Reinstall windows 7 after losing data. Reinstall Windows without losing data

Pere Windows installation no data loss

This article will talk about preparing for a complete reinstallation. operating system Windows XP or Windows 7, about reinstalling the OS from hard formatting disk. It is the reinstallation of Windows with the destruction of the old operating system, with formatting hard drive, correct reinstallation, which allows you to bring the computer to its original state, the state that the computer had when it was purchased and the operating system was first installed. An important point such an OS reinstallation becomes preservation of all useful information from computer and reinstall Windows without losing data.

A complete reinstallation of Windows may be necessary if the operating system is damaged and your computer or laptop refuses to boot. Reinstalling the operating system is necessary if the computer slows down, programs run slowly, or the computer often freezes. All these symptoms can be caused by viruses, severe fragmentation of files on the hard drive, incorrectly installed or malfunctioning programs, errors in system registry operating system. It must be said that the symptoms listed above may not disappear when you reinstall Windows, since they may well be caused by other malfunctions in the computer. But, as a rule, reinstalling the OS helps cure them. If after reinstalling the operating system and completely formatting the hard drive, the symptoms do not disappear, then the computer malfunction lies in its hardware, and in order to fix it, you will have to diagnose the computer components and most likely replace the faulty part.

So, before reinstalling the operating system, it is necessary, as a rule, to save valuable information from the C drive to another medium that will not be formatted when Windows is reinstalled. It must be said that formatting a hard drive completely destroys the information on it, so it is imperative to save data from drive “C” to any other storage medium. It should also be noted that by default the operating system is usually installed on the “C” drive, but this does not always happen. But, be that as it may, valuable data must be saved from the system disk, a disk that will be fully formatted, a disk where the new operating system will be installed. Reinstalling the Windows operating system without losing data, This correct installation OS, which should be carried out by any emergency computer service.

It’s good if you have two on your computer hard drives or one, but divided into two logical drives, then the necessary information can be saved on the second drive, which will not be formatted during the installation of Windows. If there is no such disk in your computer, then the data can be written to a DVD/CD disk or to a removable HDD. If there is not much data, then it is quite possible to get by USB flash drive. All these manipulations with data on the computer are possible if the operating system boots, but what to do if Windows does not boot at all?

If your the operating system does not boot or the computer freezes at boot time, then you can try booting Windows in safe mode. In safe mode, some drivers and support programs for Windows operation are not loaded and therefore it is quite possible that the computer will be able to boot. To login securely Windows mode XP, when passing the BIOS test, press the “F8” key several times and press it periodically until the “Menu” window appears additional options Windows boot" In this menu you can select the section to boot Windows in safe mode - “Safe Mode”. After loading Windows XP, copy the necessary data. For Windows 7, proceed in the same way.



Choice safe mode Windows 7 downloads

If such a scheme does not work, then you can remove the hard drive from the system unit and connect it to another computer, and then copy the necessary information. This option is suitable if you know how to remove a hard drive and you have a work computer where this drive can be connected. If this is not possible or you don’t want to bother with removing the hard drive, then there is another way to copy data.

You can always try booting your computer from a Live CD.. Live CD is external media data on which the operating system is already installed. The data storage medium can be a CD, DVD disc or even a USB flash drive. To make a Live CD or Live DVD you need to download the image boot disk and unpack it, using, say, the Nero program, onto a CD or DVD disc. The image must be unpacked onto a CD, and not just copied as a file - this is important! IN Nero program There is such an item in “Nero StartSmart” - “Burn image to disk”. Use this item to burn a Live CD image to an empty disc. After creating a boot disk, just insert it into DVD drive and set the BIOS to initial boot from DVD. On most computers, booting from DVD is set to boot from DVD in the BIOS by default.


So, the important data has been saved, now you need to check whether there are drivers for the computer being restored. Drivers are a necessary thing for the operation of computer devices. Simply put, drivers are small programs that reside permanently in the computer's memory and help more complex programs use various devices computer, for example, games use a video card or sound card, various applications to use network card. Without correctly installed drivers, your computer will not function at one hundred percent, even after complete reinstallation Windows. The drivers may be on the CD that was in the box with the computer or laptop when it was purchased. If the drivers are lost, you can always download them from the laptop manufacturer’s website or motherboard Your computer. If your computer has a built-in sound and video card, then just download the driver for the motherboard. It will contain a complete set of drivers for all built-in devices. If the video card is structurally separated from the motherboard, then you need to download a separate driver for it.

To see what components are in your system unit It is enough to disassemble it and look at the names of the manufacturing companies and the names of the components directly on them. The list of installed devices can be viewed in the “Device Manager” directly in the Windows operating system itself. You can install a special program that will give full information about installed devices in computer. The last two methods are only possible before reinstalling the operating system, since they already use installed drivers to determine what hardware is in the system unit. From special programs“Everest” is quite suitable; it gives a full report on the installed devices on the computer.

Finding drivers before installing Windows useful in that you will immediately find out whether they are available for the operating system you are installing, since manufacturers do not always supply drivers for all operating systems. This is especially important if you are going to install Windows 7 instead of Windows XP, which was previously installed on your computer. Old components may not be available suitable drivers and accordingly installing Windows 7 on old computer become meaningless, since the computer will not be able to function at one hundred percent.

Reinstalling the Windows operating system is the last resort we resort to if we cannot restore normal operation of the OS using more humane methods. Not only does the reinstallation take quite a long time, but it also removes all programs installed on the system drive and custom settings. Is it possible to reinstall Windows without losing this data? Yes, you can, and in today’s article you will learn how to do it.

So, as usual when reinstalling Windows, we insert the disc with the system image into the DVD drive, but we do not reboot, but go to My computer, press right click mouse over the disk shortcut with Windows 7 and select Open, then find setup.exe in the list of files, run it and click Install. Installation file It’s better to run it in compatibility mode with Vista SP2, to do this, right-click on it and go to Properties, go to the tab Compatibility and check the appropriate box.

Now we need to go to Start>Control Panel>Backup and Restore>. Here we click on the item Restore system settings or computer and choose Advanced recovery methods.

In the next window, the system will offer us two recovery options; we are interested in the second - recovery using the Windows installation disk.

After selecting this Windows variant will do backup copy system files. Next, the computer will reboot and start from the installation disk (do not forget to first configure booting from disk in the BIOS settings).

During the reinstallation process, Windows 7 will ask for permission to receive the latest updates from the Internet.

Once all the updates have been installed, the computer will restart again and the installation process will begin. After accepting the license agreement, a window should appear in which we will need to select the first installation option - Windows update with saving parameters.

During the update process, all system parameters are reset, but user settings and installed program files are retained.

To save, use the data transfer tool.

When reinstalling Windows using the method described above, all user files and settings are moved to temporary folders, and at the end of the installation process they are restored to their original places in the system. As a result, we get almost pure Windows system 7, but with the preservation of all our important data.

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Reinstallation (updating) of Windows is performed on top of the installed operating system without formatting system partition. This saves your files and settings, as well as installed programs and their parameters.

As a rule, this method is recommended in cases where all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although in modern Windows this is a completely acceptable solution from a technical point of view. Often, it leads to the goal much faster than dancing with a tambourine.

Windows 10 owners automatically and quietly go through this process every time a new build is released, i.e. once every six months (insiders - much more often).

Windows Recovery Tools Comparison Chart

Due to the variety of Windows recovery tools, I have prepared a comparison table. In it you will find short description recovery methods and mechanisms of their work, as well as links to detailed articles about each of the means.

Reinstallation process

The process is identical for Windows 7, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10. You will need installation disk(download) and product key (Windows 7 and 8.1 only, as you can skip entering the key in Windows 10).

To reinstall the operating system using this method, you must log in to it. Upgrading 32-bit Windows to 64-bit is basically impossible.

Step 1 - Start reinstallation

Insert the installation disc and run setup.exe, and then in the window that opens, click the button Install.

Step 2 - install updates

Windows will prompt you to download Latest updates— It’s logical to install an updated system. Of course, an Internet connection is required.

If you choose to download the updates, the download progress will be displayed in the next window.

Step 3 - Select Installation Type

Once the updates are downloaded, the system will reboot and the installation process will begin. Once you accept the license agreement, you can select the license type.

  • Update- This is an installation on top of an existing system. Wherein are saved your settings and data, as well as installed programs. All system parameters (for example, service configuration) are reset - returned to standard, as when new installation Windows.
  • Full installation- this is a clean installation with formatting of the system partition, or installation on another hard section disk. Wherein are lost all your data and programs.

The upgrade uses Data Transfer Tool.

It saves:

  • all your files and folders
  • programs and their settings
  • user accounts and settings
  • Internet settings
  • email settings
  • contacts and messages

All files are saved to the same partition where the operating system is installed. During the reinstallation, a series of folders are created, in one of which Easy Transfer places these files. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

Then all this data is restored to installed system, and temporary folders are deleted. But before you see the desktop, you will need to go through standard process custom settings, called OOBE (Out of Box Experience) - create account, set language settings, etc.

Upon completion of the update, you will have a clean Windows, which, however, retains your files, user preferences, programs and their settings. After making sure normal operation, You can

Reinstallation (update) of Windows 7 is performed on top of the installed operating system without formatting the system partition. This saves user files and settings, as well as installed programs and their settings.

Attention! To reinstall the operating system, you must log in to it. You will need:

  • installation disk
  • product key
  • free space on the system partition (no less than the Users folder in its root)

You can reinstall Windows 7 either directly from the installation disk or from the Control Panel item Backup and recovery. At the bottom of the main window you need to click the link Restore system settings or computer, then - Advanced recovery methods. These methods are:

  • restoring the system from an image previously created using the backup function
  • reinstalling the system, and it immediately indicates that an installation disk is required

Restoring the system from a pre-created image is described in the article Restoring data from backups and shadow copies in Windows 7. And here we will talk about reinstalling the system - in graphical interface In Windows this process is called updating. New Windows 7 is installed on top of the current OS from the installation disk without formatting the system partition. As a rule, this method is recommended in cases where all other options for solving the problem have been exhausted, although this is a completely acceptable solution from a technical point of view.

If you run the update from a Control Panel item Backup and recovery, Windows 7 will carefully remind you that you need to back up your files before installation and will immediately prompt you to do so. This is a good idea and should not be abandoned. Upon completion of archiving, or if you refuse it, you will be prompted to insert the installation disk into the drive and reboot.

However, you can start the update in another way - just insert the installation disk and run setup.exe, and then in the window that opens, click the button Install.

In this case, Windows 7 will prompt you to download the latest updates - it is logical to install the updated system. Of course, an Internet connection is required.

If you choose to download the updates, the download progress will be displayed in the next window.

Once the updates are downloaded, the system will reboot and the installation process will begin. Once you accept the license agreement, you can select the license type.

  • Update- This is an installation on top of an existing system. This saves user settings and files, as well as installed programs. All system parameters (for example, service configuration) are reset - returned to standard, as with a new installation of Windows.
  • Full installation- this is a clean installation with formatting of the system partition, or installation on another partition of the hard drive.

The upgrade uses Data Transfer Tool.

It saves:

  • user files and folders
  • audio files, images and video files
  • user accounts and settings
  • program parameters
  • Internet settings and files in your Favorites folder
  • email settings
  • contacts and messages

All files are saved to the same partition where the operating system is installed. During the reinstallation, a series of folders are created, in one of which Easy Transfer places these files. The figure below shows how user profiles are migrated.

Then all this data is restored to the installed system, and the temporary folders are deleted. But before you see the desktop, you will need to go through a standard customization process called OOBE (Out of Box Experience) - enter your product key, set your language and region settings, etc. Once the update is complete, you will have a completely restored system , which saved your files, user preferences and settings of installed programs.

In the section on the question: how to reinstall windows 7 without losing data? given by the author Liza Kuznetsova ZF the best answer is Probably no way, you will have to sacrifice 1 disk or install a 2nd system

Answer from Rtrtrtr rtrt[guru]
I had to make copies onto a flash drive


Answer from Neurosis[active]
If you want to save personal files, put them on a flash drive or USB hard drive, as a last resort, burn everything you need onto CDs
But the programs probably won’t be saved.
For the future, if you don’t have 2 hard drives, divide the hard drive into 2 partitions. then in the settings make sure that your desktop and your documents are not on the system drive, then you can safely format system disk without fear of losing personal information.


Answer from Sedge[guru]
no matter what, any reinstallation requires formatting the disk.


Answer from cane[guru]
When I reinstall Windows, everything is saved on my second hard drive
and so I have everything on another hard drive.... and Windows is on a completely different one... .
If you have only one piece of metal, then there’s probably no way to save it....


Answer from Comrade Dynin[guru]
as normal - only with formatting


Answer from Golden eagle[guru]
Copy all important data from your computer or create a 2nd partition for data on your hard drive...


Answer from German Uvakin[newbie]
motherfucker lollipop subway


Answer from Young[guru]
Save everything you need and important on a CD or flash drive and reinstall it.


Answer from Yergey Zhdanov[guru]
You have a hard drive. It is usually divided into sections, such as: C, D, E... (click on the "Computer" icon on the desktop and you will see these sections). Logical partition C: - almost always has an operating system - the main ones now (Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7). So, in order not to lose any data from logical drive C: (on which your operating system is located), it is recommended that all stored data (music, movies, images, soft and...) be saved on any other logical disk, but not on C:!!!The logical partition C: will definitely be formatted ( complete removal all data) when installing another operating system, unlike other logical partitions (disks), on which all your information will be completely saved.
P.S. If you have bookmarks in your browser, write to me and I’ll teach you how to save them from loss. You will need to create synchronization with the server. Maybe something is written here in an incomprehensible language - I’ll explain in personal messages - otherwise, this material cannot be expressed in a nutshell.


Answer from Alexander Bagrov[guru]
If the hard drive is divided into several logical drives, then there are no special problems.
The main thing is that the data is not stored on the system logical drive (usually C). Or they need to be copied from there to other logical or physical drives.
Part of the data, if by data we mean bookmarks that were made different browsers, can be lost if you don't know where they are and how to copy them from there.
System logical drive Before installing W7, it is better to reset it completely. Just reset it, not format it, since formatting does not delete old data from the disk. This ensures that viruses, if any, are removed from it.
Removal is best done using the independent KILLDISK utility, after starting it from the DVD drive.
The link to download the disk image with this utility can be found below http pages: //savepcok. ru/All_FreeAV.htm (remove spaces)