How to safely Reinstall Windows 10

[Rahmat Baghdadi]

These last few updates for Microsoft Windows 10, were a bit loose, to put it mildly. I always try to fix every bug/problem, but sometimes Windows can be a little too much, even for the most elites of nerds.

So on this topic, I like to share my take on doing a "Fresh Install" of Windows 10 with the least risk of losing any data.

• I categorize any data into two groups:

1- Personal Data: Like videos, pictures, files downloaded, and the likes.

2- Application Data: Any user settings applied to any application. For example, your work environment in Adobe Photoshop or Internet Download Manager.

• "Fresh Install" means deleting any data on Operating System's Partition (usually C:\) and installing Operating System from scratch. So we only lose data that are on that partition. To avoid that, make a backup!

 

Step1: Back it up!

First, let's selectively create a list of important directories:

A) Personal Data: if you use Windows Libraries, they will store your data in this location by default:

%UserProfile%
For example: "c:\users\pgdarkness\"

Whatever you put on your desktop will also be there.

Then you might want to check the root of C:\ too to make sure someone accidentally didn't put anything there. Look for unusual folders.

B) Application Data: Depending on how an application handles user settings and files, there are two main directories:

%AllUsersProfile%
For example: "c:\programdata\"

%AppData%
For example: "c:\users\pgdarkness\appdata\roaming"

Some programs might leave your files in other places too. For example, if you are a web developer and use "WAMP"; you might want to make a backup of "c:\wamp\www" or "c:\wamp64\www" too.

So we end up with this Directory List:

• c:\users\{your username} (remember to repeat this folder for every user account in your Windows)
• c:\programdata
• Any other folder in root, for example, c:\wamp64\www or c:\pictures from thumb drive

Pro tip: What we are going to do next is to make a copy of these folders. But remember recovering your data afterward might introduce some challenges. Especially if you want to recover, for example, your list of unfinished jobs in Internet Download Manager. If you are not comfortable with diving into some weird folders and finding your data, I recommend you back these kinds of data up, using tools provided in those applications.

 

Second, let's back them up. For this, Windows 7 Backup tool is perfect. To run it in Windows 10, follow these steps:

Windows Settings > Update and Security > Backup > Go to Backup and Restore (Windows 7) > Setup Backup

• Select where you want to save your backup
• Let me choose
• Navigate and mark every folder in our list
• Save settings and backup now

It might take minutes to finish the process, depending on your hardware. After it finishes, navigate to your Save Location and make sure the backup file is there, you should see the name of your PC with a weird backup icon. Like this:

 

Step 2: Fresh Install

Windows 10 comes with a handy tool to reinstall itself. Follow these steps:

Windows Settings > Update and Security > Recovery > Reset this PC > Get started

• Remove everything
• This process can wipe your storage clean, so Make sure these settings are chosen:

1. Just remove your files. This is quicker, but less secure.
2. Remove all files only from the drive where Windows is installed.

• Reset

 

I managed to recover my wife's Royal Revolt 2 profile, my own FileZilla client Site Entries, some of my game's save files and etc.

[Stu_Bear]

Thanks for the info.