Need tips to facilitate clean install of Win 7 and existing software

[SJMaye]

I have seen the great tutorial for doing a clean install. In this case I am looking for another tip. My computer is already Win7 with lots of software. Performance has come to a point I want to do a clean install and start all over.

The question? The Win7 install should be a piece of cake, but I think keeping track of all the software and reinstalling it can be a pain.

Do you guys have any tips to make this more organized or easier?

 

[alphanumeric]

I don't know if this helps but this is how I do it. These days I have everything on USB thumb drives. I start with windows 7 on a 4 gig. Then I swap that out for one with all my drivers on it. Usually I go Chip-set, Video, Sound, NIC, etc. Once my drivers are all installed I swap in the one with windows updates on it. DirectX, Dot Net Framework, Silverlight, Microsoft Security Essentials, etc. Then I move on to the common programs and apps. Flash, Java, etc. To keep things straight one option is to put numbers in front of the folder names like "1 -", "2 -", etc, in the order you want to install things.

 

[theog]

How to Do a Repair Install to Fix Windows 7
http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/3413-repair-install.html

 

[SJMaye]

I appreciate your thoughts and did just recently do a repair install on my other PC, but I really think I want to take this down, reformat and reinstall.

As for drivers and such I am not really worried about them. I am mostly concerned with reinstalling all the other software on the PC. What I did is run Belarc advisor to list all the programs. I will use that as a checklist for what i wanted to re-install.

I just thought there may be a more organized way.

 

[ignatzatsonic]

I take screen shots of my C drive programs folder to remind me what I have installed. I go online and download the latest versions of each entry in program files that is available for download. For the few programs that I have in CD or DVD form, I make sure I have the product keys written down and easily accessible.

 

[SJMaye]

I take screen shots of my C drive programs folder to remind me what I have installed. I go online and download the latest versions of each entry in program files that is available for download. For the few programs that I have in CD or DVD form, I make sure I have the product keys written down and easily accessible.

Seems pretty similar to what i am doing. Belarc even shows the software keys for many of the programs. Provides a pretty thorough list.

Thanks for the ideas.