I'm using Windows 7 Ultimate version for a month. I was wondering what files/folders should I backup off my hard disk before I reinstall Windows 7. With Windows XP (the version that I was using last 8 years), I would need to reinstall XP once every 3/4 months. Of course, I backup files/folders of the partition which I uses as system drive before formatting it. Beside that, encrypted files/folders in other partitions should be backed up in unencrypted format. Is there anything else that should be backed up off hard disk?
I use an older 160 GB SATA hard disk (internal) as backup drive and a newer 320 GB SATA hard disk for OS, and all other files. For backing up data I use Synchredible.
Answer
I'm a big fan of imaging the whole hard drive so you can't forget anything. If the new install goes horribly wrong (hardware incompatability, etc), you can just re-apply your old system back from the backup (fast). When you install the new operating system, mount the image as a virtual drive and start copying your documents, etc.
Some data is more difficult to recover from a backup so you should consider these ahead of time:
- A list of software on your system and where you can reinstall from (web site, CD (with keys), etc)
- Configuration settings for specific programs
- Registration keys
- Drivers
- Web favorites/bookmarks
Essentially, I run through each program installed on my system one at a time and note any possible customizations or specific data I need to recover when I do a fresh install.
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