Things to do before and after reinstalling Windows OS?

Reinstallation of an operating system is something people are generally scared to perform. Most of the time, they forget to keep a backup of all the files and programs and feel completely blank after reinstalling the operating system. If you fall into this group, here is a list of tasks which would help you to deal with this great fear.

Back up all your files

Even though this may sound repetitive, this is the first and foremost thing you should do before trying to reinstall your Windows OS. Do a thorough analysis of all the folders where you are habituated to saving files. Copy all of them into an external hard disk. A failure to do so may end up in the loss of your valuable data since the folders like My Documents exist in the same folder where you would be installing the operating system.

Back up all your Windows settings and programs

Most of the software comes with an option to back up their settings. Take advantage of these options and copy all of them in any other device of your choice. This would be of great assistance to you when you reinstall the software.

Back up all the downloaded files

If you have the habit of saving all your downloaded files in your computer, it is a good idea to save them in any external device. It is highly recommended that you should save all your information in a partition where the operating system is not installed. This saves time and effort when you attempt to install your Windows OS.

Analyze your Windows partition options

If your Hardware has a lots of space and capacity, you just have a single partition; it is often advised that you should create multiple partitions. This would save you the trouble of repeatedly copying and pasting required files after reinstalling your Windows OS. You can even take advantage of the utility offered by the OS to create partitions from free space available in your computer.

Back up all your emails

The generally popular email clients like Microsoft Outlook stores all your emails in your computer. And a failure to keep a copy of them in another location is sure to deprive you of all that you have done in the past. If you feel that your information is incomplete or insufficient, you can always go for tutorials to do the same available online.

Prepare a list of all the programs you require

This might appear to be a bit daunting. However, the effort is worth making sure that you are not losing the benefits you enjoyed earlier from the programs you had before reinstallation. If you wish, you can avail tools designed for the purpose too.

Reinstall your Windows OS

Now that you have prepared a list of everything you need, you can go forward and proceed with the process of reinstalling the OS.

An opportunity to try out new applications

Reinstalling your Windows OS offers you an opportunity to experiment with great free alternatives for your favorite commercial versions of software. You can even experiment with cloud applications which offer the facility to back up your information online. The applications like Google Drive are great options for experimenting here. The programs like 7-zip Archiver are ideal alternative for its commercial counterpart offering great functionality in your attempts to compress folders and files.

Do a last-minute analysis

Before thinking of relaxing for a while, make sure that everything is well settled. You have successfully reinstalled, if you feel quite confident that your data is not lost and all the required programs are there in their respective locations as there were previously placed. That's not the only required thing to check though.

You can now relax feeling assured that your computer has a prolonged life span. Remember, reinstalling Windows OS requires your time. And the attempt to do it in haste is sure to be a decision you would definitely regret at a later stage.

About the Author:
Chetan Bhawani is a tech blogger, a web hosting analyzer who reviews the various web hosting services, one of them being the 1and1 hosting reviews and writes the various web hosting guides to people who want to learn more and decide on which would be the best hosting company to choose.