I find myself downloading Putty, VLC, Firefox and a multitude of other applications each time I install. The ones I downloaded the last time around are easily outdated.

It is important to grab the latest and greatest versions to protect against bugs or other issues with the software. So you have a list of 10 items you need to download and install. Wouldn’t it be MUCH easier if we could select these applications from  a list or website and have IT download and install my applications?

It sure would be! And now we will show you how you can do just that! Head on over to Ninite and once you are there it will be a breeze to get the applications you want on your system with a limited amount of clicking. (Note: Ninite currently works only on Windows PCs)

Once you hit the installer app site you will see a screen that looks like this:

Under the instructions you will see applications and check boxes. You can install from a vast array of applications ranging from Skype to Firefox, Dropbox to Google Earth and back to Putty and Notepad ++.  You will see the applications broken up into categories that include Web Browsers, Messaging, Imaging, Documents, Anti Virus, File Sharing, utilities, compression, tools and other items. The list is quite extensive but if something is not there you can suggest it!

Let’s run through the list and check the check box next to each item you want to download.  If you want FoxIt reader installed simply click the box next to it – it is that simple. When you are done selecting the items you want in your installer app, scroll all the way down to the bottom of the screen.

You will see directly under the entry for Eclipse there is a grey button that says – Get Installer. All you need to do is hit this button and a custom installer app will be created for you on the fly so you can install all of these packages with ease. I selected 3 items and hit Get Installer.

The screen changed and told me the download would start shortly – I can only imagine they are compiling your download at this point. And sure enough in about 1 minute another window popped up.

My new installer app was ready to be downloaded and installed. I clicked Save File and Firefox saved the file to my normal download folder. I navigated through the jungle that is my hard drive and double clicked on the executable. The file’s name has all of the applications listed that you selected. That’s nifty!

Once I ran it it started preparing to run which took about 30 seconds.

Then the application started downloading my installers at the speed of light. The three of them were complete in under 1 minute.

As soon as the downloads were complete Ninite started installing each of the applications silently. I saw NO prompts. Very cool!

And as quick as it started – it was complete.

Upon checking my start menu all of the applications I choose were installed with the newest versions. This is a very handy tool!

Does anyone else use something like this on Windows? We would love to hear about it in the comments!

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The Recovery Console is a special command-line interface for Windows XP which allows an administrator to identify and locate drivers and files which are problematic, as well as troubleshoot system settings. It’s recommended by Microsoft only for advanced users (in other words, that nerdy kid down the block), and only when Safe Mode (pressing the F8 key at boot-up) is not working.

To install the Recovery Console, you will need your Windows XP CD. The version of Windows XP on the CD must match or surpass the version installed on your PC, thus a Service Pack 3 disk is recommended. If you don’t have one, try to borrow one from a friend or co-worker. If you can’t find one, you can download setup disks or disk images from Microsoft.

For demonstrative purposes, we’ll assume that you have a Windows SP3 CD loaded into your CD drive at drive-letter D:

To install the Recovery Console, follow these steps (lifted from this Knowledge Base article):

1. Insert the Windows XP CD into the CD-ROM drive.
2. Click Start, and then click Run.
3. In the Open box, type d:\i386\winnt32.exe /cmdcons  where d is the drive letter for the CD-ROM drive.

   

4. A Windows Setup Dialog Box appears. The Windows Setup Dialog Box describes the Recovery Console option. To confirm the installation, click Yes.

   

5. Restart the computer. The next time that you start your computer, “Microsoft Windows Recovery Console” appears on the startup menu.

The black screen with white text can be intimidating, but if you’ve ever played with the command line, you should feel right at home here. If you need help, just type “help”, and optionally, the name of the command you’re curious about, like “help fixmbr”.

I’ll run down the highlights of what commands you’ll most likely use:

“Bootcfg” recovers the Boot.ini file.

“Chkdsk /r” looks for bad disk sectors and attempts to recover any information which can be read from them.

“Copy” copies a file to a target location.

“Delete” deletes one file.

“Disable” disables a Windows system service or driver.

“Enable” restarts a disabled service or driver.

“Diskpart” manages hard disk partitions. Be very careful using this!

“Expand” decompresses a compressed file. This is good for getting files off the installation CD if needed.

“Fixmbr” repairs the boot code on a hard-disk. If your operating system “cannot be found” you’ll likely use this command, along with little brother “Fixboot”.

The Recovery Console is scary but helpful, and you’ll be glad that you’ve installed it on your hard disk before Windows gives you any trouble. If you have any system recovery tips, please leave comments below.

Image credit: Paul Boxley

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Windows Post-Install Wizard allows you to take care of such situations and automatically install all the software that you would like to install on a fresh install with a minimum of input. There are a few steps involved in getting it to work as we shall see:

• Download and extract the package to a location of your choice.
• Let’s start by adding the applications you need to be installed, post-Windows installation. You must download the applications and save the setup inside the “WPI\Install” folder which can be found under the location where you extracted the contents of the download from step 1.



• Now run the WPI.hta file. This will launch a HTML application. Click on the config button to enter the configuration section. This is where we will build the script to install all the software that we require, automatically.
• Click on the ‘add’ button and fill in the appropriate details in the ‘Description’ tag at the bottom. Enter the name, description and install order. UUID gets filled automatically, choose “Default” if you want the current application to be included in the default set of apps available during installation. Choose a category under which the current application should appear, should the user want to choose the applications to install.



• Now hop over to the command tab. Click on the “Add” button towards the right. A command section appears at the bottom. Click on the folder icon to browse for the setup file. This will fill in the command section automatically with the required path. Now you need to add any switches that you want to run the installation program with. A common switch used in slipstreamed or unintended installs is the /s or /silent or -quiet switch. This suppresses all questions and proceeds with the default install of the application. You might have to search for the switches available for the particular application that you are working with!



• Add in any dependencies, in the ‘Dependencies’ tab. A common example is software that requires the .NET framework. In such cases you would not want to install software that depends on the .NET framework to be installed without the user checking the .NET framework entry first. Such conditions can be specified from within this tab.
• Select ‘Save’, add other applications or choose ‘exit’.

Now that you have configured your script, next comes the task to include it on your Windows installation disc or as a standalone disc that you can run during the installation of the post installation after booting on to the desktop. WPI has plenty of options to help you achieve this, best of which (because its ready made) is the $oem$ folder that you can download from the WPI site and place it on your installation disc. This is the structure we are looking to achieve on your final installation disc:

With this done, use something like nlite, vlite or the MakeISO tool that you can download from the WPI download section to make the disc bootable. Pop it in and sit back and watch your system being configured according to your needs. WPI also offers advanced options you can use to customize the look of the installer and even playback some music while it’s doing its thing!

Since you can run almost any command using WPI, it is also an excellent way to apply some tweaks that you had before formatting and you would like to include in the next install. It is always a good option to check your newly created disc on a virtual machine before you try to go all ballistic and format your computer. You might be able to find a quirk or two and fix them.

You might be also interested in a couple of alternative ways to do the same thing as recommended by other MakeUseOf authors.

- How To Reinstall Windows Without Losing Your Data
- How To Create An Unattended Windows XP Disk

Do you know of any other tools to accomplish similar tasks? Have you built your own custom install CD? What did you include? Share in the comments!

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During the installation you will be prompted if you wish to use the recovery console to repair a Windows installation. The recovery console is rather limited in its use, so just press the Enter key to proceed with the installation as you would normally.

Press F8 to continue past the Licensing Agreement.

The next screen should display a prompt asking you if you wish to repair an existing installation.  Select your Windows installation (most likely it is the only one) and press R.

This will begin the repair and reinstallation of Windows. The installation will copy files to the hard drive, reboot the system, and then proceed just like a normal installation. Follow the prompts just as you normally would any normal Windows installation.

When the installation completes, you should still be able to access all of your documents and installed programs.

Full Windows Reinstall Without Loosing Data and Programs

I personally prefer to perform a full clean reinstallation of Windows. With the clean install, the hard drive is formatted and programs are reinstalled. If you want to use this method, you can use the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard (AKA FAST).

To use FAST, you first have to run it from the old Windows installation. Click Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.

Tell FAST that you are on the Old Computer, then click Next.

Finally, select the location where you would wish to save the files.  Portable USB drives were born for stuff like this.  Be warned though, the drive may not be big enough.  Another option would be to save the settings somewhere on your hard drive first, and then move them over to multiple USB drives or burn them to CDs/DVDs.

Click Next, and wait for the files to be copied. If you have a lot of data, it may take quite a while for the process to complete.  Once it has completed, your settings are ready for the new installation.

Once you’ve reinstalled Windows, launch FAST just as you did initially to save your settings:

Start > All Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.  Click Next. This time when prompted which computer you are using, select New computer. Click Next.

The following screen will ask you if you have a Windows XP installation CD for creating a wizard disk.  A wizard disk can be used for loading settings from another computer. In this case, a wizard disk is not necessary since the files have been saved to another location.

Select I don’t need the Wizard Disk. I already have collected my files and settings from my old computer. Click Next to proceed.

Finally, you will be prompted for the location of the files and settings. Select the Other radio button and browse to the location where you saved the files and click Next.

The files and settings will then be copied to the new computer. You may want to install all of the same programs you had on the old computer that you intend to use, before you run FAST. This will help to ensure that your settings will work properly with them.

What tools do you use to reinstall Windows without losing data?

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When you proceed with an unattended installation, you do still have to manually select the drive where you wish to install Windows (during the blue screen portion of the setup). However, once you’ve done that and started the installation you can walk away, grab a cup of coffee, eat some french toast, brush your teeth, check the weather, and by the time you get back you’ll see your new Windows XP desktop.

To create an unattended disk, you will of course need a Windows XP installation disk. You will also need to download nLite. nLite is a free program that allows you to create customized XP installation disks. Customizations you can perform include the integration of service packs, Windows updates, addition of drivers, preselection of installation options, preselection of components to install, and even more.

As a first step to unattended windows setup reference, you will need to get the latest Windows XP updates for your installation disk. Which updates you will need depends on how old your installation disk is. If you have a very old disk, you may need to download service pack 3 in addition to the updates that have taken place since the release of service pack 3. In the installation instructions below, you will learn how to find out whether or not Service Pack 3 is included on your installation disk.

Launch nLite, select your language, and click Next. Click the browse button to navigate to your the location of your installation CD. You will then be prompted for a location on the hard disk to store the files for processing. Select where you want to store the files and wait for the files to be copied.

Once the files have completed copying, nLite will detect what version of Windows XP is on the installation CD. If it says the installation has Service Pack 3, then you will not need to download the service pack. Otherwise you can download the service pack here. Proceed to the next step.

Since this is the first time you’ve run nLite, you will not have any presets. Just click Next to advance to the Task Selection page. On the task selection page, select Hotfixes, Add-ons, and Update Packs, Unattended, and Bootable ISO. If you had to download Service Pack 3 because you have an older version, select Service Pack as well.

If you are feeling adventurous, you can also include Drivers, select Components for removal, select Options, and Tweaks as well. These are more advanced options that will not be discussed in this particular How-To. Click the Next button to proceed.

If you need to integrate Service Pack 3, you will advance to the Service Pack page. Select the location of where you downloaded Service Pack 3. Once you’re done, click Next to advance to Hotfixes, Add-ons, and Update Packs.

Click the Insert button (in nLite, not on your keyboard) and navigate to the location of the update pack. Click Next to proceed to the Unattended settings. In order to avoid any interaction with the installation (other than selecting/formatting the hard drive in the blue screens), you will need to update the following:

• General Tab: Set Unattended Mode to Hide Pages
• General Tab: Enter your Product Key
• Users Tab: Password for the Administrator login (or check Blank password)
• User Tab: Add a new User and set the password (or check Blank password)
• User Tab: Set the Autologon to the new user you just added
• Owner and Network ID Tab: Computer Name
• Owner and Network ID Tab: Workgroup
• Owner and Network ID Tab: Full Name
• Owner and Network ID Tab: Organization
• Regional Tab: Timezone

Once you’ve updated those settings, and any others you would like to update, click Next. Continue when prompted if you would like to start the process. When the process is complete, click Next to proceed to the Bootable ISO section.

Under Mode, select whether you want to Create an Image or perform a Direct Burn to a CD. Direct Burn is probably the easier choice, because nLite will write it directly to disk. When you’ve made your selection click Make ISO. If you decide to burn to an image, use your favorite image burning software to write it to a disk.

That’s all there is to it! Just take the disk, pop it into the target machine, boot it up, select where you want to install/format, and then go take a little walk. Upon your return, your machine will have a fresh installation of Windows XP running on it!

Have you made unattended installation disks before? If so, what tools did you use and where did you obtain your update packs and addons?

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Using Time Machine would normally ease the pain since everything goes back to the way it was after the operation is performed. But if you were reinstalling your Mac to deal with an issue with the system, using Time Machine would defeat the purpose because then you would technically re-introduce the issue back to the freshly-installed system. Instead, performing a clean install of the operating system and its applications is a much better choice.

I have a checklist of things to do before I head off to reinstall my Mac and I’d like to share it with you. Hopefully, it would make your next reinstall a smoother and less theatrical occasion.

1. Back up your Documents folder

Location: User Home Folder

Commonly known as “~” (The user home folder is the one with the logo of a house and labelled with your username.

If you’re like me, all your important documents will be in the aforementioned folder. It brings peace to mind when all I have to do is back up that folder and all of my documents will be safely transferred.

2. Back up your Music

Location: ~/Music/

One good thing about being an iTunes user is that it automatically arranges my music library neatly within the iTunes folder in the location above (provided that the option to let iTunes manage your music is checked). Backing up the iTunes folder will retain your music ratings, playlists, tags and album art for your entire music library.

3. Back up your iCal, Address Book & Safari bookmarks

These are pretty simple to do but often overlooked. That’s because these are neither applications nor documents, they’re just databases.

• To backup your Safari bookmarks, click on the File menu in Safari and choose ‘Export Bookmarks’ and select a destination for it.
• To backup your iCal, do the same in iCal as what you did for Safari.
• To backup your Address Book, select ‘Export’ from the File menu and click on ‘Address Book Archive’.

4. Back up your Mail

Location: ~/Library/

If you’ve set Mail to retrieve your mail and cache it on your hard disk, reinstalling your Mac means that Mail would need to download it again. That takes a very long time if you have a mailbox with thousands of correspondences. Simply backing up your Mail folder makes it easier to get started again.

Location ~/Library/Preferences

Also, you wouldn’t want to forget your rules, signatures, mail account preferences and smartboxes. Backing up “com.apple.mail.plist” from your Preferences folder maintains the Mail structure.

In order to restore these files after reinstalling your Mac, simply drop the Mail folder back in ~/Library and the .plist file back into the Preferences folder before you launch Mail.

5. Back up your licenses

If you’ve paid for certain applications and received license keys for them, you ought to remember to back them up. I use RapidoSerial to keep all my license keys safely. All I have to do is backup the RapidoSerial application and my license keys will be backed up together with it.

6. Backup your website login and passwords

After spending a lot of time online, I’ve accumulated a multitude of different logins for individual sites. I’ve heard some people refer to passwords as underwear: You should have different ones and remember to change them frequently.

Instead of relying on Keychain to maintain a copy of your passwords, I’d suggest the use of a PIM manager. They’re easier to use and lot easier to manage and backup compared to Keychain. Keychain is ridiculously difficult to backup and restore and I would advice against it if you’re not technologically inclined/talented.

There were 2 online password managers covered here on MakeUseOf i.e. PassPack and Clipperz. Check them out if you haven’t already. Also, Lastpass is cross-platform Firefox extension and IE plugin password manager worth looking into.

A particular password manager which comes very highly recommended is 1Password. It can run on both the iPhone (and iPod Touch) and Mac. Unfortunately, the Mac version goes for $34.95 but there is a free demo available. The one which runs on the iPhone is currently free for a limited time so grab it while you can! A free alternative is KeePassX.

After reinstalling your Mac, you might want to read up on the applications which I deemed essential to have, it may help you get a push start on your fresh Mac.

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To me this is not a tedious task, I actually quite enjoy the process. But the thing is that setting up a system from scratch, plus restoring personal settings, user data and backups, takes a lot of time. Sometimes you may not have the time. Thus, for emergencies it’s always wise to have a quick fix better than a Knoppix CD. There are two ways…

Create a System Image

If you currently have a stable and smoothly running system, you can create an image of your system. This is the most comfortable solution because it incorporates all your personal settings and preferences.

The tool of choice here is Paragon’s Drive Backup Express. It’s a model piece of software: fast, intuitive user interface, thorough documentation, and it’s free. OK, the happy guy next to the menu is a little too much.

To install the program you need to obtain a free serial, which means you have to register with Paragon using a valid eMail address. I think for a software of this quality that’s a reasonable thing to ask for.

The setup is straightforward, no more surprises. The menu is the first thing that comes up when the program is loaded. Since Drive Backup uses hot backup technology, backups can run while the computer is being used, which makes it very comfortable to use. Unfortunately, the free version does not offer scheduled backups.

Step 1: Select what you want to back up.

Step 2: Start, sit back and wait or continue working.

Step 3: Check the file for validity.

Step 4: Build recovery media for the case that you cannot boot your computer.
This can be a flash memory stick or a CD/DVD disk. When using a USB stick please be aware that all files currently on the stick will be removed. The stick will become a dedicated recovery medium, so you should get a separate one for this purpose.

Step 5: Disaster!
In case of disaster, insert your recovery medium, start your computer, make sure the BIOS lets you boot from your USB stick or CD/DVD drive, start the recovery program on the stick and launch the Simple Restore Wizard. The whole procedure is very, very well documented in the user guide and it really isn’t complicated. However, if you want to be super safe, print it.

When I tried to run the recovery, I had slight issues using the normal mode. The program would freeze half way through loading from CD. So I tried the safe mode and again had some issues, this time with hard drive i/o errors. However, the program continued and once it listed all detected partitions and drives I quickly located the backup file and ran a restoration on my old laptop without any further problems.

Create a Custom Installation CD

If creating an image from a running system is not an option, you can at least prepare an installation CD that will spare you the hassle of manually adding user accounts, drivers, software, and more.

A great tool for this task is Vitali Graf’s Windows Unattended CD Creator. What you need is a valid Windows CD and all the software, drivers, patches and hotfixes you wish to include in your custom CD. The program also requires Net Framework 1.1 or 2.0 installed. For the creation of the CD you will naturally need software and respective hardware able to burn ISO images on CD or DVD, and a blank disk.

What’s your ritual for restoring your operating system? Which strategies and tools are you applying?

(By) Tina is a regular MUO author. In her offline life she’s a PhD student interested in unraveling signaling events that determine cartilage and bone development.

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