Windows Help and Advice - USA (2019-06)

Image

credits:

Macrium,

Microsoft

16 |^ |^ June 2019

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A full, destructive reinstall

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einstalling Windows

from scratch – namely,

wiping your system drive

completely clean to

install a brand, spanking

new (and fresh) version

of Windows on to it – is the ultimate

choice for anyone looking to revive a

slow PC or resolve a major, non-

hardware issue. In this section of the

feature we’ll step you through the entire

process – if you’re looking to reinstall an

older version of Windows, or explore

other reinstall options, turn to page 18.

Before you begin, make sure your PC

is fully backed up by following the

advice in the first section of this feature.

A full reinstall really is destructive –

nothing left on your C drive will exist

once you’ve finished. You should also

follow the step-by-step guide on page

15 to ensure you have the latest

installation media for your target

version of Windows. This will ensure a

cleaner, more up-to-date installation

from the off, thus saving you time

bringing it fully up to date once the

installation has completed.

It’s also worth sourcing networking

and graphics drivers now rather than

relying on Windows to provide them for

you – in most cases, they should be built

in, but not always. Consult your PC or

motherboard manufacturer’s website for

these, or visit your Wi-Fi adapter or

graphics card manufacturer’s site –

download them to your backup drive.

Other things to consider: uninstall any

products that require activation now –

this should deactivate the licences and

allow you to use them with your new

install without any issues. Also, be sure

to have product keys and program

installers to hand.

STARTING THE

REINSTALL PROCESS

A full destructive reinstall should always

be started by booting from your

installation media, be it a DVD or USB

flash drive. Check the step-by-step

guide on page 15 for some pointers. The

actual reinstall process doesn’t differ

much across Windows 7, 8.1 or 10. You’ll

be asked to verify your language,

location and keyboard are set correctly,

Restore programs, settings and data

Once Windows is reinstalled,

open Windows Update to

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hundreds of updates still to

apply in the case of Windows 7

and 8.1. Once it’s fully up to

date, consider reinstalling

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restore in future instead of

reinstalling Windows itself.

Next, it’s a case of

reinstalling your core apps.

Once in place, open CloneApp

from your data drive. If you

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single program setting you

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you don’t want to restore,

select Options to locate the

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move any program folders you

want to ignore out of the

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Now, take your second

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‘perfect’ snapshot, as it were.

Finally, open File History or

the Windows Backup and

Restore tool and take steps to

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up, then make sure the tool is

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up going forward.

Windows 10 users can launch a repair install directly from the Media Creation Tool.

Windows 7 and8. 1

userswillfinda

large numberof

updateswaiting

tobe installed

after reinstalling.

Open File History, link it to your previous backup and then you can

restore all your data back to its original location with one click.