Windows 7: Restoring Windows.old Folder After Win7 Reinstall

It is quite straightforward.



If it is the same o/s, you can just leave documents and settings link where it is.

Yeah sorry for the confusion. I've been dealing with major back pain the last few days and forgot all about the User folder and others that live at the Root of the disk.

In other words, "Never Mind".

Good Luck to the OP.

OW - that sounds unpleasant.

Hope it sorts itself out soon.

Yes very and Thank you. Just went to the Chiro today. Fingers Crossed ++++

I'm confused...I'm just starting with the first reply.

It's been delayed, but I'll go over there in the next few days.

Finally got over there last night.

She got the wireless working by using another Alienware disc that came with the thing, but I couldn't get the video working to show better resolution.

It insists that the laptop has a standard VGA adapter and a generic PnP monitor. She can only set one resolution, 1152x800-something (sorry, can't remember the second) and the screen looks stretched like watching 4:3 video on a 16:9 set.

I went into Device Manager, pointed to the Windows.old folder for both the monitor and the display, and all it would do is confirm that my current VGA adapter and Generic PnP monitor already had the latest versions.

Standard VGA is rarely any more than a placeholder driver given by installer.

Did you run all Important and Optional Windows Updates to completion after enabling Automatically get recommended drivers and updates for your hardware as advised in Post #2. The tutorial Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7 I gave you there shows all of the options to get the required drivers so I don't know why I'm having to repeat this.

If you browsed into windows.old Windows/System 32 file as advised and it won't pick up the driver, then go to the Dell Support Downloads webpage for your exact tag number or model to import the driver.

My apologies for leaving things out, and I didn't mean to frustrate you. I am posting these from home not near her computer, by memory, which is apparently not good enough.

I'm sorry, again.

I did run Windows Update, but only installed the important (not recommended) updates.

The important updates were Windows 7 SP1 and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. I can't remember what the 5 recommended updates were, but they didn't look like they had to do with the monitor or video drivers.

Next time I'm over there, I'll run the recommended updates, follow the instructions above and try to find my own way around the Dell downloaded drivers, which I already copied over by flash drive last time I was over there.

If that doesn't work, she's on her own. My apologies for being a difficult forum user.

So basically you ignored all of the steps in the tutorial to get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7

The first step provides you with the latest official installer with SP1 and tool to burn to DVD or write to flash stick. Instead you spent hours of extra time getting all the extra updates in SP1.

How drivers are handled couldn't be more specific that they come in on Optional Windows Updates - I am not going to repeat it all a third time just because you continue to ignore the actual way it 's done.

Why would you ask for advice then ignore the the Best Practices based on helping here with countless thousands of these reinstalls?

OK, I give up. I'll follow the links above and every step in exact order. I was trying to avoid wiping out what she has saved, and feared going that far and risking data loss (or the inability for that machine to backup to DVD or whatever) and I apparently don't know what the heck I'm talking about.

I feel insulted, and probably deserve it. No need to waste your time with me any further. Maybe there's a Windows 7 Help For Idiots forum that I'd fit with more.

I just knew this day was going to end up stinking.

As that English lady in black used to say on TV, "I am the weakest link...goodbye!"