Creating Recovery Disk for Windows

Hello All,

I am wondering when I should create a recovery disk. I just got a new computer with Windows Vista 64-bit. I also got an upgrade to Windows 7, so I should receive that once it is released in a few weeks. My computer came with 2 disks 1) recovery disk and 2) software and driver disk. I have a few questions:

1. Are the disks that came with my system all that I need? Will they be useless once I upgrade to Windows 7?
2. Should I wait until I upgrade to Windows 7 to create my own recovery disks? Will this give me disks that will all me to reset my computer to Windows 7 instead of back to Vista then have to upgrade again should anything happen?
3. If I create my own recovery disks, will it include any changes I have made? For instance, if I uninstall trial versions of prepackaged software, install software I use, customize settings, etc. Will all of these be reflected in a recovery disk I make?

Because I can only create this disk once (as far as I know) I basically want to do it at the optimal time.

Thanks in advance for your help.

dpm

 

you can never, ever have too many recovery options. blank media is cheap. you can always toss out obsolete recovery disks but you cannot make new ones without a working machine.

so now would be a good time to start.

 

You already have the recovery disks, these work with your recovery partition. That's all you need to restore the system back to the way it was when you 1st received.

And no, they are not being useless once you upgrade to W7, since that is irrelevant of what system is.

You are thinking about making a snap shot of the W7 installation? Recovery disks will not help in this case.

You already have the recovery disks, why the need to create another set? And no, what you make changes to the system will not reflect onto the created recovery disks. Again recovery disks are to be used to get your system back to the original state, no more, no less.

Making a snapshot of the running system is that you really want, I think.

cheers ...

 

I assume you have a Dell system based on the description of the disks. In any case, Qhn is pretty much right, You don't need to worry about making any disks even when you get the W7 upgrade. You have 2 ways of recovering your machine, each with slightly different results/pros and cons

1. Recovery Partition-The Dell recovery partition is basically a " permanent snapshot in time" In this case it's a snapshot of your computer's hard disk state just before it left the factory, with all ordered software installed. It's much quicker to recover this way than to use method 2 i'll describe later, but it's not as flexible as that method-it's "everything or nothing"

Pros: Quick recovery, as fast as 15 min in most cases. No need to install any drivers or preloaded software

Cons: Sometimes the partition might be damaged, If the Hard Disk is damaged, you can't recover via this method, If you weren't careful to deselect trial/junkware when you configured the computer online, all that junk that you removed after you first used the computer will be back, you'll have to remove it again.

2. Operating System DVD and Drivers and Software CD- This is the most flexible way to recover, because it's what's known as a clean installation-only the OS and Drivers and necessary software needed for the computer to function are installed. You can then pick and choose among the included software disks that you should have gotten and install only the added stuff you want. Most people prefer this method, as performance tends to be better w/out any junk holding the system back. However this method takes more time, and while fairly straight forward, isn't a "couple mouse clicks" simple. (The Drivers and Software disk included makes it easier by scanning your machine and only picking out the stuff you need to install)


Pros: A truly "clean" system installation of Windows, faster performance, flexiblity

Cons: More time consuming, for some people, it might be a bit challenging


When you get Windows 7 later, You'll most likely get a Windows 7 disk and a Windows 7 specific "Drivers and Software" disc. (if it's anything like the similar process that occurred when Vista came out) You'll back up any work you have and perform "recovery" method two. There will be instructions on Dell.com/support for both recovery methods, and there also should be instructions there on how to do the Windows 7 upgrade.

Good Luck!
Ricky

 

Thanks everyone for your responses. I think I am going to create the disks even if they are duplicates of what I received with my computer. I have plenty of blank DVD's and I have not done it before so I would like to at least go through the process.

qhn - I didn't realize there was a distinction between creating a recovery disk and creating an image. I think that is the basis for my confusion. I am looking into some sofware to create images, but it is not a process or method of "restoring" that I am familiar with. Posters seem to recommend Norton Ghost and Acronis True Image.

booboo12 - actually I got an HP . Thanks for the detailed response. I imagine HP has the same upgrade information on their website. When you say upgrading to Windows 7 will be a clean install, does that mean any software I load before hand and files I create will be deleted during the upgrade process?

 

Ah an HP, ok this makes it a bit tricky, but here goes.

On most HP systems, you can opt into receiving recovery media at extra cost. I assume that's what you did. Unlike Dell's disk based method of recovery (referred to as "method 2" in my post above) this media is the same thing as the recovery partition on the hard disk-using it won't let you get rid of all the bloatware that came on the computer, (and because you got an HP, it's pretty loaded with the stuff...) instead, it'll shove all the crap back onto it. The advantage of this method though is that the recovery process is faster since it only takes a click or two, and a disc swap in the middle of the process to restore the computer completely, no driver installation required.

You don't have to buy any software to make the discs, you should have been prompted to burn off discs when you first started your computer, but if you didn't, you can do so by clicking start and typing "HP Recovery Disc Creator", clicking it's link in the results list and following the wizard. This will burn off another set of discs using the data from the recovery partition. Note that doing this won't include any changes you've made to the machine like installing software, adding users, etc. It'll work the same way as if you used the partition on the hard drive itself to recover, it would be as if you turned on the computer to the first time.

Keep in mind that the disc based methods from both HP and Dell, no matter how differently technologically they work, delete ALL data from the computer and replace it, either with a clean install of Windows in Dell's case or the contents of the computer as it was shipped to you-junk and all, in HP's case.

Hope this helps out, if you have more questions feel free to post.

Ricky!

 

Thanks booboo12-

i did opt to get the recovery disks. i figured i was buying some piece of mind. and i had never created my own disks so i figured it was insurance in case i messed it up. but it sounds like it is easier than i expected. thanks for clarifying the difference between the HP and DELL disks too.

yes, i think this thing is LOADED with unnecessary trial versions of software and some other software i don't recognize. after doing a windows update, getting some antivirus and antimalware programs my next task is to uninstall what i don't need. that will likely take some research and probably a post or two on here. don't want to delete something i need!!

thanks again for all your help, much appreciated.

dpm

 

No problem, thats what we're here for! Yeah, actually i'd continue your subscription to NIS 09 (I assume that's what came installed) until it expires, it's quite the lightweight security suite. After that, if you don't feel like paying, try a few freeware programs like Avira, you can always see the security subforum for the latest that members recommend.

That said, a lot of the other junk on there is pretty annoying. One thing you can try is running a program called PC Decrapifier, which allows you to run through many uninstallers in one step- http://www.pcdecrapifier.com/download