Speed

[Master Po]

Hello friends.
Please tell me is it faster to use System Image Recovery or to install fresh Windows 7?

 

[iko22]

What make it faster? Windows install is shortest, therefore I say it faster. Windows image recovery from DVD is many DVD disks, I say this is very long. Windows image recovery from HDD or SDD, id say this the least painful, especially when your windows has other customizations and programs installed. Otherwise I not timed it side-by-side.

Why did you ask this question?

 

[Wandering one]

IIRC W7Sp1 takes me around 50 mins to install. Then the updates which may well be hours. A Macrium image of full system C drive from an external HDD / USB2, presently takes 32 mins.
Art.

 

[Ranger4]

IIRC W7Sp1 takes me around 50 mins to install. Then the updates which may well be hours. A Macrium image of full system C drive from an external HDD / USB2, presently takes 32 mins.
Art.

I agree with you 100%. Also after spending ages doing the Windows Updates, you also have to reinstall all your other software programs & get them activated, which can be a problem if you don't have their activation codes.

A properly made & tested backed up image is the way to go.

 

[BisVal]

First , for what reason You want to reinstall the PC - if You have some problems with viruses , slow performance etc. if You make backup image and use it , You just copy the problems to the new machine. In this situation I reccomend a fresh install.

 

[Wandering one]

"First , for what reason You want to reinstall the PC - if You have some problems with viruses , slow performance etc. if You make backup image and use it , You just copy the problems to the new machine. In this situation I reccomend a fresh install."

The way to do, is after spending hours / days installing OS including all updates, programs,drivers and any other misc goodies and checking the whole thing does what you want THEN you make an image. Label it properly, store it away on a seperate drive and hope you can find it when all else has failed.

Also a good idea to make and keep a series of 3 current copies (make new delete old) but keep your original one. Someday you may be very thankful.
Art.

 

[iko22]

There is one possibility, installing fresh Windows 7 on new motherboard or CPU. Installing fresh Windows 7 on new motherboard or CPU might be more feasible than recovering backup on the new hardware. Depending on the license you'd bought from Microsoft.

And another - Has anyone tried restoring their computer from a cloud backup service? How does this compare to local image recovery? How big was the image? 30 GB, 150 Gb, 500 GB, 1 TB?​