Win 7 Nondestructive reinstall

Series: Win7′s no-reformat, nondestructive reinstall Windows Secrets
Tried this to update/refresh my system - after a couple of software items had left my system a little shaky - nothing bad mind you, just could tell was not the same after installing and uninstalling.
Had my concerns and doubts on this... (and had a back-up image anyway to roll back to). Thought what the heck - give it a try.
Worked great - used a WIN 7 SP1 ISO DVD (have not tried with a USB version) took about 60 minutes - after the initial scan/check told me what programs would be an issue (one of the programs I mentioned above) and it proceeded.
All my settings saved, all my programs worked (only had to re-do the key on one program)
Styles, settings etc all the same. Needed a few updates and back in business.
Definitely an option i'll refer back to in the future if systems are not playing nice and back-up images not available.

 

What you did is called Upgrade (no fancy name), doesn't serve any purpose doing it with the same version of Windows.

 

True - but did allow me to completely re-install my OS without having to reload all my programs, files and settings. (by using the upgrade path with the same OS I already had).

 

Why do you want to do this re-install? It's waste of time, unlike a clean install.

 

It's an option to a clean install with numerous programs loaded. It replaces the OS (just like a clean install) without all the extra work - Again was an option to try - if did not work I was going down the clean install path anyway - this just saved me several hours/days worth of effort and the system is back to fresh-install state.

 

Your system won't be back to a fresh install state, as you still have the program leftovers, OS temp files, etc.

 

I don't know if you can install from a recovery disk, but what i have done this time is that move my files to a different partition, so I didn't have to waste time putting them back in. It took some time to reinstall (unlike Macs), but the system seems snappier though it takes a little longer on start (perhaps it is my second partition where it is looking for an operating system as well?).

 

@OP

That is not a true fresh Windows 7 state. When you do that, yes you are essentially replacing all of the OS files, but those files get modified over time based on the software and drivers you install. Your OS will have issues with some programs and drivers. Hence, it cannot even be considered a clean install.

 

Hey OP, what you did was basically a Repair Install. It's something I believe most on here is aware of.

Nevertheless, once this took care of your issue :thumbs up: to you. I'm sure this thread may just help someone looking to repair their system (for w/e reason) without having to do a clean install; as I've done this a couple times in the past myself to fix issues such as links not opening in new tabs in IE etc. (Although now their are a couple fixes out for that)

So yea, thanks for sharing!