Re-installing programs after clean Vista install

Has anyone found a way to reliably image an entire hard drive onto a second
drive, then reformat the first drive, install Vista there, and restore all
data files AND programs from the second drive back onto the first drive?

I'm trying to find some way to avoid re-installing all settings, user
accounts and apps (plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) after a reformat and
clean install of Vista, in an upgrade from Windows XP Professional. (That's
assuming a reformat is needed to get a really good clean install of Vista.)

Norton Ghost? Acronis? Any thoughts would be welcome.

Acronis True Image 11 Home
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing...age/index.html

Download Acronis True Image 11 Home 15 days trial
http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing...oad/trueimage/

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

---------------------------------------------------------------

"Dan Richman" wrote:

Has anyone found a way to reliably image an entire hard drive onto a second
drive, then reformat the first drive, install Vista there, and restore all
data files AND programs from the second drive back onto the first drive?

I'm trying to find some way to avoid re-installing all settings, user
accounts and apps (plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) after a reformat and
clean install of Vista, in an upgrade from Windows XP Professional. (That's
assuming a reformat is needed to get a really good clean install of Vista.)

Norton Ghost? Acronis? Any thoughts would be welcome.

Hi, Carey
Yes, Acronis True Image can probably do the first part of what the OP
wanted -- to create an exact image of one drive on another drive.

But that does not help at all with with what the OP really wants to
accomplish:
> I'm trying to find some way to avoid re-installing all settings, user
> accounts and apps (plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) after a reformat
> and
> clean install of Vista, in an upgrade from Windows XP Professional.

Or maybe you know of a way to copy all the settings, user accounts and apps
(plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) from the backup image and merge them
into the clean installation of Vista? Could you explain how you would do
this?

-Paul Randall


"Carey Frisch [MVP]" <> wrote in message
news:6D096225-827F-47A1-AB87-...
> Acronis True Image 11 Home
> http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing...age/index.html
>
> Download Acronis True Image 11 Home 15 days trial
> http://www.acronis.com/homecomputing...oad/trueimage/
>
> --
> Carey Frisch
> Microsoft MVP
> Windows Shell/User
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
> "Dan Richman" wrote:
>
> Has anyone found a way to reliably image an entire hard drive onto a
> second
> drive, then reformat the first drive, install Vista there, and restore all
> data files AND programs from the second drive back onto the first drive?
>
> I'm trying to find some way to avoid re-installing all settings, user
> accounts and apps (plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) after a reformat
> and
> clean install of Vista, in an upgrade from Windows XP Professional.
> (That's
> assuming a reformat is needed to get a really good clean install of
> Vista.)
>
> Norton Ghost? Acronis? Any thoughts would be welcome.

No!

"Dan Richman" wrote:

> Has anyone found a way to reliably image an entire hard drive onto a second
> drive, then reformat the first drive, install Vista there, and restore all
> data files AND programs from the second drive back onto the first drive?
>
> I'm trying to find some way to avoid re-installing all settings, user
> accounts and apps (plus patches, upgrades, ad nauseum) after a reformat and
> clean install of Vista, in an upgrade from Windows XP Professional. (That's
> assuming a reformat is needed to get a really good clean install of Vista.)
>
> Norton Ghost? Acronis? Any thoughts would be welcome.