It's probably easier to do that, especially if you have a slipstreamed installation disk. That's what most pay-for-service places would probably do, because it's easy and relatively fast, compared with doing a comprehensive cleanup.

Most of the machines I've worked on (usually for free) are owned by people who don't have backups and stand to lose a lot of important (to them) pictures, music, etc. I value my friendships and don't mind going the extra mile to help them out. And you know what? My efforts are often repaid somewhere along the line. Call it Karma, if you're inclined. I just like to help and sometimes a kindness comes my way in return.

For my own machines, I've never done a format/re-install and have smooth-running, up-to-date, secure & malware-free machines. I work at keeping them clean and it's worth every second.

Plus, I'm an old retired guy, not a wealthy, young software magnate...

I use Macrium Reflect to take disk images.
I can recover the C: drive with all settings / drivers etc. in a very short time.

I keep a few old disk images and also have Macrium Reflect do an automatic image every week.

I have the operating system on C drive, all data on D drive and all programs on E drive.

Each day I have everything copied to a second Hard drive in the computer and each week copy everything to an external hard drive. For this I use SyncBackPro, which makes it very easy and reasonably quick to do. For me one day time lapse is OK but SyncBackPro can be set to do it whenever, also if needed can do versioning so if things are critical you could set it so you would only ever be out by about a minuet.

I know this does not stop viruses infections etc (for which I have other programs but with disk images even that is no problem as the recovery puts everything back as original.

I have tried lots of other imaging programs and backup/ synchronising programs but find Macrium Reflect and SyncBackPro the best in class

ohoh - someone clicked something they shouldnt have fixit time....

do you spend all your time reloading your software rather than working on it scott?

a windows home server thingy is kinda cute for easy backups...
<---- paranoid pixie has LOTS of backups

I have maybe 20 applications to install that I use on a regular basis, but I always keep the install files on a network drive. All my documents, photos and files are also on a remote drive. Really nothing is ever kept on the main drive except the applications themselves. This allows me at at time to format and not have to worry about loosing data because nothing is ever on the main drive.

Formatting for XP or Windows 7 takes about 30 minutes. Once the OS is installed, I just launch all EXE's that I want to install simultaneously and just click NEXT, NEXT, NEXT, and OK. That gets my systems back to exactly where I need it. I then let the system updates run in the background.

At least for me, this is easier then trying to debug a virus or malware infection.

Most of the time when something is wrong with a box, I pull the drive, plug it into my test box(second position), and run the tools on it. since the problem child is not booted.. it works pretty well. My test box isn't used for anything but a tool box, it is a 4 system multi-boot set up.

I've noticed that whenever my favourite computer mag does a test on antivirus suites, none of the programs found all of the malware on the test machines.
The best performing suites were Norton (98%) and Alvira free edition (98%).

Does that mean that no antivirus program can detect 100% of malicious stuff?
Add to that the inherent problem that malware has to infect at least one computer before it is "discovered", it's a wonder that systems (e.g. Scott's) manage to stay clean.


If you were as slovenly and disorganised as me in regards to running your system, you would live in fear of having to format and load everything in again.
I have a lot of stuff bought on-line requiring me to keep installation keys, passwords and the like*. And why can't Microsoft make Outlook backups easier and more intuitive?

Thanks for the tip on Macrium Reflect, Eno. I think I'll go that route.

*I shouldn't have this problem with the 3 CC programs of purchased to date, staying on top of and updating CoffeeCup software is dead easy.

Both Macrium Reflect and SyncBack do a free version and both do trial versions but the paid for versions of the programs are well worth getting for the extra benefits you get

Scott, dun mind, what programme is that that installs all your apps simultaneously?

Can you preload it with your choice of apps, or is it preloaded with it's own choice of app?

It doesn't preload, I just manually install the apps by launching the installers of all of them at the same time. Probably takes me about 5 minutes at the most to click all the NEXT buttons and complete the installation.

I have also used Ghost to make an image of my system so that you can make a perfect image of your system and restore it .

http://www.symantec.com/norton/ghost

That's the prevailing thought. Not so much that one can't as much as that one doesn't. Anything's possible. Nobody's yet created the infallible anti-malware tool.