Efficient Formatting – Windows
Having been in the IT techie game for some time, I’ve lived through some pretty hairy formats where data has been forgotten, excluded or just plain ignored, all at the client’s expense. To this end, I’ve developed my own little formula over the years when it comes to doing this.
1. Make a checklist of your programs
This may sound silly at first, but make yourself a checklist. The easiest way to start this list, is by opening your Start menu and moving from top to bottom. I will use my machine as an example. Go through your start menu and list everything you need and everything you want on a reinstall. Leave out anything you don’t want or need. Below is my list.
- Adobe Reader
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Mozilla Firefox
- Windows Live Mail
- 7-Zip
- Air Video Server
- BlackBerry Device Manager
- Dropbox
- Evernote
- FileZilla FTP Client
- GIMP
- Google Chrome
- Google Talk
- Handbrake
- iTunes
- K-Lite Codec Pack
- MediaMonkey
- Microsoft Headset
- Microsoft Mouse
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Microsoft Rich Tools
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express
- MySQL Workbench
- Notepad++
- OpenTTD
- Picasa 3
- PuTTY
- QuickTime
- Skype
- Speccy
- Sun VirtualBox
- Torchlight
- WebEx Recorder and Player
- Windows Virtual PC
- WinSCP
- X-Lite
So that’s quite a list, however this covers me in all aspects of the software I use.
2. Break your checklist down
This is starting to sound like work, isn’t it? You will thank me later… Following this process and getting to know what you want on your PC will allow you to reinstall in a fraction of the time it would have taken, the best part is you can keep the list and use it again at a later stage.
So following on, we need to break the list down. I break my software list into three aspects;
- Downloadable and free software
- Software that contains my data
- Proprietary software
Downloadable and free software
For the downloadable software, in general this is free software or software I have bought a license for etc. Going from the list above, the downloadable list would be as follows;
- Adobe Reader
- Microsoft Security Essentials
- Mozilla Firefox
- Windows Live Mail
- 7-Zip
- Air Video Server
- BlackBerry Device Manager
- Dropbox
- Evernote
- FileZilla FTP Client
- GIMP
- Google Chrome
- Google Talk
- Handbrake
- iTunes
- K-Lite Codec Pack
- MediaMonkey
- Microsoft Headset
- Microsoft Mouse
- MySQL Workbench
- Notepad++
- OpenTTD
- Picasa 3
- PuTTY
- QuickTime
- Skype
- Speccy
- Sun VirtualBox
- WebEx Recorder and Player
- WinSCP
- X-Lite
Please excuse the fact that it is almost an identical list, most of the things I use are all readily downloadable. From this point, the idea is to go to each piece of software’s website and to download the latest version of the software, saved on a flash disk or DVD. This will ensure that you do as little automatic updating as possible post-install.
Tip: For software that uses a downloader to install, generally there will be an “Administrator”, “Network” or “Business” edition available as well. Download this instead of the installer. This allows you to have a copy on hand, as well as the fact that these editions generally leave out all the free toolbars and other vacuous crap that come with the sponsored download. Skype is a prime example of having a business edition available (Skype thankfully is not an example of bundling software with the downloader, they get it right).
Software that contains my data
Go through your list and see what you do with each piece of software. If it is a viewer of some kind, like Adobe Reader, leave it out, however if is is something that contains your own data, for example my photos in Picasa, put it on this list (you can leave out anything that stores files online or in a cloud, Dropbox and Evernote for example). From the list above, I use the following software for the following reasons;
- Mozilla Firefox – Browsing and saving bookmarks
- Windows Live Mail – Email
- FileZilla FTP Client – FTP Logins
- Google Chrome – Browsing and saving bookmarks
- iTunes – Purchased iPad applications
- Microsoft Office 2007 – Documents
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express – Databases
- OpenTTD – Saved games
- Picasa 3 – My photos
- Sun VirtualBox – My VM’s
- Torchlight – Saved games
- Windows Virtual PC – My VM’s
From the reasons next to the software, I can easily work out what data of mine I need to back up, often the programs themselves allow you to do so. Basically I can see from the above that the following needs to be backed up from how I use my computer.
- My Bookmarks
- My Emails
- My FTP Credentials
- My iTunes applications
- My Documents
- My Databases
- My Photos
- My Virtual Machines
- My Saved games
If you noticed a pattern in the above, then that is a good thing. In Windows, it’s very easy to backup most of your stuff by simply backing up anything with a “My” in front of it. All of the above can be easily backed up either from the corresponding “My” folders on the hard drive, or through the application itself (Chrome and Firefox are prime examples). Email outside of Microsoft Outlook can get kind of tricky to transfer, but that’s another topic for another time.
Proprietary software
This is software that you generally would own, and would most likely be on its own media. All that you need to do here is ensure that you have the CD’s/DVD’s on hand and off you go.
- Microsoft Office 2007
- Microsoft SQL Server 2008 Express
Tip: To save on your time spent updating, hop online and download the latest service packs for each piece of software, particularly those from the Microsoft stable.
Note: Some proprietary software comes pre-installed on your machine. If you do not have your media from purchasing your machine, contact the reseller and/or manufacturer to discuss the way forward for your format.
3. Back up all folders starting with a “My”
Following on from the second section, go into the users’ folder (either Document & Settings or Users, depending on which version of Windows you are running), and copy any “My” folders that have not been backed up already. A prime example of this from this article so far, is that nowhere have I mentioned “My Music”. Once you have backed this up you are pretty much good to go.
4. Format the PC and re-install
Pop your Windows disc in and follow the instructions. When you are done, insert any driver discs that you require loading, these would have come with your PC. In the case of Windows 7, drivers have been greatly simplified and should download automatically just after installation.
5. Reload downloaded software
Grab the initial list you have and start moving through one by one, installing each one of the packages you have already downloaded. Note how quick the installation is going now.
6. Reload proprietary software
Pop in the discs for your proprietary software and follow their installation procedures, once they have finished, install any service packs you may have downloaded earlier.
7. Restore your data
All the items you backed up from the “My” section can now be restored, as well as anything else garnered from the “My” exercise above.
8. Get to use your PC two hours after hitting the format button
No need for an explanation here, point 8 says it all…
So that about covers a relatively efficient methodology for re-formatting a PC, perhaps it becomes a mainstream standard, or perhaps one little store adopts it, either way I hope it helped someone.
Best part is, if something goes wrong shortly after the re-install, you already have relatively recent copies of all the software and can reload quickly. A much better method would be to create an image directly after, however this, as with backing up mail, is another topic for another time.
Enjoy your format!
