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Old 01-29-2014, 09:56 AM   #3109
m3thods
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Manic! View Post
I don't want to reformat if I don't have to because of the software and drivers loaded on it.
Ah gotcha. I just realized that it's an AIO.

So what I would do in your case would be to catalog all the downloaded programs you use and download the latest versions to put in a separate folder. Back that guy up (along with your personal stuff) and get that backup off the drive (USB, external hard drive etc).

Then revert to factory settings (which is a pseudo-reformat), optimize whatever you need to optimize. Install any Windows updates. Don't install any programs. When you have an updated factory settings, clone that. Once you get that clone backed up off the main drive (again, it's up to you where as long as it's off the drive), you can go ahead and apply the clone to your new drive.

That way if anything goes wrong, you know you're just dealing with factory settings + Windows updates and not anything you put on the drive yourself. Makes troubleshooting a million times easier.
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