Re-installing Windows XP

[Reave]

Hi. I'm currently considering wiping my computer and re-installing windows. only problem is that I have a tonne of games and applications that I don't want to have to reinstall (it would take forever) I was wondering if there was any kind of solution?

I've heard about "Ghosting Software" and that it can copy the contents of your computer onto a different drive. But wouldn't that also copy windows?

If possible I'd like to copy everything except windows. would that be possible?

thanks for any help in advance.


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Reave

[Sylvander]

"Ghosting Software"
1. There are various "imaging" programs ["Ghost" is one of those] that make "Image Backups" of chosen partitions .

2. An "Image" of the contents of a partition is typically saved to an image file on some storage media.
I like to save the image files to a folder on a partition on my external USB 2.0 connected HDD.

3. "I have a tonne of games and applications that I don't want to have to reinstall (it would take forever) I was wondering if there was any kind of solution?"
(a) You can't separate Windows and Programs because of the fact that the configuration settings for both of these are held in the registry, and I am unaware of any way to separate those settings.
(b) You could re-install Windows afresh, and selectively restore all the Program files from an image backup of all of the contents of the Windows partition...
But the new registry files of the new Windows installation wouldn't include any settings for the programs, so they wouldn't function...
(c) Or you could restore the old registry files that [I]would include the Program settings, but then it probably wouldn't match the new installation of Windows.

4. Possible solutions:
Assuming Windows XP:
(a) Perform a Windows XP Repair Install (http://www.michaelstevenstech.com/XPrepairinstall.htm).
This would fix Windows leaving untouched all your Programs and data files [the data files are best stored off the Windows partition anyway].

(b) The way I do it:
1) Move all the data files off C:
2) Non-destructively resize C: so there is only just enough free space on the partition.
3) Make a fixed-size paging file to fill a dedicated small [1 GB] partition other than C: [H: in my case].
4) Begin with a new, clean, chaos-free Windows installation on its partition and begin making images along the way as I build the software on C: [installing programs etc].
5) Keep a log written on loose-leaf A4 sheets of all significant changes [hardware & software].
6) If at any time I so much as suspect that all is not as it should be with the software...
I restore an image of C: to make the contents "jump back" to the way they were when that problem didn't exist.
The restored image must match the hardware to which it is being restored [any hardware changes put back to match].
7) A small but significant "tweak":
I have made a small 1 GB D: partition and moved all my personal data files to that.
e.g. My Documents, emails, address book, Firefox Profile, Internet Explorer Temporary Internet Files and Favourites, Desktop Folder, Password Vault Auto-backup files.
The necessary configurations are made to tell Windows and Programs where their files reside.
If I restore an image of C: the configurations included almost certainly point to the same locations, so no problem.
If they don't I'd need to restore a matched image of D:
That could cause a loss of emails etc, but to cover that I use SyncBack FREE edition working within Windows to make 2nd copies of all the contents of the data partitions [D: E: F:], so I can restore chosen files from those.