement, you will be able to choose the type of installation.

An upgrade is an installation over an existing system. This saves installed programs, as well as files and user settings. All system parameters are reset, that is, they are brought to the standard, as with a new installation of Windows.
- Full installation is a clean installation with system partition formatting or installation on another hard drive partition.

Easy Transfer is used during the upgrade process.

It saves:

Images, audio files and video files;
- user folders and files;
- user settings and accounts;
- program parameters;
- email settings,
- contacts and messages,
- Internet settings and files in the Favorites folder.

All files are stored in the same partition where the operating system is installed. The reinstall process creates several folders, one of which contains these files with Easy Transfer. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

When you install Windows, you format drive C, after this operation you should copy the data to other hard drives so that you can then return everything to its place. Or if you have a lot of memory or other media, then it's worth zipping the entire drive and moving the archive to a safe place.

When will you install Windows 7, do everything as you did, and at the end of the installation, when you are asked to Leave a copy of windows in the windows.old folder, click yes.

So you save past windows data, which will be in the Windows.old folder.

As stated above, you need to have two or more hard disk partitions, but if they are not there, then download the Acronics disc program, split it into sections and transfer all files to a new, clean partition and take down Windows quietly

If you are concerned about the question, then simply copy the information you need from drive C to a USB flash drive or external hard drive. You can also transfer the data you need to drive E or D, because when you reinstall Windows, only drive C is changed. In extreme cases, after installing the new OS, you will have the windows.old folder, in which all the data of the previous operating system will be saved. Lost information can be recovered.

To save data when reinstalling Windows 7, you need to copy all the necessary files from drive C (during reinstallation, all data from it will be erased) to drive D (since reinstalling the system does not affect it). Namely, from these places: important files for you from the desktop (if any). Keep in mind that the desktop can have both files and shortcuts that link to files (shortcuts have an arrow in the lower left corner of the icon). Copying a shortcut does not copy the file, so if the shortcut refers to an important file on the C drive, you should click on the properties of the shortcut and on the Shortcut tab, click on the name - File Location. After clicking, the file itself to which the shortcut refers will appear, and it should be copied to drive D.

Now transferring browser bookmarks(if there is). In the browser, in the bookmarks option, select: save bookmarks or export bookmarks (depending on the browser) and save it in some folder on drive D.

Now let's go here: Start - open your account folder (usually users do not call their name when installing Windows) and copy the contents of the folders to drive D: My Documents, Downloads, Pictures, My Videos, My Music, Saved Games.

Everything, now you can reinstall the system, but before these it is advisable to download the latest drivers for the chipset, video card, sound card and network (network driver) so that everything is at hand and immediately ready for installation on fresh Windows. And, of course, antivirus.

Important! During the installation of Windows 7, you must select Full installation and format the C drive.

Before reinstalling Windows 7, in order to ensure that all data is preserved, you need to write all important data to hard drive D, since this disk is usually not involved in the reinstallation in any way.

But in order to be calm at all, you need to duplicate the data recording on the USB flash drive.

After reinstalling Windows 7, you need to check the safety of your data on drive D and then just clear the memory of the flash drive.

But personally, I had difficulty with some purchased programs, despite saving, they had to be reinstalled, since they have certain keys.



We insert the disk into the drive, go to My Computer, click on the Windows 7 disk shortcut and click Open, run setup.exe and Install.

The system will offer two recovery options, we need recovery using the Windows installation disc.

Windows will back up the system files and the installation will start.

A window should appear where you need to select the option to install Windows Update with saving settings.

All system settings will be reset, but settings and program files will remain.

All settings and user files are moved to temporary folders, and then they are restored to their places.

Source.

Always have 2 disk partitions in your system. As a rule, this is drive C and drive D, OS \u003d is always placed on drive C, save your work and files on drive D. When you rearrange the OS, drive D will remain intact.

To keep data when reinstalling Windows, usually pre-create two partitions on the hard drive, C and D. The system is usually installed on C, and the D drive is used to store data. In this case reinstalling Windows affects only the C drive, and the data remains unchanged.

If the disks were not partitioned, then problems often occurred when reinstalling the system, so the question is, how to save data when reinstalling windows, habitually arises every time you have to do this.

However, the operating system Windows 7 just different in that when you reinstall the system, the data files are not affected, but are added to the windows.old folder.

Besides, Windows 7 allows you to reinstall the system recoverable, that is, the ability to save data is almost guaranteed.

I do not store working files on the system disk. My Maxton browser, all tabs, passwords, and much more to put into it, is stored in the cloud. The mail client, I take out passwords from it Portable Multi Password Recovery. He is still able to remove passwords from many browsers. The main programs in the form of installers on a working disk. Reinstalling the OS will not be difficult for me. When the system starts to slow down, I prefer to reinstall than to spoil my nerves when it freezes ..

Before reinstalling, copy or move important data to another hard drive partition. If there is no place for important information, flash drives and external hard drives will help.

Have you decided to reinstall Windows 7 and don't know where to start? Are you afraid that you will accidentally harm important files?
This article will help you completely get ready to installing Windows 7, as well as getting rid of some problems with programs and drivers on the new system.

Introduction. Which type of system reinstall is better: an update without losing files or a clean install.

Attention!
This article provides information on how to get ready to reinstall Windows 7.
To go directly to the reinstallation process, you will need: burn the image to a USB flash drive or DVD, configure the BIOS and only then proceed to the windows 7 installation itself. Exists two types system reinstallation: update (rollback) and full installation. And each of them has its own advantages and disadvantages.

For example, selecting update, You save all user files and program settings. But along with this type of reinstallation, there are many pitfalls:

• By choosing to update, you leave a huge amount of old unnecessary garbage on the system disk. This can slow down the new OS and run out of space for files in the future;
• In addition to important files (photos, documents), some viruses are also transferred that can harm the operation of the “newly minted” OS;
• Problem entries in the registry, startup items and settings will also be registered.

Those. reinstalling windows 7 "update", you actually transfer all the "sores" from the old system to the new one. In other words, most problems, because of which you started a "reset" - are not resolved.

In addition, “fresh”, more serious failures can be added to the old ones.
That's why highly recommended Perform a clean install of the OS. In this case, absolutely all data from the computer will be deleted.

The word "everything" means:

• Saving / setting games and programs;
• Photos, videos, presentations and other documents;
• Desktop, personal folders (including hidden ones, and even protected by special codes);
• Programs (browsers), drivers, settings, logins and passwords from the Internet and other system / non-system utilities.

Your hard drive will completely clean, as if brought only "from the store."

In the following chapters, we will figure out where to look and how to save all the necessary files, program settings and drivers. note!
Programs, games and other software will need to be installed again. You can save only settings.
Therefore, take care in advance by making a list of the most important information for you that you need to leave. Memorize it or (preferably) write it down on a piece of paper.

Step 1: save the most important data
(photos, documents, etc.).

First, find a drive on which the system will not be installed.

You can choose a second (preferably external USB storage) hard drive. After copying all the necessary files, it is recommended to disconnect this drive from the computer so that you do not accidentally format (clear) it.
Attention!
From disks on which the creation of system partitions is not supposed, files can not be transferred.
When installing, it is highly desirable to disable these devices so as not to accidentally format them. Let's start searching for important files:

1. On "Desktop"(the place where most users store their information);
2. In folder "My Documents" you can find images, Office files, backups from flash drives (see the figure below on the left), as well as saving games, program settings (highlighted in the figure on the right);

Figure 1. Saving important files from Documents.

1. The username folder contains "Downloads" from browsers. Don't forget to check them out too;
2. Settings and saving programs / games can also be in the folder Application Data. It is located at: " C:\ Users\your_username\AppData". It is also necessary to check program Files And program Files x86 at the root of the system drive « C:» .

Exploring these folders, you can find a lot of information (perhaps previously lost), as well as save and configure some games and programs. For the future:
it is desirable to store all important files on a separate drive. This will help you get rid of the pain of copying a large number of files the next time you reinstall the OS.

If there is no second hard drive, split the files into folders (photos, presentations, etc.) and save them in the root of the "hard drive".
So you avoid the possible loss of important data during the next formatting of the system disk.

How to leave the necessary programs, see the next chapter.

Step 2: save important programs.

Now that all user documents have been copied to a separate drive, you need to take care of the right programs that you use regularly.

In order not to forget anything, you should look at the menu "Start" → "All programs".

Figure 2. We write down the programs and games we need.
Here you can find and write down (remember) the necessary programs that will be useful on the new system. A small list of programs recommended for downloading and transferring to a backup drive:

• WinRar archiver (needed to unpack .rar/.zip archives);
• Browser (Opera, Chrome, Firefox or any other);
• Program for cleaning temporary files and registry CCleaner;
• Antivirus (Kaspersky, Dr.Web, ESET Nod32, Avast and others);
• (preferably) Auxiliary: DirectX , Visual C ++ , Net Framework - for the correct operation of some programs and 3D applications / games.
• (your choice) Microsoft Office, Skype, Torrent.

By downloading these utilities/libraries in advance, you can immediately install them on a new system and save time on future reinstallations.

Most of them have free versions. Therefore, to avoid viruses and other unpleasant moments on the new Windows 7, download programs only from official sites. Be careful!
Even the official "installers" of the programs you need can install a lot of unnecessary applications (Yandex bar, Amigo, Mail.ru satellite / defender, Odnoklassniki, etc.).

Therefore, be sure to review each step of the software installation. From these programs, you will be saved by the banal unchecking at a certain step.
Here, for example, is one of the stages of installing a popular antivirus.

Figure 3. Don't forget to uncheck the boxes!
As you can see in the figure above, the program "offers" the Yandex search engine software. And if you do not want these services for yourself, they will still be installed. After all, you “confirmed” their installation by not unchecking the boxes.
Note.
Such "strangeness" does not make this or that program better or worse - this is an additional income for the creators. Therefore, always be careful about the individual installation steps, even with proven software.
Now let's move on to the most important part of the normal operation of the system - hardware drivers.

Step 3: back up device drivers.

Drivers are perhaps the most complex and important part of any operating system.

Of course, after installing the system and connecting to the Internet, most of them are downloaded on their own. However, there is a common problem - network card or Wi-Fi drivers may simply be missing from the Windows installation image.

Hence, You can not download "drivers for the Internet", because you won't be able to log in.
Therefore, you need to take care of these drivers in advance by visiting the website of the manufacturer of your equipment or laptop.

How and what is the best way to copy drivers before installing windows?

Programs for automatically copying drivers are a very unreliable assistant in reinstalling the system.

We tested several of these programs under various conditions and came to the following conclusions:

• Some drivers weren't copied at all (imagine if it was internet access software);
• Programs may incorrectly identify devices and offer third-party drivers;
• An incomprehensible system for detecting obsolete drivers (an attempt to update even the most “fresh” ones);

Perhaps, on some computers, these programs will give a positive result. But, you see, it will be unpleasant if you become a user who is "just out of luck." Therefore, we recommend that you switch to manually downloading drivers from manufacturers' official websites.

How to determine the necessary drivers and which ones are the most important?

First of all, you need to try to look for CDs in the boxes of computer or laptop components. Some media may have a complete collection of drivers. The following is exactly what is needed:

• Driver for network card and/or Wi-Fi;
• SATA driver to prevent errors during Windows installation (may be required to manually install the driver during Windows installation);
• Multimedia controller and / or other peripherals (mouse, keyboard, if you have a laptop);
• Video adapter (video card) driver (by default, a standard or obsolete one is downloaded).

The rest can be downloaded immediately after installing a new operating system. If you have a laptop, you can safely go to. The name of the equipment can be found in "Device Manager". For this you need:

1. Go to menu "Start" → click on "Computer" right click → select item "Properties" ;
2. In the window that appears, click on " Device Manager" → verify rights administrator (if requested);

Figure 4. Go to "Advanced Settings".

1. Now you need to expand the tabs: "Video adapters", "Network devices", "Processors" → write down / take a picture of the names of devices (PC components) → download drivers for them.

Figure 5. Find out the models of computer devices.

• If the equipment does not have a full name, which includes the manufacturer's company and model number, you should click right click on the desired device → go to the tab "Intelligence" → select in the column "Property": "Equipment ID"
  .

Figure 6. We determine the "true" device code in the "hardware ID".

• After that copy the first line and paste it into a search engine. You will be offered a lot of driver options for this device, you can choose any (required for your Windows);

1. Save all drivers on a separate drive.

After installing the system, you will need to install each driver. Some of them can be "set" automatically. Now review the last chapter to ensure that you are fully prepared to reinstall Windows 7.

Where to quickly find drivers if you have a laptop.

If you have a laptop, you should:

1. Find out the model devices;
2. "Drive in" to the search engine a query of the form: “drivers for the laptop “Model #”” → go to the official website manufacturer (you can also try searching by models);
3. Select the desired bit depth (x86 or x64) of your operating system;

Figure 7. Downloading the necessary files.

1. Download each driver (can only be listed in the previous chapter);
2. Throw off to a separate drive.

Now that the new system is installed, it remains to "install" these drivers. The rest will sort themselves out. Check out the last chapter, and the preparation can be considered complete.

Conclusion. Saving data in non-standard cases.

Careful searching and research of each of the above directories is the key to success in preserving all important files.

The system can be reinstalled if you have no more questions. In the next chapter, recommendations and solutions for some specific cases will be given. See content.

There are two (or more) separate users on my computer. What to do with it?

To avoid losing important information, you need to check and save important files from the following directories:

• "Desktop";
• "Documentation", "Downloads" and other elements of the user's folder;
• Directory « application data» .

No need to check :

• Folders: Program Files And Program Files (x86);
• Other places, except for files along the path "WITH:\

  I want to save website passwords and browser bookmarks.

  It should be noted right away that working with programs to save secret information from browsers and other applications should be practiced Not recommended.

  If you do not remember the password for a particular site, use form of recovery. It won't take you even five minutes.

  Bookmarks, if necessary, can be transferred (for example, Chrome).

  Do the following:

  1. Open browser Google Chrome;
  2. Call up the settings menu at the touch of a button "with three dots";
  3. Move your mouse to "Bookmarks" ;
  4. Click on Bookmark Manager (CTRL + Shift + O - "hot combination");
  5. Find "Control" → select from the dropdown menu "Export bookmarks to a file HTML …» → indicate backup place to store bookmarks.
  After all operations, on the new OS, it remains only back "Import…". The instructions are identical and suitable for most well-known browsers.
  

  I am connected to the internet via modem and/or using certain network options.

  In this case, you may have some settings that are best saved so as not to call the provider again.

  You can find them in "Network and Sharing Center" →"Change adapter settings" .

  1. Right click on « ethernet » connection → select "Properties"
  2. In the window "The marked components are in use by this connection:..." click on the line « Internet Protocol version 4 ( TCP / IPv 4)" → now click on "Properties" (shown below in the figure on the left);
  3. In the window that appears, certain settings can be specified. They need to be photographed or write down to use on the new version of the system.
  Ready. You can close the Properties windows.

  I need to save downloads from the µTorrent torrent client.

  The distribution settings files of this program are located in the folder « Appdata» (Windows 7 and above) or in « Application Data» (Windows XP). Copy folder « uTorrent » to the backup storage.

  After reinstallation reinstall the client → put the distributed files in the searched (identical to old OS) locations → flip backup folder back to " Appdata » .

  Done.

  Distributions will be restored the next time you start the program.