OT - Period Windows 7 help

[Penners]

The Achilles’ heel with such methods is that the original cause of the problem may reside within the software of the imaged/copied/cloned backup.

I accept what you say, Lime, but having now run my restored system for some time without glitches, I'm reasonably confident that the problem was not software-based.

Your earlier assertion that the best way to deal with such matters is a full reinstall of Windows is, of course, the absolutely ideal situation. But in the real world it implies a lot of 'perfect' situations that may not exist. One in particular is, I think, the Achilles Heel of an unplanned Windows reinstallation - that is the device drivers.

Given your own state of knowledge of such things, you are perhaps religious in keeping backup copies of all device drivers used by your system, but I wonder how many people do this, or even know of its importance. The plethora of such drivers in a modern system can mean that the absence of even one of them can cause major problems. If you have only backed up your data, then a full reinstallation will require not just your Windows source disc and data backup copy, but the full availability of all device drivers, too. Yes, they're all available online, but in order to benefit from that you have to (a) know which drivers your system needs and where to find them, and (b) be able to get online to retrieve them.

Therein, in my opinion, lies the strength of system imaging.

 

[Lime]

For XP (and earlier) I agree, the lack of drivers can be a major problem.
However Windows 7 does a very good job of supplying non-microsoft drivers automatically.

they're all available online, but in order to benefit from that you have to (a) know which drivers your system needs and where to find them, and (b) be able to get online to retrieve them.

There is really no reason to worry.
Windows 7 does everything for you.
If the drivers are available it will install the correct ones automatically without you needing to do anything.
For almost all items it holds a stock of drivers and will go online to find an updated version too.

At least that has been my experience.

 

[Penners]

For almost all items it holds a stock of drivers and will go online to find an updated version too.

Provided the missing driver isn't one for your router or modem!

 

[Flyfisher]

I can't speak for Win7, though I'd certainly like to think its a big improvement as Lime describes.

Though personally, each time I've rebuilt a PC I've had to rely on having another working and online PC in order to ease the process.

 

[skier-hughes]

Windows 7 auto installed my lan drivers then went on line to search for others!

 

[Penners]

I don't deny that Windows 7 is a great improvement on earlier versions, in most respects - this one included.

I'm just saying that a full re-install without your device drivers is more prone to problems than with.