Reinstall Windows without losing data. Preparing to reinstall Windows: what should you keep? Reinstalling Windows 7 while saving data

Reinstalling (updating) Windows is performed on top of the installed operating system without formatting the system partition. This saves your files and settings, as well as installed programs and their settings.

As a rule, this method is recommended in cases where all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although in modern Windows this is a completely acceptable solution from a technical point of view. Often, it leads to the goal much faster than dancing with a tambourine.

Windows 10 owners automatically and quietly go through this process every time a new build is released, i.e. once every six months (insiders - much more often).

Windows Recovery Tools Comparison Chart

Due to the variety of Windows recovery tools, I have prepared a comparison table. In it you will find a brief description of recovery methods and the mechanisms of their operation, as well as links to detailed articles about each of the means.

Reinstallation process

The process is identical for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. You will need an installation disc (download) and a product key (Windows 7 and 8.1 only, as Windows 10 allows you to skip entering the key).

To reinstall the operating system using this method, you must log in to it. Upgrading 32-bit Windows to 64-bit is basically impossible.

Step 1 - Start reinstallation

Insert the installation disc and run setup.exe, and then in the window that opens, click the button Install.

Step 2 - install updates

Windows will prompt you to download the latest updates - it is logical to install the updated system. Of course, an Internet connection is required.

If you choose to download the updates, the download progress will be displayed in the next window.

Step 3 - Select Installation Type

Once the updates are downloaded, the system will reboot and the installation process will begin. Once you accept the license agreement, you can select the license type.

• Update- This is an installation on top of an existing system. Wherein are saved your settings and data, as well as installed programs. All system parameters (for example, service configuration) are reset to standard settings, as with a new installation of Windows.
• Full installation- this is a clean installation with formatting of the system partition, or installation on another partition of the hard drive. Wherein are lost all your data and programs.

The upgrade uses Data Transfer Tool.

It saves:

• all your files and folders
• programs and their settings
• user accounts and settings
• Internet settings
• email settings
• contacts and messages

All files are saved to the same partition where the operating system is installed. During the reinstallation, a series of folders are created, in one of which Easy Transfer places these files. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

Then all this data is restored to the installed system, and the temporary folders are deleted. But before you see the desktop, you'll need to go through the standard user settings process called OOBE (Out of Box Experience) - creating an account, setting language preferences, etc.

Upon completion of the update, you will have a clean Windows, which, however, retains your files, user preferences, programs and their settings. Once you have verified normal operation, you can

Reinstalling the Windows operating system is the last resort we resort to if we cannot restore normal operation of the OS using more humane methods. Not only does the reinstallation take quite a long time, but it also deletes all programs and user settings installed on the system drive. Is it possible to reinstall Windows without losing this data? Yes, you can, and in today’s article you will learn how to do it.

So, as usual when reinstalling Windows, we insert the disc with the system image into the DVD drive, but we do not reboot, but go to My computer, right-click on the disk shortcut with Windows 7 and select Open, then find setup.exe in the list of files, run it and click Install. It is better to run the installation file in compatibility mode with Vista SP2; to do this, right-click on it and go to Properties, go to the tab Compatibility and check the appropriate box.

Now we need to go to Start>Control Panel>Backup and Restore>. Here we click on the item Restore system settings or computer and choose Advanced recovery methods.

In the next window, the system will offer us two recovery options; we are interested in the second - recovery using the Windows installation disk.

After selecting this option, Windows will make a backup copy of your system files. Next, the computer will reboot and start from the installation disk (do not forget to first configure booting from disk in the BIOS settings).

During the reinstallation process, Windows 7 will ask for permission to receive the latest updates from the Internet.

Once all the updates have been installed, the computer will restart again and the installation process will begin. After accepting the license agreement, a window should appear in which we will need to select the first installation option - updating Windows while saving the settings.

During the update process, all system parameters are reset, but user settings and installed program files are retained.

To save, use the data transfer tool.

When reinstalling Windows using the method described above, all user files and settings are moved to temporary folders, and at the end of the installation process they are restored to their original places in the system. As a result, we get an almost clean Windows 7 system, but with all our important data intact.

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If you want to reinstall Windows 7 without losing data, then this article is for you. Also, if you want, then read the article by following the link.

In this method, we will not format the disk, but simply update Windows to its original state on an already installed system. All files and important documents will remain safe and sound. The method is also suitable if some problems with the operating system cannot be solved.

Now let's start reinstalling while saving the data.

Installation

First, insert a boot disk or flash drive with Windows 7. Go to My computer and from there we open our disk or flash drive with Windows. We are looking for a file there Setup.exe and run it, in the window that appears, click install.

If an error occurs that the current version of the operating system is newer than the one we want to install, then in this case the setup.exe file must be run with compatibility.

Now you need to go to control Panel and select item recovery. Click on advanced recovery methods.

We are offered two recovery points:

1. Recover using an image created earlier.
   
2. Reinstalling the system using the installation disk.
   

When launching updates from the panel Backup and recovery the system will ask you to make a backup copy, and then it will reboot, and then the system will boot from the installation disk.

Installing Windows 7 updates

During installation, a window should appear where we will be asked to install updates for Windows; for this you need Internet access. You don't have to download updates, but it's still recommended.

Windows 7 installation type

Now you need to select the installation type, there are 2 options:

Update– where all files and settings will be saved, everything else will be reset to default.

Full installation– this is an installation from scratch, with full formatting of the disk and no saving of parameters and files. This option does not suit us in this case.

We choose the first option.

In this way, we saved all the data and reinstalled the system. Everything should be saved: music, movies, installed programs, accounts, tabs in your browsers, etc. The transfer can take a long time; the more files on the computer, the longer the transfer.

Also, after all the procedures, you must enter the Windows 7 key and set the regional data.

Everywhere they write about how to install the system, but few have written. I did it and fixed it, read it.

If you are reinstalling Windows due to problems with the OS, then take the time to save the most important data on another disk partition or on a flash drive so as not to lose them if problems arise.

Reinstallation (update) of Windows 7 is performed on top of the installed operating system without formatting the system partition. This saves user files and settings, as well as installed programs and their settings.

Attention! To reinstall the operating system, you must log in to it. You will need:

• installation disk
• product key
• free space on the system partition (no less than the Users folder in its root)

You can reinstall Windows 7 either directly from the installation disk or from the Control Panel item Backup and recovery. At the bottom of the main window you need to click the link Restore system settings or computer, then - Advanced recovery methods. These methods are:

• restoring the system from an image previously created using the backup function
• reinstalling the system, and it immediately indicates that an installation disk is required

Restoring the system from a pre-created image is described in the article Restoring data from backups and shadow copies in Windows 7. And here we will talk about reinstalling the system - in the Windows graphical interface this process is called an update. The new Windows 7 is installed on top of the current OS from the installation disk without formatting the system partition. As a rule, this method is recommended in cases where all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although this is a completely acceptable solution from a technical point of view.

If you run the update from a Control Panel item Backup and recovery, Windows 7 will carefully remind you that you need to back up your files before installation and will immediately prompt you to do so. This is a good idea and should not be abandoned. Upon completion of archiving, or if you refuse it, you will be prompted to insert the installation disk into the drive and reboot.

However, you can start the update in another way - just insert the installation disk and run setup.exe, and then in the window that opens, click the button Install.

In this case, Windows 7 will prompt you to download the latest updates - it is logical to install the updated system. Of course, an Internet connection is required.

If you choose to download the updates, the download progress will be displayed in the next window.

Once the updates are downloaded, the system will reboot and the installation process will begin. Once you accept the license agreement, you can select the license type.

• Update- This is an installation on top of an existing system. This saves user settings and files, as well as installed programs. All system parameters (for example, service configuration) are reset - returned to standard, as with a new installation of Windows.
• Full installation- this is a clean installation with formatting of the system partition, or installation on another partition of the hard drive.

The upgrade uses Data Transfer Tool.

It saves:

• user files and folders
• audio files, images and video files
• user accounts and settings
• program parameters
• Internet settings and files in your Favorites folder
• email settings
• contacts and messages

All files are saved to the same partition where the operating system is installed. During the reinstallation, a series of folders are created, in one of which Easy Transfer places these files. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

Then all this data is restored to the installed system, and the temporary folders are deleted. But before you see the desktop, you will need to go through a standard customization process called OOBE (Out of Box Experience) - enter your product key, set your language and region settings, etc. Once the update is complete, you will have a completely restored system , which saved your files, user preferences and settings of installed programs.

If you need to reinstall Windows and at the same time save your data, photos, etc., then all this must be copied to a safe place, which is another partition of your logical drive. There are two options - your system is working now, or the computer no longer starts. Let's look at both. I don’t consider the option of installing two Windows in one partition - inexperienced users end up with confusion and a clutter of files.

1. We look at what drive Windows is installed on (usually C:\), that is, we look where the “Windows” and “Program Files” folders are. Let's say on C:\.
2. On another drive, for example D:\, create a folder rezerv. And in it there are folders robstol, bookmarks, programs. (If you have one disk in your system, then you can save everything to a flash drive, or you can split the hard drive into disks .)
3. From the desktop we copy all our files to D:\rezerv\robskol.
4. If necessary, copy your bookmarks from Internet Explorer. Enable display of hidden files and folders. From the folder C:\Users\admin\Favorites, copy everything to D:\rezerv\bookmarks (this is for Windows 7). For Windows XP from the folder C:\Documents and Settings\admin\Favorites. Where admin is the name of your post, you may have something else. To save bookmarks from mozilla, you need to use the Mozilla BackUp program or go to the menu - bookmarks - import and backup - backup and specify where to write the file.
5. And now with the programs. Here everyone has their own, some can be copied, others cannot. For example, for 1C you only need to copy the database: when you start, a window pops up where you select the database, and below is the path where it is located. Now, if it is on a drive with Windows (ours is on C:), then it must be copied to drive D:/. Many programs have a backup option in the menu, and this is what you should use. I’ll just note that Word and Excel do not need to be backed up.
6. We save all our documents from the My Documents folder, they are located here C:\Users\admin\My documents for Win7 and C:\Documents and Settings\admin\My documents for Win XP are also on drive D:\rezerv\.
7. Insert the Windows installation disc and follow the installation wizard to install the new Windows. Just put it on the same drive where it was (ours is on drive C), when asked to format the partition, select quick formatting in the NTFS system. The process takes from 25 to 50 minutes, just carefully read the questions of the installation wizard.
8. After installation, we install the drivers we need (they are on the disk that came with the computer); if they are not there, I recommend using the automatic driver installation program.
9. We install the programs you need and from our backup folders D:\rezerv\... copy our saved data back to the appropriate folders. That's it, Windows is reinstalled without data loss.