Will reformat my notebook, what should I backup?

Hey guys,

My XPS m1530 has been disappointing in terms of speed and performance the past few months and I am going to reformat and do a clean install for the first time.

I have a clean 500GB external hard-drive which is more than enough to backup my entire system, but I would like to know which particular files I should backup?

Should I copy the entire OS C: drive and RECOVERY D: drive to my external HD?

Or should I just copy the "Users" folder with all my documents, pics, etc.? The RECOVERY D: also does not seem to contain anything too important, but then again, I might be wrong.

I understand that most of the other files are installation and OS files that I would not be able to transfer after the clean install, so I would like to know which are important, and which I don't have to copy...

Thanks for any suggestions...

 

Its up to you to decide what you want to back up.

 

I would backup the entire drive using a disk imaging program. That way during the fresh install, you can mount the image of the backup of your old system and copy over any files you need back to the new.

 

Agreed. I recommend ShadowProtect for this, but there are other programs available as well. Just make sure you're able to open or mount the image file to get to the files you need. Some programs just create the image file and expect you to write the image in its entirety to another disk in order to access the files.

 

Thanks for the suggestion LaptopNut. How different would the process and results be compared to simply copy/pasting my C: and D: drives to my external hard-drive? Would this allow me to retain all my current installations/programs, to save me time from installing everything all over again from scratch? I'm quite new to disk-imaging and I'd appreciate some help...

Thanks Brandon. I tried to check out ShadowProtect and it seems ok. However, would you know of any Open Source/Free disk imaging programs that can open/mount the image file as you have suggested? I'd really prefer not spending for reformatting my system.

 

Unfortunately I don't know of any freeware that allows you to "open" the image and extract files, maybe someone else does? There are a number of free packages that will image your disk, but the file extraction seems to be a feature usually found in the more expensive versions.

 

A disk image is little more than a compressed archive of a hard disk partition (ex, C:\) that is represented as a single file. The advantage of this type of back up format is:
- you save space by various compression methods
- most images can be opened to browse the files
- you can use a bootable CD to recover a damaged or corrupt partition by slapping on your image and booting up again like normal; recovery is therefore a very straightforward and quick process.

Simply copying over the entirety of C:\ isn't a very good back up method, though I would strongly recommend backing up your personal data.

If you're just concerned with using imaging software just this once, use the trial version of Acronis TrueImage Home. It's very easy to use and does all the things I mentioned above.

 

Alright. Thanks Bog. I think I'll try and possibly purchase Acronis TrueImage or some alternatve disk imaging software.

Just have a few more questions. When I backup the entire drive image, will I be able to extract specific folders/files from the image (not only browsing/viewing them)? For example, after re-installing Windows and all the drivers on my new system; can I just mount or copy the "Users" folder and particular Program Files folders (so I won't have to go through the re-installation of other software). In other words, will mounting/copying the entire image enable me to use all my programs again without re-installing them?

 

Yes it will, however in restoring the image you must restore the entirety of it; you can't restore only select parts of the image. At least, I haven't seen any home imaging software that can do that.

 

That's what I was talking about. Most advanced imaging software allows you to open/mount an image and then restore select parts of the image (files/folders/etc..). Most free software won't let you do this.

As far as your programs, I think we need to be a bit more clear.

If you image your disk, and format your computer, re-install a fresh copy of windows, then yes, you will have to re-install your programs to use them. Simply opening/mounting an image to a drive letter doesn't allow your old programs to be used or execute. Just like copying the "Program Files" directory from PC A to PC B does not mean you can now magically run all the programs from PC A on PC B. In this scenario, your programs need to be re-installed on your new installation of windows.

If you image your disk, format your computer, and write the same image back to it, then no, you don't need to re-install your programs, as you basically have the same computer you did before. This is useful when using two similar computers, but for backup purposes and what you've mentioned doing, this is not going to be the case for you.

 

My understanding is that he is referring to opening an image for the purposes of accessing files, not for restoring it. I think he understands the distinction between the workings of image restoration and simply accessing files within an image. However, it's up to the OP to say whether or not he understands.

 

Yes, he probably does, but it never hurts to be clear. My actual comment was to clear up your answer. He asked a few questions, one of which was if his programs would work when he opened up the image and tried to run them. You answered 'Yes', which is not correct, but I think you were answering 'Yes' to a different part of his post. I just wanted to make sure he understood he could not run his programs without re-installing them.

I am making the assumption by programs, he means "windows programs" which require .dll registration/registry key creation, etc.. and not just stand-alone executables.

 

OK, I see. It's good practice to clarify posts. Thanks.

 

I backup my "user" folder. Very nice, all is kept, cookies, background, etc...