windows 7 restore

I recommend you keep a number of images across a period of time.
I keep
1) an early image with my current licensed software installed.
2) Keep an additional image to 1) when you add a significant piece of paid software.
3) Keep ~ 3 images over the last month or two.

This is a practical way to quickly get going again even when your internal HDD fails.
If you have licensed software and / or just a customized configuration, a Clean Install can be a real time consuming nuisance.

I have found on a number of occasions running system repair can take a very long time only to fail to fix a fault.

A clean install is always the best option if an image from a good third party imaging program was not created in the first place.

How did you try to restore the Desktop? By an image that was created by the Windows imaging utility?

wanchoo said:

A clean install is always the best option if an image from a good third party imaging program was not created in the first place.

How did you try to restore the Desktop? By an image that was created by the Windows imaging utility?

You simply reimage. I have reimaged using Windows imaging 30+ times. You get the desktop the way it was when it was imaged.

If you wish to use a third party imaging package then by all means do so. I find
- Macrium is solid and I use it
- Acronis apparently does a fiddle with your registry which can cause problems if you wish to also use Windows imaging.
- Paragon ?????

If you want the hours of effort that a clean install often involves and it makes you feel better then do it.

mjf said:

Acronis apparently does a fiddle with your registry which can cause problems if you wish to also use Windows imaging.

See here: Windows backup

seavixen32 said:

mjf said:

Acronis apparently does a fiddle with your registry which can cause problems if you wish to also use Windows imaging.

See here: Windows backup

I'm not sure why my comments are highlighted and underlined for (I repped you for this since I don't follow Acronis quirks). In the context a specific reference wasn't called for.
But if you want detail the specific actions of the OP provides a little more plus confirmation that it works.
Windows backup

whs said:

I have found that the time taken to clean install Windows 7 is hardly 20 to 25 minutes

Your system must be on some kind of wonder drug. I is true that running the installation disk takes only 25 minutes. But then you get updates during at least 2 days, have to install a lot of programs (about 50 in my case) some of which take hours to download, have to make all the system and program settings.

Bottom line: the whole process takes about 3 elapsed days with about 10 hours of work.

Absolutely!
If you are running expensive software like Photoshop it assumes the deactivation process works smoothly. If not you could have a real headache.

mjf said:

seavixen32 said:

mjf said:

Acronis apparently does a fiddle with your registry which can cause problems if you wish to also use Windows imaging.

See here: Windows backup

I'm not sure why my comments are highlighted and underlined for (I repped you for this since I don't follow Acronis quirks). In the context a specific reference wasn't called for.
But if you want detail the specific actions of the OP provides a little more plus confirmation that it works.
Windows backup

I do apologise for the misunderstanding, but I PM'd Shawn with a view to getting the Windows Image Backup thread updated.

He felt that Acronis would probably release a fix and there was little point in updating the tut, so in my wisdom I posted the comment as a way of highlighting the problem.

No sleight was intended so sorry if you felt you were.