Win7 new clean install

[scientificlee]

Hi,

I have a machine I built 3 years ago. It has a AMD 550 BE for CPU and a Raedon 5500 for graphics card. I have two hard drives in RAID0. It has Win7 Pro installed. The machine is used to play games; Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2.

Lately, the system has been really slow.

I want to try to do a clean re-install before building a new machine. I purchased Win7 directly from Microsoft so the install file is a executable.

a) Can I just click on the executable and do a clean install that will wipe out my partition and old data? I want to wipte out my old data. I already moved my old data to a removable HDD.

b) Can i just move over that parition if I decide to get an SSD?

 

[Hawkeye22]

a) Have you tried running the executable? You can always cancel it. It may just create a install media for you.

b) When moving from a hard drive to a SSD, it's recommended that you do a clean install. You can clone the partition to the SSD, but the OS will not be optimized for running on the SSD.

 

[chugot9218]

It is best to do a full install on a new SSD, if any files are split across to an HDD it will reduce your boot times because the OS has to go there. Find the windows recovery console, should be an option on boot, but I can't recall which it exactly is. Then, it will ask if you want to do a Recovery Install (which will keep your old data in a windows.old folder and only replace all the windows files, which may keep around whatever is causing you issues), or you can do a Destructive install which will completely wipe your HDD and give you a fresh clean windows install.

 

[X3773]

You need to load the Boot files you received from Microsoft on a DVD or a flash drive (needs to be at least 4GB). Then have your bios boot from that disk or flash drive. You then can do a quick format on the partition before you install. Since you are using RAID you may need the raid drivers for the install.


Not sure on what file you got from Microsoft, it might unpack the boot files or it is only an upgrade executable.


Since you are running Windows 7 Pro you can use the back up tool and restore onto the SDD. Its the fastest way and you wont see a decrease in speed from a fresh install if you are resorting to a SSD from a HDD.

 

[chugot9218]

Microsoft keeps the Windows install on a separate partition and can be accessed in the manner I described above. Just do a re-install from there, it is much easier.

 

[egilbe]

Hi,

I have a machine I built 3 years ago. It has a AMD 550 BE for CPU and a Raedon 5500 for graphics card. I have two hard drives in RAID0. It has Win7 Pro installed. The machine is used to play games; Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2.

Lately, the system has been really slow.

I want to try to do a clean re-install before building a new machine. I purchased Win7 directly from Microsoft so the install file is a executable.

a) Can I just click on the executable and do a clean install that will wipe out my partition and old data? I want to wipte out my old data. I already moved my old data to a removable HDD.

b) Can i just move over that parition if I decide to get an SSD?

So you are playing new games on a 3 year old computer that had entry level parts when it was new and you think it's the hard drive and Win7 that's making it slow?

 

[azurehobo]

Hi,

I have a machine I built 3 years ago. It has a AMD 550 BE for CPU and a Raedon 5500 for graphics card. I have two hard drives in RAID0. It has Win7 Pro installed. The machine is used to play games; Diablo 3 and Guild Wars 2.

Lately, the system has been really slow.

I want to try to do a clean re-install before building a new machine. I purchased Win7 directly from Microsoft so the install file is a executable.

a) Can I just click on the executable and do a clean install that will wipe out my partition and old data? I want to wipte out my old data. I already moved my old data to a removable HDD.

b) Can i just move over that parition if I decide to get an SSD?

Why not just download the ISO from Win7 Pro and reinstall from a burned DVD?

The DigitalRiver ones are from Microsoft themselves if I remember correctly I got mine here Still need your Activation Key though.

 

[scientificlee]

I want to try to do a clean re-install before building a new machine....

So you are playing new games on a 3 year old computer that had entry level parts when it was new and you think it's the hard drive and Win7 that's making it slow?

Not totally. Like I wrote, I'm using this exercise to create a baseline. The need to buy/build a new machine is a possibility I am considering.

 

[scientificlee]

Thank you very much everyone. I'm going to try to install everything tonight.

 

[scientificlee]

Thanks everyone. I did the install. Things are better.