Where are all my programs?

[krisko09]

I recently had to uninstall/ reinstall windows on my laptop. I had backed everything up prior to and was able to find/get back all of my pics, music, docs, etc, but can't seem to find any of my programs (I.e., mcafee, microsoft office, etc).. please help!

 

[bobkn]

The short answer is that you can't back up installed programs.

You can make an image of the system, and use it to restore the condition of the PC to the time when the image was created.

I hope that you have installation media for all of the programs you need. If not, things may get awkward and expensive.

 

[Katherinez212]

Nothing to be done now.....

 

[kado897]

Regrettably unless you have an image to restore then no. However there are lots of free programs out there which may save you a lot of cash. Take a look at this link. http://www.sevenforums.com/software/215829-free-great-programs-windows-7-2-a.html

 

[DeaconFrost]

Unless you used a restore disc, you won't have any of those programs. If you used a plain vanilla Windows 7 disc, then you'll need to reinstall everything...which might be a blessing for you, if you previously were using Mcafee.

 

[henrywilliams]

I recently had to uninstall/ reinstall windows on my laptop. I had backed everything up prior to and was able to find/get back all of my pics, music, docs, etc, but can't seem to find any of my programs (I.e., mcafee, microsoft office, etc).. please help!

Windows can't back up installed applications what they can back up is only data files. You can re install these applications and I am sure you have kept their back up files.

 

[kado897]

I recently had to uninstall/ reinstall windows on my laptop. I had backed everything up prior to and was able to find/get back all of my pics, music, docs, etc, but can't seem to find any of my programs (I.e., mcafee, microsoft office, etc).. please help!

Windows can't back up installed applications what they can back up is only data files. You can re install these applications and I am sure you have kept their back up files.

Actually Windows can backup programs. An image of your OS partitions will backup everything on those partitions, Windows, programs settings and data.

 

[pparks1]

Unfortunately, you have discovered now why the use of imaging software has become so popular. The great news is that the programs are free and work well. The bad news is that you cannot take advantage of it now to get your old stuff back. But now that you are setting up again, you can use it going forward to prevent these problems from happening in the future.

 

[seavixen32]

I recently had to uninstall/ reinstall windows on my laptop. I had backed everything up prior to and was able to find/get back all of my pics, music, docs, etc, but can't seem to find any of my programs (I.e., mcafee, microsoft office, etc).. please help!

If you go to your laptop manufacturer's support site, you may be able to download backup copies of your pre-installed software.

Other than that you could ask them for a replacement recovery disc and reinstall everything from that.

 

[kado897]

Unfortunately, you have discovered now why the use of imaging software has become so popular. The great news is that the programs are free and work well. The bad news is that you cannot take advantage of it now to get your old stuff back. But now that you are setting up again, you can use it going forward to prevent these problems from happening in the future.

Unfortunately things like imaging are too boring for the vendors or Microsoft to push. It's even worse in Windows 8. The imaging apps are hidden away and described as Windows 7 legacy backup. Ho Hum.

 

[DeaconFrost]

Yes, I'll have to agree with henrywilliams. While I'm not discounting imaging programs in the least bit, having your application media or install files backed up should be a no brainer as well.

 

[bobkn]

Yes, I'll have to agree with henrywilliams. While I'm not discounting imaging programs in the least bit, having your application media or install files backed up should be a no brainer as well.

I agree, but it can be problematic if you have any significant pre-installed software on a prebuilt PC or laptop.

(My Compaq laptop, vintage 2008, came only with MS Works. As I had a separate Office license, I was happy enough to discard everything that came on the laptop.)

 

[Katherinez212]

[FONT=&quot]Have a look under this registry key for "rogue" entries
Default Programs - Remove a Listed Program
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Registered Applications
Then I hope you will back up the registry key before deleting/changing anything. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot] [/FONT]