Looking for a strategy..

....every few months things seem to go wrong. Nothing big. Just a little problem here and a little problem there. Eventually, the little things become a big thing and so I am forced to deal with it. In the past, I have done one of two things: Run the upgrade from the install disk or erase everything and reinstall completely. So I wonder if this has ever been the right way to go. Do I deal with each small problem individually or just continue the way I have always done it. Both of my strategies are a real pain and time consuming. But I am not that savvy to deal with these obscure problems that I face. For me, stability only lasts a few months or so. Eventually, I am spending more time fixing things than doing anything useful. So I guess my question is: How do I create stability?

prior to using Macrium.

Run sfc /scannow (x3), from an elevated command prompt
run chkdsk, from the search box
and this MS tool.
Download System Update Readiness Tool for Windows 7 for x64-based Systems (KB947821) [October 2014] from Official Microsoft Download Center
These 3 tools should repair any problems with the OS

Quite happy to look over the results, from (1,3) for you.

Roy

MeOnMine, I have a bit of a problem with images. Cloning a perceived "good working system" means cloning all those little things that created the problem in the first place. When you finally reach a point when the little things become big things, you are simply copying all the accrued mistakes. In other words, a clone of a clone of a clone is simply a collection of imperfections compounded over each generation much as a copy of a copy of a copy of an audio tape disintegrates. Correct me if wrong

Bear, thanks....It's the tiny, unoticeable things that concerns me. If you can't see them at first then they become part of the clone and each generation inherits the previous one until the Big One shows up. So, here is my list of things that have recently shown up:

iTunes no longer recognizes my phone
see attachment (I posted this in another area of the forum as well)
Upgrading from the original disk has failed many times. I don't know why.
Restore fails consistently
Media Center, BSOD when I try to go full screen

Just a few examples of impending chaos. I wish I knew more about computers and how to head these things off. Guess I'm just frustrated that correcting all of these things takes so much time.

If you are having all these problem then you have hardware issues. I've been running the same install of Windows 7 since 2011.
Changed Photoshop versions 3 times. Lightroom versions 3 times. Installed and removed Office 2000 after installing Office 365, updated Office 365 twice. Multiple versions of Virtual Box and VMWare player along with having the MS virtual machine and XP to run older programs.

Something is wrong with your hardware.

When he gets round to doing what i suggested, and following the Instructions for BSOD he might get some answers, and ill get it moved to the right sub-forum.

Roy